Cutting tenons with the Delta 13-184

[Alex Horvath]

Hi,

Picked up a tenoning jig and the instructions on how to cut the tenons are a little odd - they tell you to back the piece with a spacer for the first cut then remove spacer for second. Searching the web for practical instructions didn't turn up much.

I have seen Norm use this jig and it seems he first cuts the shoulders on the table saw+miter gauge with a nibble operation. He then makes a single cheek cut using the table saw, presumably to get a clean cheek edge. Then he goes to the Delta jig for the final cheek cuts, flipping the piece for the second cut. Is this about right?

When using the jig, it appears the work piece should be clear of the table - i.e. not touching the table saw surface.

Appreciate any other tips. I'll make the mortises with a Jet mortiser.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I use the Delta jig with my G1023.

The wood touching the table works fine for me, make sure the path of the jig has a flat surface to ride on. I lower the saw blade and make sure work piece moves cleanly and smoothly over the blade. Then I raise the blade and make the cut after making sure the saw isn't going to touch the jig. The jig should be setup perfect so everything's aligned and square, etc...

Using a spacer is a good idea for consistent results for tenons, though if your tenon is centered in your work piece, you should just be able to flip the work piece around and not have to use a spacer at all. For offset tenons, the spacer would be the same width as your tenon. You would first put the spacer against the side of the tenoning jig, and clamp your work piece to it. This will be adjusted to cut the cheek of the tenon closest to the jig. Remove the spacer and cut the outer cheek.

There's a bunch of ways to do it, but my order would be like this:

Table saw to cut all shoulders using crosscut sled or miter gauge. This is easy since the work piece is on its side.

Then use tenoning jig to cut tenon cheeks since this is the hairyest part of the operation beacuse your work piece is vertical.

Finally use band saw or whatever to remove the last little piece using a stop block. Tip is to just cut it close to where there's a hair of wood holding the piece on, then clean it up with a chisel.

[Alex Horvath]

I almost learned the hard way that you have to remove the throat plate frequently to clear the sawdust from under the supports (mine tends to rise up with use) and adjust the retention screws.

I had a zero clearance throat plate tip on me once while cutting and I was extremely lucky that the blade did not catch it.

[Von Bickley]

Hi,


I have seen Norm use this jig and it seems he first cuts the shoulders on the table saw+miter gauge with a nibble operation. He then makes a single cheek cut using the table saw, presumably to get a clean cheek edge. Then he goes to the Delta jig for the final cheek cuts, flipping the piece for the second cut. Is this about right?




That's the way I do it to. I also let the wood ride on the TS and I haven't had a problem with that.

[Lee Schierer]

I find that using a ripping blade to make the cheek cuts works better than a high tooth count crosscut blade. The cheek cut is essentially a rip cut. You also want to insure that the inside corner between the cheek cut and the face cut comes out perfectly square. Some blades with an alternate top bevel grind type tooth will leave a raised bevel or ridge in the corner which can make fit up a bear.

[glenn bradley]

I rest the wood on the table. I use a backer board if I need a clean exit as with bridle joints. I cut the cheeks with the jig first and then cut the shoulders on the tablesaw or whatever is appropriate. I do not like the spoil coming free while the piece is in the tenon jig (shoulders cut first). I prefer it to come free during the shoulder cut operation (cheeks cut first).

[Danny Hamsley]

I, too, rest the piece on the table and it works fine for me. I cut the shoulder cuts first on all four sides, then cut the tenons with the jig.

[Stephen Cherry]

Hi,

Picked up a tenoning jig and the instructions on how to cut the tenons are a little odd - they tell you to back the piece with a spacer for the first cut then remove spacer for second. Searching the web for practical instructions didn't turn up much.



That's how I do it. You need to make a spacer that matches your mortising tool. The spacer is roughly, the thickness of your mortising tool, plus one saw kerf. That's an estimate. You want to get a piece of wood that ends up with a snug fit into the mortise. If you make it too thin, glue on a sheet of paper.

You place the spacer into the jig, next to the flat vertical surface, then the workpiece between the spacer the clamp. clamp it down, with the reference (usually the show surface of the wood) surface towards the spacer. The first piece needs to have the tenon marked. Position the slide of the jig so that it will take the cut for the tenon cheek close to the show face of the wood. Make the cut. Loosten the clamp on the jig, and slide the spacer out, and put it on the opposite side of the workpiece, leaving the workpiece oriented in the same position. Make the second cut, which will be the inside cut of the tenon.

Sounds complex, but it takes only seconds. The key is to have a spacer for each mortising tool. This way works well because the you only use one surface of the wood, that way minor differences in thickness do not effect tenon thickness.