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Thread: Eliminate Through Tenon Signs

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Greensboro, NC
    Posts
    127

    Eliminate Through Tenon Signs

    I have made 4 staked chairs and I have decided to paint the seats and crest rails. I usually don't paint, but I have completed one chair and you can clearly see in the paint the raised area where the legs come through. I have planed, scraped and sanded for hours, but can't get rid of these signs of where the legs poke through under the paint.

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    2,162
    Unfortunately you won't cover this. The end grain will always move independently of the rest of the timber even if you manage to get it flat initially. It is difficult to get it flat because the end grain is much harder to cut/sand than side grain meaning every stroke rides up and over the end grain relative to the surrounding timber. Cheers

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
    Posts
    3,655
    Wayne is correct. the nature of wood movement will always eventually expose this joint. If you need the joint to be invisible then don't cut the mortise all the way through. Your best hope of hiding it is with a somewhat elastic finish, like a latex paint. Finishes that dry hard will, sooner or later, fracture.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Greensboro, NC
    Posts
    127
    Thanks for the bad news guys! :-) I will be using milk paint, so I guess I'll just have to live with it.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,685
    "Visible joinery" is going to be like that...it's a "feature" if anyone asks...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #6
    Duct tape should hide it..

  7. #7
    We often don't worry about joinery being exposed.

    I would look at it that way.

  8. #8
    Agree, and raise a step. It's a sign of quality old school work.

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