How to Make a Tenoned Mitre | Paul Sellers

I am going to teach you today how to make a Tennant mitre and I love this giant it's a very strong joint very different than just my Turing the joint driving a nail through a little bit of glue this is a giant that's designed to last for a hundred years 150 years this is an example of one here where the tenon path of it passes into a mortise part like this put it together when you glue this and you've got it clamped and everything it should last for a very long time so let's set that aside to do this joint we what we're relying on accuracy and one of the things that I'm going to show you is how to use a router as a gauge how to use the router to guarantee certain surfaces and to make sure everything is as exact as you want it to be so we've got good might as good shoulder lines here's one that's been glued up so we've got square shoulder on there on the back face and we've got a mitre on the front pace nice joint lines inside here but it relies on one small thing and it's called a jig so this is the jig that I used to make that mitre I'm going to make another one just to show you how it's made it's very quick and very simple use a pencil just come down from the end here about an inch and a half and then go from this line another inch and a half that's going to be the overall length of this jig I've gone on to the two edges just to show me where to start and stop now these are my pieces that I'm actually going to use for the frame so what I did is I set the two pins on a mortise gauge like this so the pins are just the cones of the pins are very points are just either side of the chisel that I'm going to use to do some of the chopping work some of the parting work so it's just another side then I loosen this and I Center this on this work piece so I go from one side and then I go to the other side and when those pins correspond with one another I know it's dead center that's going to give me the position of the tenon and the position of the mortise aspect of the job so now that I've got that what I've got to do is where those pins came in to the surface of the wood I'm going to make them a bit more pronounced so you can see them like that sorry that's the position right there and there I'm going to set my router right on the center of that pin just like that so that is going to now be the position that I want in between these two lines here I'm going to run this gauge or use this router as a gauge I'm going to run that in between there flip over and do just the same on the other side and we're going to then cut this recess out this one doesn't have to be very accurate what does have to be accurate is the depth of the recess when we're cross-cutting here like this we can just go across on those two lines down to or into the line you don't have to stop above the line you can go past slightly I'm gonna take a one inch chisel put it about halfway down about 1/8 from the surface and just pop it with the heel of my hand now I've gone right into the gauge line the router line that I marked it with and I'm reaching for the scratch the sky so the chisel is pointing upwards a little bit lower with each cut but not below that gauge line like this I'm gonna work from both sides if this is just to make the gauge it doesn't take very much to make it so I'm in the gauge line in their gaze I now and I just pop it with the heel of my hand if your hands are not toughened up just use a chisel hammer now I'm lowering the point of my chisel with each pass here but I'm gonna leave this crowning in the middle like this and then I go for the router make sure this surface is nice and clear and I just use the router just as I would a paring chisel and I come in and work that grain so I've gone a little past halfway and now I work from this edge here like this and I've got a perfectly plain surface in the bottom of that recess simply cut this off now there is and that's my gauge my guide whatever we call it already made so this is going to guide a lot of the things that I'm going to lay out for you so I'm going to show you how to lay out the joint next and I'm going to use this this a couple of chisels a saw and we're going to have this joint together very quickly [Music] I'm ready to lay out my joint and we're going to use the jig we're going to use the router we're no longer going to use the gauge because we don't need it we're replacing the gauge with the template the guide and the router so to get to this stage I'm going to break this apart you may want to make one of these joints as a practice piece because even when you're used to doing them as I am fairly used to it I don't use this joint a whole lot but I it's very easy to make a mistake put lines in the wrong places so it's a good idea to have one so I've got a miter here there's actually one I'm going to be using on the frame that I'm making but I'm going to make an exact replica of the one I've already got there so what I'm first of all going to do is I'm going to make a line for my miter across here and I'm going to use pencil temporarily because it gives me the points for the start and stop of the lines but ultimately I'm going to be relying on a knife to give me the exact knife lines that I want to cut too so I've got my shoulder line here this is going to be removed here and it's going to be removed to a depth here