Something I'm kinda proud of...

[Harold Burrell]

OK...I am still new at this...

I am continuing to learn and discover and experiment. And I am having fun doing it.

Ever since I made an extended window sill in the kitchen a couple of years ago, my wife has given me an ever growing list of things that she wants me to build. I am very cool with that.

Anyway...I am currently building her a hall tree (don't ask me why they call it that). Fortunately, her taste in decorating is country/primitive (which is pretty simplistic). I didn't wna to just slap this thing together. I wanted it to last. (Not to mention the fact that I tend to build everything "heavy duty".) So, for the box portion of it, I decided to build a frame. I ripped 2x4's down to 1 1/2 x 1 1/2's and instead of just screwing them together, I wanted to be a little more "authentic" (not to mention "heavy duty") with the joinery.

I went with mortise and tenon.

Mainly because...I've never done it before... (I know...I too have questioned my manhood up to this point.)

To me, this is like the coolest thing ever. Unfortunately, it will soon be covered up...and no one will ever see it. I try to tell my wife and...well...her eyes kind of glaze over.

So, I wanted to show you guys...

[Jason White]

Those look a lot tighter than mine and I've done them on a couple of projects already.

Nice work!!

Jason

OK...I am still new at this...

I am continuing to learn and discover and experiment. And I am having fun doing it.

Ever since I made an extended window sill in the kitchen a couple of years ago, my wife has given me an ever growing list of things that she wants me to build. I am very cool with that.

Anyway...I am currently building her a hall tree (don't ask me why they call it that). Fortunately, her taste in decorating is country/primitive (which is pretty simplistic). I didn't wna to just slap this thing together. I wanted it to last. (Not to mention the fact that I tend to build everything "heavy duty".) So, for the box portion of it, I decided to build a frame. I ripped 2x4's down to 1 1/2 x 1 1/2's and instead of just screwing them together, I wanted to be a little more "authentic" (not to mention "heavy duty") with the joinery.

I went with mortise and tenon.

Mainly because...I've never done it before... (I know...I too have questioned my manhood up to this point.)

To me, this is like the coolest thing ever. Unfortunately, it will soon be covered up...and no one will ever see it. I try to tell my wife and...well...her eyes kind of glaze over.

So, I wanted to show you guys...

[Mike Cutler]

Harold

No one may ever see the joints, but years from now someone will still be able to enjoy the finished piece because of them.

Those are good joints. You should be proud and happy with them.Be sure to post pics of the finished piece.

[Ray Bell]

Good job Harold. You have every reason to be proud.

[Terry Hatfield]

Nice job! Good joinery is never a wasted effort whether one can see it in the finished product or not.

t

[Jeff Weeks]

I went with mortise and tenon.

Nice work! I pinned through a 3" mortise and tennon recently (also for the first time), so I know how much of a pain the butt it can't be, and I can definitely appreciate what you've done!

--Jeff

[Brian Kincaid]

Really good joints! The corners are not Mortise and tenon they are pinned bridle joints. Unless the pin is actually part of the leg then it might be a mortise and tenon?

Search bridle joint in wikipedia. Not trying to criticise, just educate a little (or be educated in the case that I am wrong).

-Brian

[Erik Christensen]

Harlod - you rock dude - don't waste your time on soft pine any more - you have skills (both design & fabrication) that cries out for better material

next time do it in poplar as a minimum

erik

[Tony Shea]

I agree that those joints look nice and tight. I also agree that the corner top and bottom frame joinery is not considered a mortise and tenon joint. Brian got it right with the pinned bridle joint, which is a very strong joint and a very good choice in that situation. Looks like you nailed it minus a tad bit of chipout. You should have better luck with chipout once you move on to hardwood and after a little research and practise, you'll be able to consistantly create the joinery without any chipout. Great work and be careful on this slope, it's an extremely slippery one! Wait till the day comes that you want to dive into creating the joinery all by hand, that's been the most slippery slope I've ever been on. It becomes an addiction and tools are your fix.

[Victor Robinson]

Nice! Don't worry, we're here to appreciate the things your wife won't.

How did you cut the mortises?

[Harold Burrell]

Thanks everyone. I'm thinking that my wife should read these replies.

She is all about, "When's it gonna be done?"

Everything was cut on the tablesaw (with my "new" dado blade...that I bought used).

The openned ended "mortises" were done with a jig that rode on my fence. The tenons that fit into them was done with my miter gauge (of the stock grizzly variety).

I glued all that up. After it dried I drilled the holes for the "posts".

The tenons on the ends of the posts were also cut on the tablesaw and then rounded with a file.

Seriously. I wasn't too worried about chip-out, seeing as this was going to be covered up. I also thought that it might add to the "old country distressed" look.

[George Armstrong]

Sometimes when I'm proud of something I've done I'll write a note next to it. Date it and sign it. One day in the future someone will see these little notes and realize how nuts I REALLY was.

[Roger Bullock]

Great job and good learning experience so it is not wasted time. The first time for anything is the hardest and takes the most time. This skill set will come in handy as you work on more complicated projects. Country or primitive does not mean you have to sacrifice quality workmanship.

[Kirk Simmons]

I've never done a M-T joint yet, you give me hope for the future =)

Right now I'm still cranking out Birdhouses for my wife's Kindergarten class. The end is in sight tho, I have 25 done and only two more to go. Once I get these done then I'll start on something different.

[Aaron Wingert]

Sometimes when I'm proud of something I've done I'll write a note next to it. Date it and sign it. One day in the future someone will see these little notes and realize how nuts I REALLY was.

I do the same thing as George. Nothing anybody can see, but someday when someone pulls the sheetrock off various places in my home they'll find notes about when the remodels were done, by who, why, etc. I do the same thing on built-in's and the occasional furniture piece. A hundred years from now it might be really interesting to someone.

Great looking mortise and tenon joints! There are faster and easier ways these days, but there's something to be said for building it the traditional way!