M&T Mistake I need your help

[Braden Nichols]

Alright so I screwed up and I need help with the fix. I am building 2 queen anne style side tables with ball and claw feet. The aprons are M&T construction. When I went to dry fit the apron and legs I realized that my mortises are not square (being an idiot can be incredibly frustrating sometimes). I can’t scrap these legs at this point (already shaped and some partially carved). I need help on the fix. I don’t really care about staying true to the style (I care more about getting these done and keeping the wife happy). Below are the couple of fixes that I have come up with. Please let me know what you think about these or have any others.

Cut off tenon and fill in mortise. (have a butt joint with either dowels or angle braces)
Re-cut mortise square. Scab on piece to tenon and size to fit
Thanks for the help

[Bill Huber]

I am not real good on M&T but I know what I would do.

I would do your first fix, cut the tenon off and clean that up, glue a filler block into the mortise and then use dowels to finish it up. But then I am a dowel nut.....

[Todd Bin]

If the tenons are cut correctly then leave them be. Go get some Bondo, mix it up and put it into the mortise. Wait till dry (1 hour). Then you are free to recut the mortise. Of course this assumes that the mortise is not so out of square that part of it will show outside the shoulder of the tenon.

[David Weaver]

I'd choese 2. Unless the error is gigantic (like if the build up of the tenon would have to be so big that the shoulder is gone), it'll never be visible and the original intention of the joinery will still be there (and there will be no loss of strength with a built-up tenon).

[phil harold]

+1 on #2

and if it is still wrong afterwards you can always epoxy it :p

[Jamie Buxton]

Yep, #2. One of the nice things about mortise-and-tenon joints is that they're entirely invisible. If the first mortise is wrong, glue in wood to plug the hole and cut a new one. If the tenon is wrong, glue on more wood and cut a new one. If you're using a M&T joint in the first place, you're already committed to believing that glue works. Putting another glue line or two inside the joint changes nothing.

[David Kumm]

Epoxy with sawdust is the WW equivalent to tar paper and shims. It works and is structural. Dave

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, as Todd indicated, if the tenons are OK, plug and recut the mortise......................Regards, Rod.

[Bob Wingard]

Another option worth consideration ... a good brand of epoxy.

[Jim Matthews]

How was the mortise cut; by hand, or with a router?

If you employed a router, the dimensions should be quite regular. You could plug the opening with a floating tenon cut from the same material.
If you orient the grain of the floating tenon to the leg, the patch should behave as the original material.

Once the plug is dry, you can recut the mortise.

I would not use epoxy, bondo or any other synthetic material if you will rely on a glue joint over the years.

[glenn bradley]

Either scabbing the tenon or plugging the hole and re-cutting the mortise would work for me.

[Ed Griner]

Square up the mortises with the legs,shim and glue as needed with veneer. Same thing with with tenon problems. Ed

[david brum]

I was given really good advice when I got started cutting M & T joints. Save the cutoffs from the tenon cheeks so they can be glued back on in case you cut them too thin. I personally have never had to do this, but I've read of others who have :rolleyes:. If you still have them, just glue and clamp them to the tenon cheeks and let them dry over night. Then you can recut them to whatever thickness you require.

If you have to cut oversize mortises with thicker tenons, so much the better. Thicker tenons make stronger joints anyway, according to FWW's test last year.

[Braden Nichols]

Thank you all for your help. I will try to plug the mortise and recutting.