I have been playing with a Veritas 5/8″ tapered tenon cutter that works like a pencil sharpener and no matter how I set the blade I can not get a full 5/8″ straight tenon out of the exit end. It cuts about 1/32″ under 5/8″. I could pull the stretcher up against the shoulder and use a wedge to secure the end but the full glue surface on a 5/8″ non tapered mortise would be compromised.
Is this cutter only designed to work with a tapered mortise? Since I don’t have a tapered mortise reamer it may be the wrong tool.
Am I missing something here?
Thank you in advance.
Replies
Yes, a tapered tenon should fit a tapered mortise.
Then I feel misled by Fabian Fischer's article in 2016 FWW "Build a Simple Stool" as he used a straight 5/8" mortise. Hey no one bat's 100% so I guess I'll buy the reamer.
thanks
If you for some reason choose not to buy the veritas reamer, make sure you get one that is 14* like the veritas stuff.
Some of the reamers out there are 6*
In theory, that thing needs a perfectly square and plumb "approach" into the cutter. If you have rake or splay in the piece as you feed it into the cutter, the tenon it cuts will be undersized, like you are seeing. You can also easily get a piece cut that is not centered. As a result, it is difficult to achieve the perfect piece on that tool. However, these imperfections are not material to the resulting joint because of that taper. The piece just goes a bit deeper into the mortise than otherwise. This is no problem as long as your pieces are a bit longer. Than cut the other ends of the legs to length to achieve a perfectly level seat.
Now I will also say that the 14* taper on the Veritas cutter is WAY too much. It removes too much material, overworking you and the wood. Instead I like the 6* reamers that Chuck cites above, or even less of an included angle. 14* would be for some piece of very soft/weak wood but is not necessary for a hardwood (even a weaker hardwood like poplar).
The Vertias cutters have a place in the shop, but they are not my choice for leg or arm post joints.
Tim Manney has a nice article on how to make a tenon cutter to match the exact angle of the reamer you are using. I've now made a couple of sizes and they work beautifully. Hope this helps.
https://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/2015/06/use-your-reamer-to-make-matching-tenon.html
So I just bought a couple of those after using various methods (besides a lathe since I don’t have one) to make the tenon. While the exit hole on my 1/2 tool is 1/2 and inch exactly, I don’t think the tool was designed to make straight tenons. I would image you could achieve your desired result. I would guess your tenons are 1/32 too small because of your blade set. On receipt of my cutter, it wouldn’t cut anything close to 1/2 inch until I adjusted the blades
Just out of curiosity, what is the purpose of this jig. I guess I’m curious what it would be used for instead of just cutting a standard mortise and tenon? There are a number of seemingly less complex methods of making a mortise and tenon joint.
Wow thank you for the comments! I am working to duplicate the stool build from 2016 FWW "Build a Simple Stool" by Fabian Fischer. Not wanting to spring for the $100 power tenon cutter he used for the seat tenons I used a round over bit in my router table and dialed in the large tenons. But for the stretcher I thought the Veritas tapered tenon cutter looked reasonable. I considered making a jig for the table saw or router table but thought I would try the hand cutter to see what I could do with it.
He managed to get straight 5/8" round tenons from the cutter and used the shoulder up against a drilled 5/8" mortise. I tried moving the blade to a variety of positions but it always under cut the 5/8" outgoing tenon. If I pull the blade back to far the stretcher bottoms out against the cutter body and won't advance. I think if I modified the blade so it didn't extend as far down the throat I could get it to cut a 5/8" tenon but I'm not ready to do that yet. I could do this by opening up the slots where the screws lock the blade into position, and/or perhaps finesse the output edge into a small camber to get a better finish on the output.
Instead I ordered a 15mm drill bit for the mortise which matches the current tenon size to experiment with. I also ordered the matching reamer from Lee Valley. When all is said and done I should have just built a jig for my router table, but a good learning experience anyway.
I really like the article by Tim Manney, the best ideas are often so simple and elegant! Thats a keeper.
Thanks again!
Make a reamer. The angle is 7 degrees. The blade comes from an old panel saw.
Use the reamer to make a matching tenon shaper.
Then make a travisher to shape the seats.
Lots of plans on the web. Or yell out here.
https://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Travisher.html
Regards from Perth
Derek
I too much prefer the 6* reamer such as Tim Manney sells or the beautiful 7* one Derek crafted.
On a current commission of 4 counter stools I am using the Veritas for speed. My main gripe is a aesthetic one, I don’t like the way the leg junctions looks with it being 1 1/8” at the bottom of the seat and 7/8” at the top of the seat. The 6* is a much nicer looking transition. But I need some speed here so going all electric.
I cut my test piece in half to use as a template as seen below.
I used to always do straight tenons, but the tapered just feels better.