Angled Tenon Discussion

[Israel]

Hello.. I am working on a chair that has a compound angled tenon on the front rail. Probably a basic question, but does anyone know of an article/discussion that explains the ins/outs of how to lay these out and cut them? Thanks!

[Grayman]

Mitch Peacock's you tube videos are very well done, although if I recall correctly, this one is primarily hand tools, but should give you some basic ideas about the joint gets layed out.

Mitch Peacock you tube vid

[handi]

I've done these before.

Cut the mortise first. Then cut a scrap the same width and thickness as your stock. Try your layout on it until you get it right.

For these I tend to draw everything out and use the bandsaw for the cutting of the shoulders.

One more tip: when you get things close, shave a slight back bevel to all the shoulders. That way, as you clamp, any small gaps will be closed since the point on the shoulders can compress into the leg. This is an old stair builder'so trick.

Ralph

[jteneyck]

This is another application where loose tenons make a lot of sense. You make a jig to hold the workpiece at whatever combination of angles is needed and then cut as many identical mortises as needed.

John

[Curlycherry]

The Leigh FMT mortise and tenon jig makes these a snap. Expensive but for a job like this it works like a charm.

Festool Domino is also good for these too.

Both are not cheap solutions but they both work great.

[AHill]

Curlycherry said:

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The Leigh FMT mortise and tenon jig makes these a snap. Expensive but for a job like this it works like a charm.

Festool Domino is also good for these too.

Both are not cheap solutions but they both work great.

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I've not used the FMT jig, but I'm wondering how you would do a compound angle with the Domino. I would think you'd need a setup block to get the second angle.

I think the OP's real challenge is the mortise, not the tenon. If the front rail is round, then it is cut like any another chair tenon - tapered. The compound angle is really the mortise into the legs. I don't think an FMT or Domino are appropriate for such a joint.

[JGrout]

someone will be along shortly to tell you what a snap it is

[JR1]

Check out the Domino documentation links. Chris Schwartz has a good explanation of the compound angles on the Parson's joint on p18 of his supplementary manual. There are a number of other examples in the latest revision of the official manual.

[AHill]

JR1 said:

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Check out the Domino documentation links. Chris Schwartz has a good explanation of the compound angles on the Parson's joint on p18 of his supplementary manual. There are a number of other examples in the latest revision of the official manual.

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It's in Rick Christopherson's Supplemental Manual, not Chris Schwarz's. If that's what the OP wants, then that's the way to do it with a Domino. That said, the mortises and tenons on that joint are square to the face the tenon is applied - no angles at all. The joint might be a compound angle, but the mortise and tenon are not. To me (and maybe my brain is wired wrong), a compound angle means an angle off two of three axes. For example, the spindles on the back of a Windsor chair are tilted back, and splayed outward. I guess I'm taking the OPs description very literally, where he said compound angle tenon.

[DogwoodTales]

This may not apply exactly to what you are doing, but maybe this will help find a solution.

http://woodtube.ning.com/video/tapered-tenon-shoulder