Making Tenons....TS Jig or Horizontal RT?

[George Farra]

Hi Everyone

In either case I would be purchasing a jig/RT or making a RT. I have been using a dado blade on my TS to cut tenons. I want to try some other method as I am not getting very consistent results.

My TS is a Bosch 4100.....Can I use a commercially made tenoning jig like the Delta, Rockler, or Grizzly jigs on the Bosch saw??

From a set up standpoint, what have you all found to be easier.....using a jig on a TS or using a horizontal RT setup? I'm looking for ease in setup, yet repeatablilty and accuracy.....the dado setup I'm using today is giving me neither of those :rolleyes:

I will be building a new RT which will house a dedicated Freud 3.25hp router. Since I'm making the RT, I can build a horizontal accessory specifically for this purposes....though I hear raising panels on a horizontal RT is also much easier.

Thoughts??

TIA

George

[Dave Gaul]

Does the 4100 have standard 3/4" miter slots? If so, then any Tenoning Jig should work.

I have not tried making tenons on a RT yet, but I do find it very simple & reliable to make then using a Tenoning Jig on the table saw.

FWIW, I use the Woodcraft Tenoning Jig (got it last year for a huge discount during one of their online tent sales).

[Rod Sheridan]

I've never owned a router table so i can't comment on that method.

I do own a sliding table shaper which is how I make my tenons, if you put two cutters on with a spacer it cuts both cheeks at once. Otherwise cut one cheek when using a single cutter.

A router table would be similar except you can't cut a very long tenon in one pass with a router bit.

Prior to the sliding shaper I used a standard shaper and a sled.

Prior to that I used a tablesaw and a tenon jig, two main problems, I couldn't come up with a guard that works, and since the pieces are vertical it was impossible to tenon pieces longer than about 4 feet.

The tenon jig did however make nice tenons, with good depth of cuts possible.

Regards, Rod.

[George Farra]

Thanks guys for you input. I will check the miter slot on the 4100. I do beleive its a standard slot as I've upgraded the miter gauge to an Incra without any issues.

I recognize that either method has its limits....however the depth of cut on a RT maybe more limiting for me which I didn't think of so it sounds like the jig on a TS is my next setup to try. Anything longer than 2 feet I would resort back to the dado set up to allow the stock to lay flat on the TS surface instead of sticking up in the air clamped to the jig....that sounds pretty scary to control :)

George

[Paul Symchych]

Rod: I'm hijacking this thread to ask for specifics on the cutter(s) you use with the shaper. I have a Jet with 3/4" spindle and a sled but have not seen a straight cutter with enough depth of cut to make tenons.
Lacking that I've been using the bandsaw but the shaper would be quicker and cleaner.

[David Kumm]

Paul, My first choice is the bandsaw but I also use the shaper with a regular dado blade setup. Run shaper on slowest speed. I usually put the dado under the cut and clamp everything down really well. Dave

[Frank Drew]

George, I got consistently excellent results using a table saw and dado blades on a sliding table saw; I got reasonably good results on a different saw using the stock miter gauge and dado blades.

Can you tell us a bit more about what's going wrong with your use of a table saw and dado set? Are you using a miter gauge?

[pat warner]

Perfect shoulders (http://patwarner.com/images/index_tenon.jpg) all in the same plane, near zero defects on all faces, centered on 2, 3 or 4 faces?
Then Jig-fixtured on-end, router cut. Would not use a saw nor horizontal router table except for rough cuts.
And tenons are about the most forgiving router operation there is, so a pre-waste is a waste of time.

[Rod Sheridan]

http://www.felder-tooling.us/werkzeug/frasa/falz-fraswerkzeuge/wpl-hw-falzkopf-z2-v4-220xb30mm-industrie-ausfhrung.html

This will cut a 3" deep tenon.

I use an FS Tools dado set on my shaper for long tenons, and a 125mm X 50mm rebate head for short tenons ( up to 1 inch)

http://www.felder-tooling.us/werkzeug/frasa/falz-fraswerkzeuge/wpl-hw-falzkpfe-profi-ausfhrung.html

Regards, Rod.

[Neil Brooks]

I've got the 4100.

I've got the Rockler knock-off of all the other tenoning jigs.

Works ... not only fine, but just great !

Standard miter slots -- the reason my first TS -- a cheap Ryobi -- is now a paperweight ;)

[Mike Henderson]

I use my table saw with a sled and get very good results. I use a stop block so that my shoulders all line up.

Mike

[John TenEyck]

I've cut them about every way possible I think. A router sure cuts them smooth and the shoulders are perfect, but it's a noisy operation to be sure, and slow compared to a saw. The tenon jig does a great job once you get it set up, but mine never worked to my satisfaction. I keep coming back to my dado set in my radial arm saw. Repetitive cuts are a snap with a stop and, best of all, I can see exactly what's going on. Angled, wide, deep cuts, etc. are all pretty easy with it. But I cut fewer and fewer traditional tenons these days since I built a horizontal router driven moritiser. Loose tenons do a great job for most applications and the horizontal mortiser makes cutting the mortises fast and precise. Personally, I would not use a router table as my number one choice for cutting M&T joints.

[Frank Drew]

Then Jig-fixtured on-end, router cut.

Pat, can you describe that operation? Are you using a hand-held router with the workpiece secured vertically?

FWIW, tenons made on my sliding table saw with the dado set were, in all important respects, indistinguishable from yours (except for the shallow, and inconsequential, score marks from the outer dado blades.)

[Myk Rian]

I find the TS and my Delta TJ is easier to set up than the RT.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Done them all kinds of ways, and depending on what they're for, how many there are, and the wind direction that day, I still do. BS, multiple passes with dado stack, hand saws....not by router, thouhg - don't have a router table.

But, for me, the cleanest, flattest, most accurate, most repeatable, and - usually - the fastest is to use the miter gauge to make the face shoulders, then the tenon jig to cut the cheeks. The cheeks/shoulders on the edges are handsaw.

The 2' issue you noted - my limit is maybe 42" due to overhead dust filter unit - no issues. But, for unwieldy stuff, I will use two backer blocks covered with PSA sandpaper - one between the wood + jig, and one between the wood and screw clamp face. And crank down on the screw clamp.

[pat warner]

Platform ~ 8 x 10, work squared to that with an adjustable fence. Cuts done with piloted cutter (Similar to this one (http://patwarner.com/images/starter_bits4.jpg)x 4" OAL), 7 shoulder widths possible.