Tenon tooling for shaper...

[Jeff Duncan]

So where did you purchase your tenoning tooling from? I have a project that's going to require about 80+ tenons roughly 3/4" thick and up to 3-1/2" long. The length rules out cheating by using my Freeborn cabinet door cutters. I don't see myself getting to deep into doors and windows so not looking to spend on one of the high end sets that do the works. I just need a pair of somewhat larger diameter cutters, (6" - 9" dia. I'd guess?), that'll make a basic square shouldered tenon and won't break the bank. I've done some looking online and for some reason I'm just not finding them. CG Schmidt has some tenon tooling but lacking pics and CT Saw and Tool has no pics at all! I like pics b/c they help me make sure I'm ordering what I want, as I might not always have the correct name for the part

thanks,
Jeff

[peter gagliardi]

Schmidt makes tenon discs that fit a shaper, they use CB knife stock, and are probably the least expensive way out if buying new.
I have one, and it works pretty well considering
I think Garniga and Zuani make them up to about 12” diameter. They use standard carbide inserts, and will be priced quite a bit more is my guess.
I have some Zuani in I think 160 mm dia. They cut very nicely.

[Jared Sankovich]

Whitehill is the cheapest, about 1/2 the price of Schmidt heads. 5" (125mm) up through 12" (300mm) the 200mm heads (4" max tenon) are about $165 each.

Though they take pin knives not corrugated like the Schmidt, but blanks are cheap.

https://www.whitehill-tools.com/cata...?cid=2&c2id=28

[brent stanley]

Straight knives in the Whitehill discs work great, but I don't use mine anymore and just use the combi head flush mounted so the tenon passes over the top. Crisp clean corners with the scribes and shear knives but of course only one side at a time.

B

[Joe Calhoon]

Jeff,
For 3 1/2 long tenons depending on shaft size you will need about a 250mm disk. Tenon disks with knickers will give the cleanest cut. Off the shelf these are usually not readily available. White hill and Schmidt might have something.
if you don’t want to spend on tooling stacked 10” saw blades give a consistent tenon. Shoulders have to be cut on a table saw but this would be more consistent than single side tenon cutting.

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[brent stanley]

So where did you purchase your tenoning tooling from? I have a project that's going to require about 80+ tenons roughly 3/4" thick and up to 3-1/2" long. The length rules out cheating by using my Freeborn cabinet door cutters. I don't see myself getting to deep into doors and windows so not looking to spend on one of the high end sets that do the works. I just need a pair of somewhat larger diameter cutters, (6" - 9" dia. I'd guess?), that'll make a basic square shouldered tenon and won't break the bank. I've done some looking online and for some reason I'm just not finding them. CG Schmidt has some tenon tooling but lacking pics and CT Saw and Tool has no pics at all! I like pics b/c they help me make sure I'm ordering what I want, as I might not always have the correct name for the part

thanks,
Jeff

Hi Jeff, here's the catalogue page that shows all the diameter options. Lots of pictures!

http://whitehill.tools/catalogue/#page=105

Spurrs in the inside corner are really nice, but these do perform well.

They're also coming out with a range of 250mm diameter adjustable groovers which would have spurs (knickers), but you'd have to ask if they condone inverting them for use in forming tenons, I'm not sure.

B

[Steve Hubbard]

The OP asked about a tenon tool for a shaper, but what about a tenoning jig for the table saw?

[Brian Holcombe]

Joe,

Does anyone make a small diameter, full kerf, rip blade? I setup my Bridgeport for tenoning in the same way that you do the shaper, but the saw blades I've been using are .080 kerf and the plates aren't really as stiff as I would prefer them to be. Are you using a full kerf blade?

[Dave Cav]

Sounds like a good opportunity to get a tenoner.

I got a pair of custom made tenon cutting disks from Freeborn in Spokane a number of years ago, but I don't think they will cut 3 1/2"; my shaper has only a 3/4" spindle and I didn't want to go too big. They worked ok, but my Millbury tenoner works a lot better.

