28 Joinery joints
woodworking machines that can be used if available –
and if the operator is competent and knowledgeable
enough to use them safely.
Through- tenons and stub- tenons
The techniques for making stub- tenons and blind
mortises are very similar to those used to make
wedged through- tenons, but less involved, so through
tenons are explained here. Because there is a separate
chapter in this book covering setting out and marking
out the joints with a try square and mortise gauge, etc,
(Chapter 2) the procedure explained here starts after
the marking out has been done.
Cutting the tenons
First the tenons are deeped (cut along the grain,
through the deepest part of the rail’s tenons) to
produce the tenons’ cheeks; and although there are
various ways of doing this with machines, there is only
one satisfactory way by hand. This is by sawing down
the grain in a vice, on the waste- side of the tenon,
tight against the gauge line. Although a modern hard-
point handsaw with a universal tooth- shape would
be used to do the job nowadays, being a traditionalist
myself, I would prefer – in the absence of machinery –
to use a genuine 660mm (26”) rip saw with 5 or 6
points per 25mm (pp25mm). Such saws could be used
for deeping tenons of about 100mm wide (top rails
of doors) to 225mm wide (middle and bottom rails
of doors). Lesser sized tenons, down to delicate work
for small cabinets, would require either a maximum-
length hardpoint tenon saw of 300mm × 13 pp25mm,
or – my choice – a traditional brass- backed tenon
saw of 350mm. Un- mechanized joiners of yesteryear
(with saw- sharpening skills) often converted the 13
pp25mm – 13 ppi (points per inch) – crosscutting
teeth of one of their tenon saws to rip- cutting teeth
of 7 pp25mm. This was done by filing out every other
tooth with a triangular- shaped saw- file to a pitch
angle of 87 to 90° at right- angles to the blade to create
rip- sawing teeth. Such converted saws produce better,
more accurate and faster saw cuts along the grain –
and are a pleasure to use.Deeping variations
Figures 3.17(a)(b)(c)(d)(e): There are a few variations
in the method of deeping with hand saws. My way, as
illustrated below, is as follows:
(a) and (b) Set the rail vertically in the vice, tilt
the hardpoint- or rip- saw (whichever one of the four
alternatives discussed above) towards the far top
corner of the rail and start sawing on the side of the
tenon that does not obscure the view of the gauge line.
Bring the saw down within a few strokes to establish a
shallow cut across the end grain;
(b) and (c) Keep the saw in the shallow cut, but
slacken off the weight of the saw on the front starting
point and start working the saw deeper on the visual
nearside edge, towards the shoulder;(a) (b)
Figure 3.16 (a) Successful joint (b) Unsuccessful (wedges bending).