loose tenon question

[Brad Wood]

Hi,

If I am going to do a project using loose (floating) tenons, is it best to use the same wood for the tenon as is used for the project (hence the mortise)?

I'm going to do a project using Alder, but I happen to have a fair amount of oak that is just the right thickness to use for the tenons. It crossed my mind perhaps I will use the oak for the tenons.

thoughts?

Thanks

[Mike Cutler]

"Ordinarily" I would try to use tenon stock of the same material because the expansion/contraction properties will be the same.
In the case of a floating tenon, both the mortise(s) and the tenon itself are coated in glue and pretty much protected from external changes in humidity. (The Festool Domino makes use of floating tenons that may different from the material they are used on.)
I would concentrate more on the inherent strength of the floating tenon. In the case of oak, it's plenty strong enough.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Oak will work fine. I usually use the same species, but just because there is usually some scrap laying around to make the tenons from. Think about all those Dominos, and how rarely they get used in the same species.

[Chris Padilla]

I agree...biscuits and dowels are the same...who the heck knows what your biscuits and dowels are made of! :)

In a setting where you aren't using an off-the-shelf tenon, odds are decent you'll be likely to make it from the same species as the project...but not always!

Oak will do just fine so have at it. :)

[Brad Wood]

Thanks guys,

I know, logic dictates I would just use some scrap from the project. I only started thinking about the oak because it is already 90% to be used as a tenon, and I am not a huge fan of oak, so it has been sitting in my shop for a while.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Hey Mike, great minds think alike!? :D

[Peter Quinn]

I agree...biscuits and dowels are the same...who the heck knows what your biscuits and dowels are made of! :)

In a setting where you aren't using an off-the-shelf tenon, odds are decent you'll be likely to make it from the same species as the project...but not always!

Oak will do just fine so have at it. :)

My biscuits are made from steamed compressed beech and my dowels are made from either yellow birch or eastern hard maple. Not that it matters in any way as you noted they get used with any number of species without question, but I did know the answer to that one:D. I seem to recall there is something unique about beech that allows it to be compressed when steamed and reexpand when moistened that makes it ideal for biscuits?

I tend to make loose tenons for exterior projects from the same stock as the project at hand, though I have to agree with the logic that being they will be encased in glue it should hardly matter. I certainly wouldn't buy wood to make loose tenons, and it seems oak would be a fine choice for strength.