[Jared Sankovich]

Jeff,
For 3 1/2 long tenons depending on shaft size you will need about a 250mm disk. Tenon disks with knickers will give the cleanest cut. Off the shelf these are usually not readily available. White hill and Schmidt might have something.
if you don’t want to spend on tooling stacked 10” saw blades give a consistent tenon. Shoulders have to be cut on a table saw but this would be more consistent than single side tenon cutting.

A0EA2348-C52D-47FA-BAF4-4CB97C3523F4.jpg
E0E18810-7CC0-4C25-BAEC-C2AFB9EB198F.jpg
FD837CC8-30E6-443F-B78E-F2ADF3424C8F.jpg

Schmidt and whitehill measure the bare head, so a 200mm whitehill head is 250mm with knives.

Sounds like a good opportunity to get a tenoner.

I got a pair of custom made tenon cutting disks from Freeborn in Spokane a number of years ago, but I don't think they will cut 3 1/2"; my shaper has only a 3/4" spindle and I didn't want to go too big. They worked ok, but my Millbury tenoner works a lot better.

I have a millbury, but a couple tenon discs are cheaper, and take up a lot less space if you already have a shaper big enough to turn them.

[Joe Calhoon]

Joe,

Does anyone make a small diameter, full kerf, rip blade? I setup my Bridgeport for tenoning in the same way that you do the shaper, but the saw blades I've been using are .080 kerf and the plates aren't really as stiff as I would prefer them to be. Are you using a full kerf blade?

Brian,

how small? Most tooling companies will make custom saw blades. Zuani has made some small diameter blades for bead removal. These are in the 6” range. You might try Vexor in Denver. Thicker- heavier blades work better for this. I have a couple 3 mm kerf blades for the shaper and they get to fluttering if cutting too deep.

Another method for cost saving or if your shaper is not up to the task is a simple jig for the sliding saw. Adjust it with the fence stops and clamp it to the table or fence.

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[Jeff Duncan]

Thanks guys.... lots of info here to digest! Shaper's up to the task, I'll do it on the SCM.... 9hp and can sink a 12" diameter head under the table. I just don't want to break the bank on tooling I may not get a lot of use out of. I'm already having to drop a chunk of cash on a hollow chisel mortiser once I find one, (another thing I'll not likely get much use out of), but being historical work these tenons and mortises need to be square edge, so my slot mortiser is out I'm going to call Monday and see what shipping from the UK would cost.... damn shame as I just came back from there 2 weeks ago! I'll also check around for used.... hadn't even thought of that!

Table saw would be trickier as my dado's and tenon jig are all for the 10" saw, nothing for the 12". Also doing the longer pieces, (60"), could be a bit tricky as they may hit the overhead dust collection. Doing them with the sliding table is/could be an option. Will be more time consuming, but could save me a bunch of cash.

Anyway I'll have to re-read this thread a couple times over the weekend and put some thought into it.... thanks all!

JeffD

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks Joe! I'll check into both of those brands, I use a 7" blade now and probably will stick with that size. I'm also probably going to buy a 1.25" arbor for the machine.

Jeff,

I use a Bridgeport mill for the rip cuts with a saw blade, which is very similar to Joe's method of using a shaper with saw blades except that using a shaper would be much much faster. Then cut the shoulders on the sliding saw, easy and 80 tenons will go exceptionally quickly.

[Mark Hennebury]

If this is just a one time deal, why not just farm it out to someone who has a tenoner. It's a pretty quick job for someone with the equipment.

Some years back i did all of the tenons and mortises for 300 bunk bed sets for a customer. It would have been hard for them to set up and do it, and was a piece of cake for me.

Why are you thinking about a hollow chisel mortiser and not a swing chisel mortiser like a Maka?

[Darcy Warner]

If this is just a one time deal, why not just farm it out to someone who has a tenoner. It's a pretty quick job for someone with the equipment.

Some years back i did all of the tenons and mortises for 300 bunk bed sets for a customer. It would have been hard for them to set up and do it, and was a piece of cake for me.

Why are you thinking about a hollow chisel mortiser and not a swing chisel mortiser like a Maka?

Might take 30 minutes to set up and maybe 30 minutes to run on a tenoner.

For some reason I have 8. Not sure how that happened