and here this is where we start to see how the router becomes the gauge so we're going to run this along here so now I've run the gauge line on here I can run the gauge line on to the end grain to put it in the vise if you're uncertain about holding these objects it might be safer so we're going to be cutting this cheek off completely in the same way this one has been removed too so I'm going to bring my pencil line onto this back face here and I'm going to bring it on to this edge a little bit because part of this where I started this gauge line came off the end grain here now I'm going to run it onto this back edge here like this stopping at that pencil line so let me put some pencil lines inside the gauge lines here so you can see where we're going with this here and here so this is going to be removed just like this one was and this is also going to be removed here so we're going to run a gauge line onto the end of here like this and also onto this edge here like this so this is the first half this is not running up there we go this is the first half of the joint laid out pencil line just to show us where we're going so this is coming out this is coming out this goes here now we're going to create this one this one is just as simple we take the distance from the thickness of our piece of wood here now I've milled my wood superbly accurately because so it's exactly the same width thickness all the way around I spent much time making sure because I knew that I had to run the router as my gauge against either of these two faces so now this is going to go here like this one so now I know this is a miter on here so right on that point there where it intersects there's my miter this part is staying on on the back so now I'm going to use my router here up onto this end and also right along the back to here then I'm going to turn it in for end and I want to run the gauge line on this side as well just like that all to the end and down on to this what I think will be the inside face so make sure that can you see how my sole of the plane is registered flat against this surface and I make sure it stays flat as I run that gauge line there okay well I've got it here pencil in the gauge lines so you can see and I can see where we're going this time it's this whole midsection that's going to be removed just like a mortise except we're going to do it with a saw this gets cut out and then afterwards we look at this the same as this one so this part is going to be removed up to that miter so let me go ahead and sharpen up my chisels get everything ready you want a good sharp knife for this make sure you're ready for it and I'll show you then how we cut this joint [Music] we're ready to start cutting the joint I'm going to cut the mortise part first because I think it's probably the trickier of the two maybe so right on that penciled mitre I've got everything too locked off this fingers are posing my thumb so it's nice and tight in here I've just shot my knife up so our first pass is very light the second pass is quite heavy this is only to give me the position for the mortise so where the knife intersected this corner here I put my knife right into that and I go across this shoulder line here using that same reference this one here where it intersected here I dropped my knife in there and make a small Nick on this opposite side like that stand it up slide my square up to the knife and right between those gauge lines I'm cutting the fibers severing those fibers now I'm going to suggest you leave plenty of wood on you could leave say half a millimeter or even up to a millimeter in the waste wood so the waste wood is the bit in the middle that we're going to be removing so come on this side of the line for one cheek yes like that once you got that clear cut across the top you can start lowering your heart your arm working down the line to the bottom corner so I've gone corner to corner pretty much if I show you this I've left about a millimeter on here so I've left that on I left it on on purpose it wasn't really inaccurate cutting it was because I want the wood retaining there so that I can pare down it afterwards with my chisel using a guide the guide that we made to guide the chisel and now I'm going down this side and across from side to side I'm just staying away from my line by a Miller so I'm going on the opposite side stop a burpee line and now I want to remove this midsection so what I suggest I've got the exact size chisel that I'm actually going to use here so I've already got my knife wall in there just chisel into that knife wall like this that gave me the little step down and then go with you chisel but go very very gently because otherwise you'll move that knife wall like that away from that knife wall with this and as you go deeper you can go with slightly stronger cuts work from you can work from the end now actually you can probably just chisel that out work down keep the chisel perpendicular I'm just gonna pare down here and I am about halfway I think flip over and do the same from this side right down here and I'm almost there and I think that's it watch what happens now this is probably the trickiest part of this what we've got to do is use the guide in here and clamp this in the vise but if we apply pressure then this part of it is going to compress under the vise presses so what I did is I