Hello everyone,
I went shopping yesterday and came across this device that positions the drill bit to make tenon holes in wood. Was really cheap 30$ with about 12 tenons included. I did not purchase it because I was unsure if my planks where thick enough to accept the tenons. My planks are 11/16 on an inch thick. The smallest tenons were 4/16 (1/4 of an inch) in diametre… that would only leave 3.5/16 of an inch on each side if it was perfectly centred…. seems a bit thin to me…
What is the rule of thumb for such a thing? And are tenons really useful to assemble 2 pannels to form a tabletop? I know they are used for mobile sections but for fixed glued up sections I am not sure.
Replies
If I understand your question, you are edge gluing boards, to make a wider board. If this is correct, then tenons would be inappropriate as they introduce a cross grain situation. Just gluing up the boards will be fine as the glue joint will be stronger than the board anyway.
Alan
Alan
http://www.alanturnerfurnituremaker.com
Generally you may divide the piece in thirds to allow for a tenon with two shoulders or if you want more material on one side or the other you may choose to off set the joint. Depending on the application I would say that you may not wan't to have much less than 3/16" of material on the short side because the grain may be weak. However, like I said it really depends on the application, if your wood is only 1/2" thick and you use a 1/4" tenon then your left with an 1/8th on either side. With a well made joint I wouldn't forsee any problems but it really depends on the situation. Sounds like it could be a handy tool but limited in it's range of applications.
J.P.
Thank you. I might get it for other projects but for this one I will only glue the 2 planks together to make the larger tabletop plank then.
It sounds like you were looking at the BeadLock Tenon system. I haven't used it but have heard good reports. But it is for places where mortise and tenon joints are required, such as attaching legs to aprons. It is not a substitute for biscuits, or for just joining boards together (which is what is sounds like you need at this instant).
________________________
Charlie Plesums Austin, Texas
http://www.plesums.com/wood
Yes that is probably right... I am not yet familiar with attachements... a third of the way into the Idiot's Guide to Woodworking and I have The seven essentials of Woodworking lined up after that. So far biscuits are cookies for me still ;) Hehehe
I think biscuits is that cut where you cut a u-shaped grove in plank one and trip the edges of the other plank to match the grove? Anyhow I don't have the required equipment to do that so Iwill just glue the two edges together. I should also use a plane to level the surfaces as well but I am afraid to make it worst.... so I might not glue them either... I decided to finish the two books before I go any further in the project.
If your boards are side by side, with the grain going the same general way, and are smooth and so even that you can't see light or pull paper between them at any point, (I just made a definition of boards well-prepared for a joint), then ordinary carpenter's glue will make the joint stronger than the wood - ie, if you try to break it, it will probably break someplace away from the joint.
Biscuits are flat football shaped pieces of wood. A special cutter puts a slot in each piece to be joined, a carefully set distance from the end. So the little wooden biscuit holds the boards aligned as you glue them. Intiutively they would seem to reinforce the joint, but if it is already stronger than the wood, how do you make it stronger? So there have been wars and crusades surrounding whether biscuits are good or not, and the secondary effect of using them. (Hint: I use them sometimes, but not always)
So don't worry if you don't have the biscuit cutter, properly known as a plate jointer. It isn't a required tool if you prepare the edges to be joined well. If you don't prepare the edges well, a biscuit won't probably save you!
When you need to join end grain to edge grain, that is where it becomes messy. And where mortise and tenon or floating tenon joints reign.
Good luck with your project________________________Charlie Plesums Austin, Texashttp://www.plesums.com/wood
With an apology to Calenyr for going off-topic!
Charlie
Just had the time to cruise your web-site. Nice pieces there and the site was done in a way even an idiot like me could navigate it without confusion.
Regards...
sarge..jtProud member of the : "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
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