Replies

1. 
   Scooter456 | Mar 22, 2005 07:56am | #1

   General rule of thumb:

    

   Thickness of Tenon is about 1/3rd the stock thickness.

   Shoulders should be anywhere from a quarter to a half inch.

   Length is relative--for 4 inch stock I think I would make the tenon no more than 3 inches, but the strength of the piece might dictate the length.  If there would not be a lot of stress on the joint, I might make significantly shorter.

   Kelsey

2. 
   joinerswork | Mar 22, 2005 03:23pm | #2

   sawmill,

   Kelsey is right on.  I'd use 1/2" tenons.  Make them pretty long, at least 2", 3" would be better.  If you cut through tenons you can wedge and glue them.  Depending on their location, the joints will get a good deal of stress, if the weaver sits inside the thing it's like a chair- anything supporting live weight needs a lot more strength to hold up long term.  You also have the stresses of the bar hammering on the weft (or is it the warp?) which creates racking forces on the frame.  Try to build it like a bridge.

   Regards,

   Ray

3. 
   DougF | Mar 22, 2005 04:57pm | #3

   I don't think it is necessary to through-tenon and wedge but given the stresses in a loom, I would have them sufficiently long to accept two 1/4" pegs/dowels and about 1" wide.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/22/2005 9:57 am ET by Doug

4. 
   mvac | Mar 22, 2005 05:42pm | #4

   Andy,

   Have you considered loose tenons? Given the differing dimensions of the stock to be joined, this might give you greater flexibility.

   Regards,

   Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

5. 
   cherryjohn | Mar 22, 2005 07:44pm | #5

   We have an antique flax loom up in our attic and all the tennons on that are through tennoned and appeared to have been over wedged ( it is all dismantled right now).  The loom will have to take a load , so you have to make it strong.  Even if you dont through tennon it Id still pin them.

    

   Wicked Decent Woodworks

   (oldest woodworking shop in NH)

   Rochester NH

   " If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"

6. 
   AlbionWood | Mar 22, 2005 09:10pm | #6

   I'm with Doug and Cherryjohn, peg those tenons. In fact, I would use two pegs per tenon and drawbore them. If the tenon was going through the narrow dimension, I'd recommend tusk-tenons.

   If these terms aren't familiar to you, just ask. Or go look in Tage Frid's book, he explains all.

   The advantages of drawbored or tusk-tenons are that the joint remains tight even if the wood dries and shrinks; and the joint can be disassembled and reassembled without destruction.

   As others have said, make the tenons 1/2" thick (cut the mortises first, then tenons to fit). If you are going to peg them, they only need to go in about 1-1/2 inches; put one peg about 1/2" from the shoulder of the mortise and the other about 3/4". Use 3/8" pegs. Make the mortises about 3 inches wide and put the pegs 1" from each end.

   Alternatively, you could just rely on glue - you'll have a large surface area, which will make a very strong glue joint. In that case make the tenons about 3" long and 3" wide.

   Hope that helps. Cheers,
   Tim

   "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  A. Einstein

   http://www.albionworks.net

7. 
   nistock | Mar 23, 2005 04:21am | #7

   Thanks for all the info.  These joints will be on parts of the loom that don't have to come apart for transport so they will be glued and pegged.  Any joint that must come apart will be through tenoned and wedged as is standard with many of the looms on the market today.    Again thanks and to those who put together this site;  good job.      Andy