Router for mortise joints


  #1  
Old 05-22-03, 08:56 AM
D
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Router for mortise joints

Maybe I missed something or am confussed or just do not have all the facts so please help. I understand that you can use a plunge router for making mortise/tenon joints and I have in fact done so on a small scale. However I think the general rule of thumb is that the tenon needs to be about 2/3 of the mortise material so if you are using a 2x4 then the tenon would need to be some where around 2.33 inches long (This applies only if you are going in the side of the 2x4 and not into the thickness of it and using 3.5 instead of 4 since a 2x4 is not really 4 inches wide). The questions I have are first (1) is it possible to find a bit capable of making a mortise that is 2.33 inches deep. I have been using a straight bit for making the small mortise but certainly can not go 2.33 inches deep. (2) I have read that the recommended depth to remove at each pass is only about 1/8 inch thick. I do not see this as an easy task since everytime you go around the mortise you could remove more of the material on the side than the first pass (this assumes your bit is not as wide as the mortise and multiple passes are required to remove the waste material). What am I missing? Thanks
 
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Old 05-22-03, 05:13 PM
C
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What would benefit you is an understanding of jigs and techniques of cutting mortises and tenons. Fine Woodworking magazine has on line archive articles for sale.

Here is another source in the form of a book.

http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/060015.asp

Hope this helps.
 
  #3  
Old 06-05-03, 05:40 PM
jonathan_71730
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router bits

try a flute bit and adjusting ur depths a little more as u go dont want to much dont want to little raptor makes a good one > hope this helps and a couple of clamps with a h made guide/fence would help u as well
 
  #4  
Old 06-17-03, 08:39 PM
gone_fishin
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Drill it out first with a spade bit in a few places. Then make a jig out of plywood with a rectangular hole in it the size of your mortise. Nail stop fences all around the border of the plywood at a distance equal to the distance from the edge of the bit to the edge of the router base (measured off from the edge of the mortise hole in the jig). Now secure it over the 2X4 that has been roughed out with the spade bit and follow the router around inside the border fences on the jig.

If you have any jig following accessories that came with your router (a base with various size diameter extruded collars), the jig can be made much much smaller.
 
 

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