Floating-Tenon Joinery
Simple jig works with a plunge router to make quick, strong joints

Synopsis: Once you have a simple system for making mortise-and-tenon joints, constructing tables, chairs, and case goods can become a straightforward, fast, and consistent process. In this article, Lon Schleining details a simple jig he uses to cut floating tenon joinery with a router. Build it accurately, and strong and accurate joints will follow.
Mortise-and-tenon joints are the building blocks of furniture making. Once you have a simple and reliable system for making them, joinery on tables, chairs and case goods is straightforward, fast and consistent, even when there are compound angles.
The distance between the shoulders is critical in the case of something like a table apron or a chair stretcher. One day I had cut a big pile of pieces to length, only to discover that I’d made one teensy mistake: I had forgotten to allow for the extra tenon length on both ends of the pieces. That’s…
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