A bit of a delay do to the LOML
Well, in an effort to NOT to leave the group hanging I am posting to say that I have been ordered to finish the dreaded back yard landscape that has somehow alluded us despite our efforts, since we moved here in Aug 2006.
We have been chipping away at it but can I say eating the elephant one forkful at a time makes you quit to go to the bathroom quite often. The growing season around here is a short 4 months and I guess she is right. I will be posting pics of my non morris chair/ non woodworking project in the weekend accomplishments section by Karl Laustrup.
I have hauled 6 tons of breeze and 2 tons of rock so far, plus planted about 20 or so plants with landscape fabric and mulch... working on a retaining wall too. Man I am pooped!
Hope to get back to the easy stuff soon:)
I'm stymied on the tenons, guys
Ok, SO.
I'm done with the legs, aside from some cleaning up of the mortises. I'm starting to work on the tenons, and I'm stymied. I'm not sure of the approach, and the test pieces I put together sort of fit. Nothing fancy - nothing to be proud of.
What's the order of steps, here? My plan was to cut the tenons slightly (like 1/64th on each side) over, and use a sanding block, maybe to make the fit perfect? But that leaves a lot to be desired. If any of the mortises aren't perfect (Which...none are) I'm going to have issues with seating at the shoulders and a good tight fit on the visible end.
I tried one test where I cut the tenon nearly 1/16" strong on each side, then, after it was cleaned up, used the marking knife and traced AROUND the outside of the already cut mortise, then cleaned up to the mark with a chisel and a clamped-on guide block. That seems to have the most promise, but that's a LOT of work. Each will have to be cut by hand, and the test took close to an hour to get an only decent fit. I don't mind, but I want to make sure I'm not missing some easy solution. That's a good 40-hour week to get them all fitting well.
On the other hand, are these SUPPOSED to fit beautifully? Is there supposed to be a slight gap/play that will be firmed up/swollen to fit with the glue or is that acceptable? I've never done these before, so I'm not sure which approach is best. I can cut them all to 1/2" and just tap them in, but I'm afraid the marks left by the mortiser will be so visible as to take away from the whole point of doing these in the first place. Maybe the mortiser shouldn't have left scallop marks because it was set up incorrectly, and now I've got to pay for it?
Any thoughts, guys?