Fine tuning tenons by sanding?

[Darl Bundren]

I just finished cutting some tenons in some white oak for a nightstand (my first M&T furniture ever) and, just as I feared, the tenons are too tight for snug assembly. I am thinking that I might use a belt sander upside down in the workmate to sand them down a bit. Is this a recipe for disaster? And, other than planing (no plane) are there other easy ways to get the tenons to fit? Thanks in advance.

[Andrew Williams]

try a rasp first

[David Weaver]

Or if a rasp is too aggressive, a big bastard file. I use a bastard file to clean out my mortises. Not for the purists, but it works.

[Joe Spear]

And hold it as square as you can, without cutting into the shoulders.

[Eric Wong]

I think a belt sander might be too aggressive. A shoulder plane is really the best tool for this job, but if you don't have one, I would either use a sharp chisel, sandpaper (hand sanding), or a file. Proceed carefully!

[Howard Phillips]

I agree that a shoulder plane would be best, however a card scraper (drawn along the length of the tenon, depending on how much needs to be taken off) or a chisel would do. I would use either of these before a belt sander.

[Mike Henderson]

I always make my tenons too tight and trim to fit. For the cheeks, I use a LN rabbit block plane, but paring with a sharp chisel will also work well. I haven't tried the rasps as suggested by others but that should work also.

I think most people cut tight and then trim. It's harder to add material back - which you do by gluing a piece of veneer to one of the cheeks.

Mike

[James Phillips]

Planes are cheap. I would use this as an excuse to get one. I know not all planes are cheap, but you are going to have to flatten the bottom and sharpend it anyway, so you might as well buy an inexpensive one

[Hans Braul]

I agree with the opinions above that a shoulder plane is the ideal tool for this job, and this appears to be the perfect opportunity to buy a sweet new tool! I have the Lee Valley medium and I love it.

Hans

[Jesse Cloud]

If you wish to sand the tenon, the issue is keeping it flat and square. Best way to do this is to making sanding sticks. Take a piece of scrap, rip it to size (I generally go for a foot long and a couple of inches wide). Make enough pieces so that when put together the width is a little more than a sheet of sandpaper (or half a sheet). Spray some adhesive on the sticks and put a piece of 100 (or so) grit sandpaper on the sticks (grit side up of course:rolleyes:).

Then rip them apart with a utility knife.

You can get a very tight fit this way, but test often and look to see where the tenon gets burnished, then sand more there.

If you take off too much, glue a strip of veneer onto the thin side, let it dry and start over.

Good luck. M&T is a great joint and you will feel great once you have mastered them.

BTW, I agree that a shoulder plane would be a good investment!

[Bob Wingard]

Back in High School Woodshop, I remember the teacher preaching to NEVER sand a surface that is to be glued .. .. .. ALWAYS GLUE A CUT JOINT. He said that the dust pushed into the pores during sanding will reduce the joint strength. I like to hang around at the ShopSmith demonstrations and bring that up right after they brag about "tuning" a miter by sanding just before gluing it up.

I have no quantitative figures to back up how much, if any the strength is lost, but I've always abided by his teachings and have never found him to be wrong.

[Ellen Benkin]

You probably only have to remove a slight bit of wood to make the fit and a sander will be MUCH TOO rough for that. Try a plane, if you have one. It usually only takes a couple of strokes. If not, a rasp or file or chisel. NOT a belt sander!

[Doug Shepard]

When you say they're too tight, I take that to mean that you can get them started in the mortise? If so, you sure wont need to take much off. I'd just wrap a piece of 80 grit around a block of wood, then clean the corner of the shoulder out with a sharp chisel. Make sure you dont concentrate all on one side though or the pieces may not go together flush.

[Andrew Williams]

I usually use a shoulder plane on the cheeks if the tenon is way too tight. I don't like doing it, because it rolls the grain off, leaving all sorts of loose fibers. I always finish it up with a rasp anyway. A card scraper would work too. I think a bullnose plane would be best for the final cheek smoothing. Or a skew-blade rabbet plane. Anything that cuts with the grain instead of across it.

Gives me a reason to buy a bullnose and skew-blade rabbet plane too ;)

[Darl Bundren]

Thanks, everybody! I used a couple of chisels (after, of course, I looked up plane prices and found them out of my league for right now:(), and now the tenons fit pretty well. I need to tweak the depth of the mortises now, but I'll have to get on that tomorrow or this weekend.

[pat warner]

"And, other than planing (no plane) are there other easy ways to get the tenons to fit? Thanks in advance."

I never touch the tenons (http://patwarner.com/images/index_tenon.jpg), they're as-cut.
The mortise, on the other hand, is tuned to the net section of the tenon with this. (http://patwarner.com/images/morticing_jig3.jpg)

[Jim Becker]

Shoulder plane, chisels and/or a simple sanding block are all you need. A belt sander could very well destroy your workpiece!

[Roy Bennett]

Daryl, don't bother tweeking the mortice depth - just trim the tenon length. You will loose very little joint strength!