Needed to make a few mortises..

[steven c newman]

But i didn't have quite the "required" tools. Vise?252967Jaws are so worn, that any "teeth" are gone. Might work. Mortise chisels? 252968Not quite a "Pig-Sticker". Just an old 5/16" wide, no-name:eek: chisel

Got tired of break outs at the top of leg mortises, so, I just run the mortise all the way out. Makes it easier to do a little extra step252969Defines the area I am working in. Might be a little overcut at the bottom, but the apron will cover that. Do I chop all the way? Ah, no, takes too long. i will just split out the waste252970and then pare to fit252971 I figure with a little more Prac-tizing, I can do one in ten minutes, start to final fit. Comes in handy, when there are a few to do252972 tried to make some corner blocks, to strengthen the corners, and leave a place to fasten the top to. Mitersaw was a "cordless" one252973:eek: and the corner blocks were in need of a block plane to make them fit252974 I'll add some screws into the aprons, a slottedhole for the top hold-down. Then maybe I can start on the top of this cheap little table. Beveling all the top edges of the top of the table. Let's see, i might have a plane or two for that.:rolleyes:

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Got tired of break outs at the top of leg mortises, so, I just run the mortise all the way out.

Nothing wrong with bridle joints, but if you want to fight breakout at the tops, the trick is to leave some extra length, chop your mortises, and then cut to final length. The couple of times I've done this, I've left the stock long enough for two pieces, cut the mortises, and then cut it in half to get two pieces. Sometimes, you just got to do it with an opened top mortise if the stock you have is already at length, of course. And a bridle joint is often a heck of a lot quicker! .

[steven c newman]

Over time, I've the tops have popped out, anyway. Took a top off last year, to refinish everything. Yep, some had popped out. Not sure how a bridal joint would work on a leg with aprons going at 90* from each other.253142253143253144I also tend to snuggle those corner blocks up tight to the leg's corner. maybe someday, I'll run a screw through and into the leg. Screw to fasten the top goes through THAT area though, might be a bit crowded...

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

oops! I didn't expand all the photos, so when I saw you cutting the open ended mortise, I thought it was going to be going through the piece, hence the bridle joint comment.-