Popular Woodworking – August 2019

16 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING

Ar ts & Mysteries

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The Wedged Mortise & Tenon

By Peter Follansbee

This time-tested joint is perfect for knockdown furniture.

This joint has been test-fi tted; its wedges just need trimming and some small

touch-ups and it’s done.

This bedstead I’m building is

a perfect place to use a joint that I

rarely cut: the wedged, through-mor-

tise and tenon. I need to be able to

ship this bedstead across the country,

so I wanted something the customer

(with some simple instructions)

would be able to assemble herself.

The head and foot are all joined in

the “usual” manner; pinned mortise

and tenon joints. But the long rails

connect these two sections with a

through-mortise and tenon joint

that’s then wedged through the

extended tenon.

I’ve seen it called a “tusk” tenon,

a wedge tenon (although there are

other kinds of wedged tenons, too)

and a “keyed” tenon. Whatever you

call it, this is a joint that can really

pull things together, but if need be,

can be disassembled.

The rails in this case are 2" x 6"

ash timbers; the posts are 2" x 3^1 / 2 ".

Because of the scale a bedstead dic-

tates, I settled on^3 / 4 "-thick tenons.

I laid out the mortise on both sides

of the posts, and bored a series of

holes that remove the bulk of the

waste. Use a square to align the

brace and bit, so your mortise isn’t

tilted one way or the other. Check

the holes at each end of the mortise

in both directions; fore and aft, left

and right. I used an^11 / 16 " bit, leaving

some wood to be pared away.

I bored partway through the post,

then fl ipped it over and fi nished bor-

ing from the other side. This does

two things; it reduces the chances

of blowing out the wood if you go

all the way through from one side,

and puts any alignment errors inside

the joint. When paring the mortise

walls, I prop the bedpost up on a

piece of scrap wood so I don’t drive

my chisel into the bench. Be sure to

get the walls even. A bedstead needs

1

1 It’s worth checking

that the brace is plumb,

it will make a difference.

2 It’s a lot of holes to

bore, but it’s easier to

remove that excess

material with the brace

and bit rather than just

the chisels.

2