Popular Woodworking 2000-06 № 115, страница 18

CLIMB-CUTTING TENONS

I own a commercial tenoning jig for my table saw, but I rarely use it. I get better and faster results by cutting tenons using a dado stack and a trick that Contributing Editor Troy Sexton showed me.To avoid tearout on my tenons' shoulders, I "climb cut" the last '/s" or so of the tenon shoulder.YouVe probably heard of people climb cutting when using a router. Essentially, it's moving the router in the opposite way you normally would to avoid tearout in tricky grain.

That's exactly what you do on your table saw.The final cut on your shoulders is made by pulling the work toward you over the blade and only taking a small cut of material. It sounds awkward, but after a few tenons you get used to it.The risk of kickback is minimal because there's no wood trapped between the blade and the fence.To do this safely, hold your work steady and don't get into a hurry.

Here's how you do it: First install a dado stack into your table saw and set the fence for the finished length of your tenon (almost all of the tenons in this project are long). Set the height of your dado stack to the amount you want to thin one side of your tenon (for most of the tenons in this project, that would be ³/'6").Then, using your miter gauge, push the work through the dado stack to cut the majority of your tenon.

When this cut is done, slide the work against the fence and pull the miter gauge back toward you to shave the shoulder of the tenon. Flip the work over and do the other side.Then do the edges.

Set your fence so the dado stack will make a ³A" cut (the length of your tenon). Hold the piece about '/s" from the fence. Push your work through the blade using your miter gauge.

After you finish that first pass, slide the work against the fence and pull it back toward you over the blade to shave the last little bit of the shoulder.

Repeat the same procedure for the edges of the tenon. (If you like a little more shoulder on your edges, increase the height of the blade.) First push the work forward.

Then slide it against the fence and pull it back toward you to make the final shoulder cut.

Onken and his company. It differs in only two ways. One, the original chair was constructed using dowels at the major joints. After almost 100 years of use, the front and back rail came loose. This chair is built using pegged mortise-and-tenon joints. Second, I made one change to the chair frame so that furniture historians of the future will know instantly that this not an original piece. I did this to prevent people from passing off these reproductions as originals.

Though this project might look daunting to you, it can be completed by beginners who have just a few projects under their belt. There are only a few principles to learn here: mortising, tenoning and routing with a plywood template. Plus, I'll share with you exactly how I achieved this finish, which has been something we've been working at for several years.

How to Save Money on Lumber

Begin by choosing the right quartersawn white oak for this project. It requires about 10 board feet of ⁸/4 and 30 board feet of ⁴/4 lumber. Quartered white oak can be ex-

Make the mortises in the legs before you shape the curve near the bottom or make cutouts on the top.

pensive, from $6 to $12 a board foot. If you live in the Midwest, or will pass near east-central Indiana on your vacation, I recommend you check out Frank Miller Lumber Co. in Union City, Ind. (765-964-7705). The company is a huge supplier of quar-tersawn oak. As a result, prices are reasonable, about $4 to $6 a board foot. Once you buy your lumber, save the pieces with the most ray flake for the arms, legs, front and sides. To save money, use flat-sawn oak for the seat and the adjustable back.

Mortises: Machine or No Machine?

First cut all your pieces to size according to the Schedule of Materials and begin lay-

3 ³/8"

f-f

7 ¹/2"

1 ³/8" 7/8" 1 ³/8" ⁷/8"

1 ⁵/8"

⁷/8"

⁵/8"SJ:^1/4"

rrf

1 ¹/16"

l^-¹/16"

f ^Back rail

T^/16"

³/4" >/1₆"

Cleats

4 ³/4"

Cleat

Cleat Location, Back Rail

³/4"

1 ⁵/8" 2"

2 3/16" 3 ³/4"

Rail Locations

2 1/8"

1 7/8"

4 3/4"

¹/16"

Cleat

Cleat Location, Front Rail

The "X" on the rails and cleats denotes a cross section rather than an end view.