Best Way to Round Over Corners on Tendons

[Bob Deroeck]

I'm using a plunge router to cut mortises. The tendons are being cut on a tablesaw using a tendon jig.

How do you recommend rounding over the corners of the tendons to fit the mortises? Tools? Technique?

Thanks.

Bob

[Bill Dufour]

"tenons" is the search tern to use.
Bill D

[Warren Lake]

during an emergency room visit a new nurse kept trying to put the morphine line needle into a tendon instead of a vane. I wont end up confusing tendons and Tennons. Had to ask for a new nurse as that was not going to end up working well.

There is lots of info and ways to approach what you want likely in a search function. Even leave the ends is possible, or square your mortises, or round your tennon. With a ton to do a laminate trimmer would do most with a bit of chisel clean up., file or or or depends on how many, your strength is from your side to side end grain gluing,

[Jens Hoffmann]

Chisel and hammer. It only takes a few chops. There is really no need for the tenons to match the curve of the mortise.

[Bob Jones 5443]

If you have lots to do, look for this video by Philip Morley Furniture on YouTube. It's about using the bandsaw to make tenons, but the part you want begins at 8:59.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoUIiYio5Do&list=PLRhXybd0NG-HrN81j0wqfdhexROA9Qk_B&index=2&t=589s

You'll need a router table.
Good luck.

[glenn bradley]

during an emergency room visit a new nurse kept trying to put the morphine line needle into a tendon instead of a vane.

Wait a minute . . . did you misspell vein on purpose or was that a really subtle display of humor?

To the OP: I use a chisel on smaller tenons and may resort to a rasp on larger.

438438

[Bill Dufour]

during an emergency room visit a new nurse kept trying to put the morphine line needle into a tendon instead of a vane. I wont end up confusing tendons and Tennons. Had to ask for a new nurse as that was not going to end up working well.

There is lots of info and ways to approach what you want likely in a search function. Even leave the ends is possible, or square your mortises, or round your tennon. With a ton to do a laminate trimmer would do most with a bit of chisel clean up., file or or or depends on how many, your strength is from your side to side end grain gluing,


Growing up in California I learned that gold comes from veins. If it was in arteries we would all be rich.
Bill D

[Warren Lake]

I typed it both ways, then realized I was avoiding paperwork that was behind so just left it as last typed. Good thing is you understand either way.

Mongo


"Mongo just pawn in game of life"

[Charles Lent]

I never round the ends of squared tenons. I make the tenon the length of the flat sides of the mortise. The strength of a mortise and mating tenon is in the quality of fit between them and not in the rounded ends. I leave the rounded mortise ends empty. It leaves a good place for the excess glue to go. I've been doing this for about 50 years, and never had a M&T joint failure.

[Richard Coers]

I normally make loose tenons, but on either cut or loose I put a 45 degree chamfer on the edges. It still locates nicely, and gives a gap to let excess glue come up and not try and trap it in the bottom of the joint.

[johnny means]

You could be a masochist and square your mortises. It starts being enjoyable once you give in to the suffering.

[Jim Dwight]

I have a hollow chisel mortiser but I never use it since getting a domino. I make up tenon stock in advance out of scraps and I round over the edges on my router table. The time required is almost all setup and that isn't much. It is safer to do fairly long pieces this way, at least a few inches. But it is fast and easy and produces nice fitting tenons. I often plunge the domino tool repeatedly to get longer mortises and then make up tenons to match. I've done tenons over 3 inches wide with it. Edges were rounded over in the router table.

I've used a rasp too but I had to trim the edge with a chisel. It might be a little quicker than the router table but not a lot.

[John Gornall]

I enjoy making single, double, triple, or quadruple rounded tenons and mortises perfectly with my Leigh FMT jig guiding my router. Very fast. Many sizes. Also makes square tenons and works well for loose tenons.

[Jim Becker]

If the tenon is a "Traditional" tenon that's part of the component, use a rasp to round it over quickly, being careful at the shoulder. It doesn't need to be perfect. For loose tenons, round the stock at the router table before cutting to length.

[Matthew Curtis]

Sharp chisel works for me

[Tom Bain]

I’m a little surprised that Festool hasn’t come up with a $1,200 tool to purchase for rounding over the ends on integral tenons ... maybe that would cut into the sale of loose dominos :D

[Bruce Wrenn]

I cut my mortises long on purpose, so I can take care of any alignment issues. Corners of tenons don't need to be rounded

[Bruce King]

I keep a sanding drum in the drill press most of the time. It’s high enough grit to remove wood fast. The part it won’t reach is chiseled or filed down.

[Jacob Mac]

A rasp is definitely my preferred method. Especially because normally I'm lazy and hold the board in my hand. Hard to hurt yourself with a rasp. Much easier to stick yourself with a chisel

[Mike King]

I’m a little surprised that Festool hasn’t come up with a $1,200 tool to purchase for rounding over the ends on integral tenons ... maybe that would cut into the sale of loose dominos :D

Someone else already did. https://pantorouter.com

[lowell holmes]

I have a router mounted in my saw table with a clear plastic panel over it. When I need to round over, I pick a bit with the radius I need and round over the edges. When I'm not routing, it does not interfere with anything.