Woodworker's Journal 2006-30-2, страница 26

Square-leg Mortises

When chopping an adjacent second mortise, it's difficult to dean the bottom once you break through. Use a bench chisel instead of a mortise chisel for this task. Don't remodel the sides ol the mortise at this stage. Make any necessary adjustments when you fit the joint.

Chop the Mortise: Chop the first mortise 1/8" short of the full depth. Make the ends square and clean.

Saw the Tenons: After die rail is put in the vise to make tenon cuts 1 and 2, it's repositioned twice to make cuts 3 and 4. When forming the shoulders, saw as close to the shoulder lines as possible to make cutting to the line with a chisel easier.

Fit the Joints: Once all the mortises and tenons are made, the

next task is to fit the joints, which also implies finalizing the rail-to-leg relationship as originally planned, back when marking the end grain of the legs. (Refer to "Selecting the Materials: I^egs" on the previous page.)

Once you have decided what part goes where, begin by cutting the tenon shoulders at one end of a rail. Use a wide chisel and slot it into the knifeline, but don't cut the last 1/16" on each side of the shoulder.

To cut the shoulders at the top and bottom edge of the tenon, use a chisel that is 1/8" narrower than the thickness of the workpiece. This technique protects the outer "show"

With cuts 1 and 2 completed, move onto the next step. You can only accurately saw down one line at a time. Blow the sawdust out of each cut.

edge in the event that you undercut the shoulders. However, it leaves a little castellated turret at each corner, which is easily removed with a shearing chisel cut.

Once the shoulders are cleaned up, make the joint a tight push-fit: check that the shoulders are tight and the leg-rail combination is aligned. Make any necessary adjustments, then record the location of the two parts by incising a letter or symbol with a 1/4" chisel.

Wait to cut the last 1/16" on each side ol the shoulder. Carelul paring with a very sharp bench chisel avoids any undercutting that would show after assembly.

Cut the shoulders, top and bottom, with a chisel 1/8" narrower than the thickness of the workpiece (upper). Then remove the castellated turret with a shearing chisel cut (lower photo).

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April 2006 Woodworker's Journal