Maxed out mortise router depth, is it enough?

[Daniel Dmochowski]

I am making table legs and aprons that are using mortise and tenon joints. I have the bit maxed out at 1.75 inches deep and .5 inches wide. The tenon is 2.75 inches tall, .5 inches wide and 1.75 inches long. I have read over and over to shoot for 4 to 5x the tenon width for its length and I just dont have any more in the router bit. The only option would be chisel but I already have the tendons made with rounded corners which means if I chiseled them out I would have to make the tendons smaller by squaring them off.

If it matters the table legs that have the mortise are 3.5x3.5 inches of glued up 1x4s.

Am I over thinking this or should I dig those out another half inch or more and make the tenon longer? Thanks.

[Mike Henderson]

If you want to go deeper, just used a drill press and drill the mortise a bit deeper. You can use bench chisels to clean up the bit remaining between where you drilled the holes.

I generally use that technique when I make mortises - I drill out the mortise and clean up with bench chisels. Then fit the tenon to the mortise (which means making the tenon a bit "fat" so you have some trim on the tenon.)

But it depends on the size of the table - 1.75" long might be enough for the tenons.

Mike

[Daniel Dmochowski]

I dont have a drill press. I could go get one but my wife would be like wow you needed another tool for that table? Haha. There have been a few times it would have come in handy.

[Jamie Buxton]

If you have a nice fit between the tenon and the mortise -- which you should when you've cut the mortise with a plunge router -- a 1 3/4" tenon length for that joint will be fine.

If you want to make the joint even sturdier, cross-pin it.

[Daniel Dmochowski]

ok nice, I was going to put screws through it bc its going to be painted white with stained top so once they are counter sunk and filled they will be invisible

[Michelle Rich]

are you planning to butcher a moose on this table? Or do you have gymnasts arriving soon? Those tenons seem large enough to me. If you want, put a dowel thru them to ease your mind. to me.

[John Jardin]

I am making table legs and aprons that are using mortise and tenon joints. I have the bit maxed out at 1.75 inches deep and .5 inches wide. The tenon is 2.75 inches tall, .5 inches wide and 1.75 inches long. I have read over and over to shoot for 4 to 5x the tenon width for its length and I just dont have any more in the router bit. The only option would be chisel but I already have the tendons made with rounded corners which means if I chiseled them out I would have to make the tendons smaller by squaring them off.

If it matters the table legs that have the mortise are 3.5x3.5 inches of glued up 1x4s.

Am I over thinking this or should I dig those out another half inch or more and make the tenon longer? Thanks.

For future projects, I'd suggest that making the mortise first allows you to fine tune the tenon using a shoulder plane if you have one.

[Daniel Dmochowski]

Yeah i made the mortise first but then later realized from my research it might not be deep enough if you go by the guidelines of 4 to 5 times the width for length.

[Lee Schierer]

If your router has a 1/2" chuck you can buy an end mill that is an inch longer than your router bit. The end mill bit will work to get your additional depth.

[Daniel Dmochowski]

I just read an article on those after reading your comment. I wasn't even aware of those! I unfortunately have a 1/4 inch router. One of the things I have learned from this whole process was I should have got a bigger one off the bat.

[Scott Bernstein]

I made a table with finger joints connecting the legs to the 2.75" thick top (no apron). I made joinery on my pantorouter but had the same issue with my router bit not being long enough to make the 2.75" fingers (1/2" thick). So...I started looking into end mills. Eventually I came across an Amana 1/2" diameter straight cutting router bit with a 1/2" shank and 3" cutting length. I used the 2" version to start the cut and then switched to the 3" long version for remaining inch. I did this to avoid vibration along the full 3" cutting length which I thought could be a problem doing the whole cut at once. I found this bit online. In the past I have had custom router bits made by Ridge Carbide and that would be another option for something like this.

Good luck!
SB