fbpx

Methods to Help With Your Mortise and Tenon Joints

If you plan on making high quality woodwork of any kind – especially furniture – then you’ll want to master the mortise and tenon joint, which is one of strongest joints that you can make. This is because mortise and tenon joints fit one piece of wood into another, thereby making it stronger in itself, as well as providing more surface area for glue. The following are a few methods to help with mortise and tenon joints:

  • mortise joints
    Source: Flickr

    Cut the Mortise First – It’s much easier to cut the mortise first and then fit the tenon to it instead of vice versa.

  • Making the Tenon – Basic rule of thumb is to cut the tenon at about ½ the thickness of the board. The length of the tenon should be roughly 4 to 5 times the thickness of the tenon.
  • Making the Mortise – While using hand tools is perfectly feasible, power tools will be much quicker. Using a router with an up spiral bit will give you the most efficient cut.

Keep these tips in mind when creating mortise and tenon joints. Be sure to contact us at Schutte Lumber today for information about our Kansas City lumberyard.