just cut a wedge here 1/8 of an inch to about 3/8 of an inch so that I can slide down and put into the open joint there and then squeeze it tight here that gives me enough surface there correct that's that's held firmly to pare down here so I'm paring down here now I'm going to use a narrower chisel 3/4 inch to go down inside here a little bit further then you can just move this wedge around a little bit just to open up enough to get the chisel further down into the cut just feel for that edge just feel for the grain because the outside edge of this that top end grain here is actually going to be seen so I'm working from one side I'm going to put the wedge back in lower down in the cut and what I'm looking for is I'm making sure there is no gap right along this edge here if there's a gap then I've clamped it too much no there is no gap so now I can use this reference face to pair all the way down till I've gone about halfway inside this mortise I'm going to flip over and work from this opposite face here now so pair down here this is what's guaranteeing the exact size of this opening constantly working so I'm pressing hard you can see my knuckles are white with pressure here to keep this chisel flat against this face and I'm using the very corner to pair down into the fibers like this now this last little bit I'm going to get without the gauge on the face but I can push this against here now take the chisel right on this end grain just pare down the end grain using my thumb against the back edge of here taking care because these chisels are sharp and then right inside I'm just pair cutting again I can use the the guide on the outside here to register my chisel against gives me that extension and that's one side done now I do exactly the same on this inner on the opposite side in the vise wedge in place nice and firm so I'm right I can see the chisel is going right into my groove I'm gonna go with the snare a chisel I'm going down with my wedge a little bit further anything that I can gain and this is what guarantees all being well this joint coming together with a perfect meeting surface here it seems a little tedious but it's really not and I know that you're going to enjoy this so just feel for the grain and rock that chisel I can do see I go in here and I rock it using the corners using the edge and I can see the surface doesn't look as though it's being planed inside edge and put this on the top just to pare down the from the end here so I've got my thumb pressing it against here and I can just feel a few fibers there in this face the same and that's basically that part of the first job done I'm using the chisel now to pare down the side inside corners pairing that end grain and that's basically it okay I feel happy with that it feels good it looks good and I'll put this so you can see it so the only remaining part of this now is to cut the miter on here into the vise wide chisel we've got the knife wall already there just pop that with the heel of your hand you be that nice step down drop the tenon saw right into the recess [Music] it's his very last remaining bit is to take a very very sharp chisel you've got your knife wall on the outside face to guide you and you just take your chisel along here just to pare down those end grain fibers and get rid of the fuzziness that's the first half done now I'm going to cut the second half this one this one is so fast this one is so nice remember to cut on the right side of the line if you cut on the wrong side your tenon will be too small we're going to cut the waste wood so this is the waste wood this is the my waste would take your chisel again remember you don't have to cut to your lines with this it's very unusual with tenon cutting I'm cutting on the waste side by about a millimeter dropping the house flip it around cut from this side down that wall I probably should have cut my shoulder line first which I'm going to do now I should have probably crosscut I usually do do it that way there is no rule for it but so you can do it either way but I usually cut this first not second all right this only goes on that first cheek it doesn't go all the way across to the opposite side geez win love this this is you doing this this is you you're gonna be making one of these I know get in quite deep you okay what we're doing here we're gonna come down this I'm going I don't want to go into this face it's all because it will show when it's done so this one away from your line because these ends will show all right now remember this mitered is contingent on this shoulder line here so drop your knife onto that edge and make a mark on this corner just something you can drop your chisel your knife into and we are coming across here once you get this locked in place pull that knife war like that [Music] and then back to your router again register on that face and GS usually chisel yeah yeah just like a chisel this pear cut this surface face a little bit of the time remember this end grain is going to show so you want it to smooth as possible sometimes especially with woods like pine there is no guarantee cherry walnut you can pretty much guarantee it but with pine oak you have no guarantees really you just be as careful as you can there it is and I think you'll see what I mean if I show you this right in here the grain here undulated so I've got these growth rings