The common advice for paring an exposed peg in a mortise-and-tenon joint is to use a chisel. Over the years, however, no matter how careful I was, the peg would inevitably chip out below the face of the wood when I used a chisel. I got around the problem by building a plywood baseplate for my router that has a slot cut in it about 1 in. wide.

I first cut off the peg to 1/2 in. or so with a dovetail saw. Then I select a straight bit or a dovetail bit, setting the bit depth just short of the bottom of the base. I align the baseplate slots with the peg, turn on the router, and trim the remainder of the peg. This leaves a good clean cut on the peg and also removes any glue protruding from the joint. I find it takes very little sanding to achieve a first-rate joint.

Drawing by Jim Richey.

Drawings by Jim Richey.

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