Mortise and tenon

[Glen Bridges]

Okay I'm new to the forum and I'm a novice at this. I want to try to make a small table using the mortise tenon method. How deep do you want to make mortise if you using a leg is 1 3/4"x1 3/4". Should I drill 13/16" deep? The next cut on the next side witch is just 90 degrees away, will it interfere with the first mortise?

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[duckkisser]

i believe the general rule is little over half way that way the far side is not too weak to stress.  i haven done many mortise and tenon and when i did i messed them up. 

[Dave H]

On a table leg when two mortise's converge I would put a 45 deg. miter cut on the converging tenons that way you have maximum penetration in the leg mortise's by both tenons. That's the way I've approached apron to leg connections on the tables I've built in the past.

[wtnhighlander]

Another way to cut tenons which intersect inside their motices is to cut opposing 'haunches' on each tenon, one on the top half, the other on the bottom. That way they overlap inside the mortice. I doubt it any stronger than mitering the tenons, but might be more convenient to cut.

[Beechwood Chip]

I was thinking about why people use haunched tenons instead of mitered tenons.  I suspect it's because two right angle cuts with a hand saw is easier than the 45. I think that the amount of long grain glue area is the same for both.

[Byrdie]

Part of the answer to the question depends on how much of a reveal you're going to have in front of the aprons on the leg.  If you're mortising dead center on the legs then going half the depth of the leg is going to have the tenons interfering with one another and you'll have to use one of the methods discussed above to have them meet in the middle.

 

However, the more typical approach to mortising in an apron on a leg is to have it closer to the front of the leg.  With a 1.75" wide leg you might try having just .25" between the apron and the front of the leg.  If your aprons are the typical .75" thick then that would leave .75" behind the apron on the leg.  You could then make your tenons a full .75" long and they should just miss one another.

 

Oh, and the answer to the tenon length is typically half the width of the leg.  You want as long a tenon as possible without compromising the strength of the leg.

[Glen Bridges]

You guys have all given great advise. This really helps tremendously. Thank you. I'm probably going to go get my materials later this week I can't wait to get started.

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