Wondering if there is a rule of thumb for tenon sizes…I have a board 3/4 inch and wonder if I should be using a 1/4 or 3/8 inch tenon. I am able to make it 1 inch long but am also concerned how deep I should be making it also.
Allison Vince
Oakville, Manitoba, Canada
Replies
AVC: I Make my tenon length 1/3 long according to the thicknes: i.e; 3/4 thick will be 1/4 long +/- depending on the application.
James
I think you need to to look at the ying to this yang; to wit, a tenon is only half the equation here - a mortise is the other. I find tenon thickness is best informed by the thickness of the board that will receive the mortise. For example, a 3/8ths mortise in a 3/4" board might well make for to relatively weak mortise walls at 3/16ths. As for depth - longer is generally better within design limitations as it provides more gluing surface and room for pegging, but even stub tenons are relatively strong and resist racking stresses well. This is my experience, YMMV.
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