when I was routing it it looks like it's fairly level on the end so I feel like it's going to work but I did leave a couple of slight undulations there that can affect how my joint goes together I'm going to look at my shoulder lines like on this one I'm going to do this on the bench top to show you but usually I would do this in the vise I'm going to come on this inside of that top edge and just pare down here okay and the same on this one here like this just pare down those ingrained fibers I've got one more routed surface to do I'm being a little bit more careful here that feels like a lot of wood to take off there so I probably should have cut a little bit closer to my line it looks like it's coming out nice I don't know we'll see there is I see what we've got this goes on here this looks pretty good I'm listening for popping sounds here I don't want to force this in a little pot burn but I feel pretty good this joint is going to go together let's give it a whirl and it did go together I think with a little bit of adjustment here which one you have to kind of you have this push-me pull-you thing with this kind of joint to get it right but all I have to do finagling there and I know this joint will come good with a little bit of extra pressure from here and there I feel good [Music] I'm just gonna finish this one joint because sometimes it looks worse than it is if you looked at this and you saw that but that you'd think this was a terrible joint you look at the opposite side the shoulder is off but there's something just snagging this and I don't really know what it is so what I'm going to do is break this apart and I'm going to offer this nice straight edge against this miter here when I put that against the miter and it's pressed down I have no gap at all so what I'm going to do is check the other one with another straightedge you're right on here press it down firmly the surface and I've got gaps all the way along which means that down in the bottom of this is not pared back enough so I'm going to have to put this in the vise here and take my chisel offer it right on the edge of the knife wall and pair into the surface fibers and I work along the cut that way because I think this is what's holding the bulk of this miter away from its partner so I walk along this Curt just like this now I'm going to check on the opposite side here with this square edge you offer this up to it and I can see a slight gap on this side here which means there are some surface fibers on there right on this end here so I'm on the inside of my knife wall right down here and I just pair down here like this these are the little things we do drop this on here and that gap still there I feel like I may have a slightly rounded edge here I think I do then I can see the so I'm going to go back on to the low point here slide up so this shoulder point here he's right on the edge of my square and I'm pulling on flexing my knife into that edge and I can see it's got a slight crown on there I don't know how I did it seems like it would be impossible but I did it oops so now I'm going to go right on to the knife wall just to get down it's not going to work that way so I'm going to go in the vise I have no choice work on the chisel edge aha so I've taken off that rise offer this back and I've got the crisp clean line that I wanted it's perfect Dex exactly what I wanted so this goes here this goes here and I'm going to try this now see where we end up you've got to get this just right because you've got these two seating shoulders you've got the miter and then you've got the other there is it's not hitting there which means it can't be hitting all the way across here so I pull this around I've got a perfect shoulder line there but my my toe is off on this side and I know I have to do something with this to make it fit so I'm looking inside and out I can see I think what it is can you see there's a discrepancy I can see there's about a millimeter and a half difference between the shoulder there and the original pencil line and right on the inside corner here I've got a millimeter inside here I may not have quite got this perfect break it apart again slide the square inside like this and look on the inside and there right in there I've got a good millimetre between that line how I did it I don't know what I did so I'm going to bring a knife mark here a knife mark over here let's see whether I was accurate or not there that's what's holding me off that's about the distance on my miter as well so I miss position my knife or something back in with the chisel and actually I can see a step inside there as well so that's not helping me hit the step there so so again offer the chi-square inside the mortise and now it's closed up inside there so I don't have the gap either way I don't have the gap let's try again and there is so now I'm happy that my my T is going to come together perfectly so I've got the mitre exactly where I want you may have to do this on yours not complicated just a little bit of patience and you'll have that perfect joint [Music] you

Channel: Paul Sellers

Views: 128,895

Rating: 4.9622927 out of 5

Keywords: woodworking, hand tools, paul sellers, tenoned, tenon, joint, joinary, DIY, frame joint, craft, woodwork

Id: EM0NcKZNFfM

Length: 40min 3sec (2403 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 26 2018