Wedge through tenon - legs too narrow?

[Patrick Irish]

I’ve got a 43” long walnut top I want to make a console table. It’s 1 5/8” thick and about 9” wide.


Plan was to do 4 through wedge mortises for the legs and a floating drawer I’m still thinking how.


I cut the 4 walnut legs at about 2” x 1 13/16”. Well after the jointer and planer the legs on the right measured with my calipers at 1.88” x 1.78” and 2” x 1.92”. These plan to be the front legs.


Are these legs too small/narrow now for wedge through mortises? Maybe just a single wedge of thats a in the middle of the tenon if that’s possible.


The pair of legs on the left a little bigger I think 2” x 1.85”.

[Pat Barry]

I think this would be fine, although, I'd probably want to orient the wedge to be parallel to the sides, across the grain of the top, not with the grain.

[steven c newman]

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wedges.jpg
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[Patrick Irish]

Thanks guys. I also don’t think I need shoulders on all 4 sides of the tenon. Saves me some material only cutting the shoulder on two sides.

As for cutting the kerf in the tenon, would bandsaw be ok? Don’t I need to drill a small relief hole in the tenon so it doesn’t split when the wedge is added?

[Prashun Patel]

Bandsaw is fine for the kerf. Drill the hole after the kerf is made. The drill will follow the kerf .