Replies

1. 
   prbayliss | Oct 18, 2009 04:28am | #1

   Hi Derek,

   Good article!

   I was hand cutting M&Ts today. Next time I will try your tip of paring the mortice surface prior to the real cutting blows.

   Cheers,
   Paul

2. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Oct 18, 2009 06:52am | #2

   Good show derek,

   Can't wait to see the rest.

   Regards,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

3. 
   Rick1951 | Oct 18, 2009 04:21pm | #3

   There are so many great tips in there!  I really appreciate the tuning methods since most discussions seem to assume that real artists can cut every line perfectly.  Now I don't feel like I am cheating when I need to grind things to fit!  (Your "grinding" techniques are much better than mine though)

   Rick

4. 
   boilerbay | Oct 18, 2009 04:24pm | #4

   Derek,

   Nice presentation. It's so much more fun to look at photos when your older and require a loop just to see the chisel marks!

   Regards

   BB

5. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 18, 2009 06:54pm | #5

   Sir.

   Very nice. Well made.

   Just a comment that has nothing to do with your presentation. Something I saw in a picture. Number 12 down? Your finger and the precious wedding ring. I almost lost a finger because of my wedding band fitting as I seen in the picture. I was not about to take it off or I could not? I think maybe both.

   Just me.. Sorry. I'd have that ring taken to a good jeweler and have it stretched or have it expanded with new gold. The doctor sawed it off and saved my finger. The jeweler did my ring for free after I brought it in after my finger healed for sizing to the new finger size. I insisted on paying 'going' price for the job.. He took the money with a smile.

   Anyway, I do not remember any pain or whatever in my finger. My finger just turned purple one day and went to the ER. Recovery for my finger was about four months and very expensive. But my wedding ring was saved.

   Serious comment.

   Just a suggestion.

    

    

6. 
   xmike | Oct 18, 2009 11:36pm | #6

   Hi Derek,
   Very nicely done. Thanks.
   Mike D

7. 
   BG | Oct 19, 2009 11:59am | #7

   Derek,

   Very nice stuff. Lately I've stopped marking out a double line for the mortise as I only reference one line anyhow...not a big savings of time.

   The real question is how much tension in the fitting of the tenon to the mortise. For cabinet doors and the like, I believe tension free and yet solid is the rule. For that reason I use router bits and tenon jigs and leave the hand done stuff for tables and the like.

8. 
   jonnieboy | Oct 19, 2009 05:50pm | #8

   Derek,

   I left a message at your website, but I wanted to let you know here as well. The photo presentation is excellent. You seem to have anticipated my questions about two seconds after I thought them. I learned about 50 things from the Mortice-and-Tenon Primer alone.

   Thanks for posting it. I'm anxious to get to other parts of the site.

   --Jon

9. 
   JiminFla | Oct 19, 2009 11:51pm | #9

   Well done, Derek.  Excellent presentation.

   Jim

   http://www.jimreedy.com
10. 
    PCM | Oct 20, 2009 03:56am | #10

    Derek,

    Great presentation!

    Thank you!

    Pete

1. 
   derekcohen | Oct 20, 2009 08:50am | #11

   Paul, Bob, Rick, BB, Will, Mike, BG, Jon, Jim, Pete ...

   Many thanks for all your kind words.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   RichinVA | Oct 20, 2009 11:42am | #12

   Derek,Great treatise, thanks for your hard work."The first incision is made........."I love it!!!! Rich

11. 
    Napie | Oct 20, 2009 05:07pm | #13

    Derek, very well done!  Glad to see I’m not the only one who doesn’t drill out the waste.  I really believe you should compile and publish your articles as sort of an updated (color would also be nice!) version of Tage Frid’s book on joinery and hand tools, I’ll buy one.   

1. 
   derekcohen | Oct 20, 2009 06:27pm | #14

   Thanks Napie.

   As it happens I have two versions coming out:

   The basic version in a tasteful brown wrapping and 15 pages long. It contains all I know about woodworking.

   The Knots version has a 300 page Forward by Mel, and comes with a companion edition of previously unpublished psycho-socio-economic observations by Lataxe. The latter includes a section on why one should use a Festo Domino Thingy rather than handplanes by Philip.

   Let me know which one you want.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   PADDYDAHAT | Oct 20, 2009 07:28pm | #15

   Derek, a truly splendid presentation. The pics and text provide a clarity not present in many quarters these days and demonstrate the amount of hard work required to make it so. Thanks, Paddy

   ps. be careful with those packages in plane brown wrapping or you will have the Postmen spreading sly rumors.

2. 
   Napie | Oct 25, 2009 06:54am | #17

   Both, retirement will allow a complete study of both and maybe a paper on the difference...

3. 
   Lataxe | Oct 25, 2009 07:17pm | #18

   Derek,

   Guilty on the psychotic stuff.

   However, you posit a false dichotomy of which I would never fall foul:

   "....why one should use a Festo Domino Thingy rather than handplanes by Philip".

   Any fule no that one needs both - in fact, several of each.  I mean, why have the bother of changing blades or bits if one may have a number of Marcous and Dominos, each loaded with a different size blade/bit?  You know it makes sense!

   As to drilling out mortises - well, if you insist on cheating what is wrong with a Very Large solid carbide upcut spiral bit in a 78hp router?  I feel you may have been tempted, as you age, by a life of ease and are thus ignoring the necessary rigours of the mortise chisel and mallet.  You'll have five of them Dominos yet.

   Lataxe, a tool-fool.

12. 
    lwj2 | Oct 25, 2009 06:48am | #16

    Thanks, Derek, very nicely done.

    Leon
    
13. 
    EdHarrow | Oct 26, 2009 02:24am | #19

    I started going pretty thoroughly through it, but have just been 'called', LOL.

    I note this:  "I laid out the 3 ¼” wide boards to create a tenon cheek 2 ¾” wide - that is, the length of the rail less a ¼” shoulder at each end. "

    I think it should read " ...the width of the rail less a ..." 

    You might also consider explaining 'the rule of 1/3s'.

    Looks great, thank you!

    
    

    ---

    Edited 10/25/2009 9:50 pm ET by EdHarrow

14. 
    rhagenstein | Oct 27, 2009 04:28pm | #20

    Hi Derek:

    Another fine post.  Thanks!  Tell us just a bit more on construction of the L-shaped clean-out chisel from an allen wrench.  From your other various posts, I would guess that the basic shaping was done with a dremel tool.  Did you do any heat treatment to bring the metal to proper hardness?  Or are allen wrenches a decent hardness to begin with?  Or doesn't it matter since you are not really cutting much, more just levering out chips?

    thanks,

    Randy

1. 
   derekcohen | Oct 27, 2009 07:35pm | #21

   Hi Randy

   The "bottom cleaning chisel" is really more of a scraper-and-picker than a chisel.

   I used a good quality allen wrench  -  the steel on the cheapies is too soft  -  and then just ground it to shape. No heat treating necessary. I think I shaped it on a belt sander. The handle was just something I had lying around - one of my spare marking knife handles.

   View Image

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   rhagenstein | Oct 27, 2009 08:19pm | #22

   Thnaks for the info, Derek