Building a Bed, How to cut those tenons?

[Trevor Walsh]

So when cutting the cheeks of 55" and 75" stretchers, how exactly do you hold it, and position yourself? If I had two stories it would be simple to hang it over the railing and clamp it at working height, but I don't. Any thoughts on this?

[Stuart Tierney]

Stick it in the vise, crouch down and have at it with a ryoba.

Maybe not politically correct, but that's how I've cut tenons on long stuff every time they needed to be cut.


Just is not a problem.

Stu.

[Simon Frez-Albrecht]

When cutting the stretchers for my workbench, I just put them on a sawbench and sawed below me (with a Western saw). I stabilized them upright with my knee, if I remember correctly. I agree that you could also lay it up on a work surface, crouch down, and cut with a pull saw.

[Zahid Naqvi]

mark the lines and clamp the stretchers upright on your work bench (not standing vertically but on the edge, one of those a picture is worth a thousand word situation). Make the first 45 degree cut on one side, flip the stretcher and make the second 45 degree cut on the opposite side. The rest should be relatively easy even if you have to saw horizontally.

[Jim Matthews]

I will try a jig for mine, and soon (tenons for breadboards - the boards are nearly 6 feet long).
This cuts the tenon cheek parallel to the

The jig I just viewed is a simple 90 degree corner block. The top of the corner blocks acts as a guide for the ryoba or flush cut saw.
Align your mark for the tenon cheek to the top of the corner block with shims. If the tenon is thicker than the corner block, shim the block.

My problem is that as a right hander, I need to work from the back of my bench for sufficient clearance of the board while cutting.
(If I can find the recent entry, I'll link it here.)

jma
wpt, ma

[Salem Ganzhorn]

This probably isn't what you are looking for but use a bandsaw :). Last time I had to cut tenons like these I cut one by hand and the rest with my bandsaw. I don't think I improved my skill or the project with that one I cut by hand. You can still tune them with a router plane :)
Good luck!
Salem

[John McPhail]

I stand on a chair if there is enough clearance with the ceiling, otherwise I put one end in the vise and the other on the floor and make the angle cuts that way, flipping the work over as necessary. The I crouch and finish the cut.

I've considered kneeling on the bench above the work, but my knees....

[Rob Fisher]

I like Zahid's idea. I might even set one end of the stretcher on the ground, with the other end in a vise. This would put the entire piece at a low angle. Crouch down and have at it sawing at 45, flip and repeat. Finish up the triangle in the middle.

[Zach Dillinger]

Cut the shoulders, then split the cheeks off with a wide chisel. Much faster than sawing, and accurate enough for the job. Clean up with a paring chisel, a wood rabbet plane, a shoulder plane or a router plane.

[Jim Koepke]

I recently cut tenons on 8' long rails by laying it on my saw tables and making the cut vertically.

For a bed frame I did it a little differently for a platform bed:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?142550-Platform-Bed&

Of course, if you are making a more traditional bed this might only be a diversion.

jtk

[Trevor Walsh]

Zahid's idea makes a lot of sense, so does Stuart's ryoba. Salem, do you talk your mother with that mouth? :) My workshop is the 2nd (actually master bedroom) in my apartment. My girlfriend and I agreed you don't need much room to sleep, but you need a lot to sew and woodwork. There is zero electrical tool work (save the sewing machine) going on up here.

Jim, I've seen the jig you are referring to and that is another option. My tenons are fairly short, 1" thick 1 1/2" deep and 5" long; and 1" thick, 1/2" deep and 5" long. Going it freehand with the ryoba might be just fine. Thanks for the input guys, Time to order some LV bed bolts (set for the bed and a set for my long awaited workbench, which is another post)

[David Keller NC]

I'll second Zach's thought - it's way, way, WAY easier to cut the shoulders on tenons like these, pare/split most of the waste with a chisel, and "parallel" the final surface with a router plane, float, rabbetting block plane, or coarse rasp/file.