Tool/Technique question on cutting mortices

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

My next project is going to be a side/end table of sorts. The last one I built - which was one of my first woodworking projects - had M&T joints and I did them all by hand. This worked out "ok" but I wasn't as accurate as I wanted to be.

I'm thinking I'll try some more power tools on this next attempt. Is there a good way to cut a mortice with a fixed base router?

I'm thinking I could drill a hole to start in and go from there.

Also, I'm assuming it is advised to use a fence to ride the router along - freehand doesn't seem accurate or safe.

Also, if I cut the mortice with a router, do most people follow up with a mortice chisel and square the ends?

John

[Dave Gaul]

John,

There are many types of shop-made jigs for doing this. If you have a fine woodworking online membership, they have plans for one.

I think it would be a little tricky with a fixed base router, a plunge router would be much better.

If you want to use fixed square tenons, you should chisel out your mortises square. Or, you could use floating tenons and make rounded mortises on both pieces.

[Troy Turner]

John - If you have a router table for your fixed base..that would be ideal. Then you can either adjust your depths making shallow passes, or set up some "shims and remove them with each pass until you achieve your overall depth. No table, then go with Dave's suggestion of a jig. As for squaring them off, unless someone is going to see it, I'd just round over the tenon to fit in there.

[Dave Gaul]

I don't know why I didn't think about the table option Troy! Maybe because I was on a boring conference call when I posted!

But yes, if you have a table, you could first drill each end of the mortise on a drill press to depth, then use the router table and some stop blocks and rout out between the drilled holes.

Rounding off the tenon vs. squaring the mortise would be personal preference I guess.

[Steven J Corpstein]

I don't know why I didn't think about the table option Troy! Maybe because I was on a boring conference call when I posted!

But yes, if you have a table, you could first drill each end of the mortise on a drill press to depth, then use the router table and some stop blocks and rout out between the drilled holes.

Rounding off the tenon vs. squaring the mortise would be personal preference I guess.

Keep in mind that blind routes and especially where you're trapping wood between the fence and bit, are inherently dangerous. Not a critism of the method, just a friendly "Watch out for flying debris". Keep track of your hand position.

[pat warner]

Definitely would not mortice with a fixed base router, especially as you decribe your it.
Very likely you'll break a bit, the router may self feed and the work can be thrown willy-nilly.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Sounds like making a jig might be the best way to go.

Or, alternatively, use this as an excuse to finally buy a plunge router! :) I was trying to not "invest" any more money in tools if i can help it. I know that sounds ludicrous - and it is. I'm a d.i.n.k. and should just buy what i need. I need to get some projects under my belt before I start adding to the fleet of tools...nothing makes you appreciate a tool more than if you realize how tough it is to do without it.

I wouldn't mind "neandering" my way through it again, but its tough to get accurate M&T's that way. And then you glue up and clamp and find all the non-square edges and now your table is a rocking-table! :) I'm sure we've all been there.

[Rod Sheridan]

Well John, my suggestion is to purchase the General International benchtop hollow chisel mortiser.

It's a great machine, you'll get lots of use out of it.

I've had mine 8 or 9 years, wouldn't consider any other method except for a slot mortiser add on for my Hammer A3.

Regards, Rod.

[Alan Schwabacher]

If you don't have a lot of tools, a drillpress or a plunge router would help you mortise, and be useful for many other things. If you drill out most of the waste, cleaning up the mortise with a chisel is less work than chopping the whole thing. A drillpress with a fence makes accurate drilling for the mortise a lot easier than a hand drill.

If you cut the mortise with a router, don't go full depth in one shot. You are likely to break the bit, and breaking something sharp that is spinning at 24,000 rpm is not my idea of a good time. A plunge router makes it easy to take several passes, each a bit deeper than the last, to safely cut the mortise. To guide the mortise, the very least you need is a fence on the left side of the router. Routers tend to go left, so if you put the fence on the wrong side, it will tend to pull away from the fence. Various jigs will control the router better than a simple fence, but you would want a plunge router to use with the jig.

[glenn bradley]

I would not try the fixed base router. I see bad things possibly happening with that. A drill press followed by a small amount fo chisel work would be a better bet. I use a plunge router and a Mortise Pal but that's a more long term solution than you may be looking for.

[JohnMorgan of Lititz]

Good info, guys. I've thought about the drill press method - another tool I don't have, but would be oh, so handy...



I would not try the fixed base router. I see bad things possibly happening with that. A drill press followed by a small amount fo chisel work would be a better bet. I use a plunge router and a Mortise Pal but that's a more long term solution than you may be looking for.

So it looks like you have the workpiece clamped in the vice and then that Mortise Pal clamps to it. So your plung router just rides along the top of the mortise pal? Or do you need to setup another fence apparatus. Your Mortise pal looks to be a very easy, simple method. I gotta say - I like to keep things simple, which is why i've hand cut most things. Hand cut is time consuming, etc. but I don't have 50 jigs laying around to help me, which is what i like.

[Frank Drew]

John,

As many others have noted, a plunge router would make quick work of this job, without any pre-drilling or need to follow up with chopping the mortise clean.

If you do use a router, in my experience rounding the ends of the tenons is much faster than chopping the mortise ends square.

And, as you said yourself, absolutely don't try to do this freehand with a router. :eek: