Howto model the Mortice and Tenon joint in FreeCAD

[@cliffordhallam3270]

At last! an instructor who isn’t in love with the sound of his own voice and can talk at less than 200 words per minute! Brilliant old school instruction which stuck to the topic. Thank you for a fantastic lesson!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. Please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see on the channel and I’ll do my best to cover it

[@Kingeroy]

Freecad and this channel ?... La crème de la crème !!! Merci beaucoup !

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. Please let me know if there is anything specific you'd like to see on the channel

[@PaulW-mc5fr]

Hello sir. Now your countrymen may have just retained the Ashes but finding your KZbin channel has more than made up for that fact. I have been watching other contributors of Freecad tutorials and have ended up confused. So much of teaching any subject matter is to deliver it in a way that can be understood by your audience and that is not always easy. You have done a fine job in your tutorials and this has allowed me to progress further than any of the other videos have allowed to date. I also appreciate the use of spreadsheets that you explain in another video to allow for different dimensions to be tested. Many Thanks

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Paul. I'm sure that there will come a time when our Ashes fortunes are reversed but for now I'm not going to gloat too much lol. I'm glad that the videos have helped you on your FreeCAD journey. I'm constantly learning new things and trying to show how to use them. Please let me know if there are things you'd like to learn and I'll endeavor to create a video about it.

[@zondepa5537]

Awesome! You just saved me from big headache! The only thing what i need is cut list. Many thanks again!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. Glad I could help

[@etnom76]

I just want to say" THank YOu" . THank you for taking your time to teach me.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. Please let me know if there is anything specific that you'd like to see covered on the channel.

[@Ziggy_Justice]

'strayan accent is my favorite feature of this video. But this really was the most helpful FreeCAD video I have seen on how to build out simple projects. Thank you for the help, it really aided my learning! Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to smile a bit!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback. I hadn't given any thought to my accent to be honest but thanks for your kind words. I think it's fair to say that i'm not afraid to smile just that I keep forgetting to do so lol. I'll try to do better in the future

[@MiddleEasternInAmerica]

wow! impressive app, explanation, and 100% free. thank you so much for your efforts and time to make such wonderful detailed tutorials.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad that you are finding the tutorials to be useful

[@rogerjloud]

Easily the best tutorial I've seen. Very professional, clear and precise, Just like making a decent table. In my experience most things seem to be done better in Oz.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Roger. I’m somewhat biased but I agree with you regarding Oz and I’d go one step further and say “The West is best” lol. Please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see covered and I’ll see what I can do.

[@janvandenhurk1119]

@@GlassonDesignStudio Fairytail wizzard of Oz ?

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Something like that. Somedays I feel like I'm the Scarecrow without a brain lol. BTW in case you don't already know, Oz is slang for Australia which is where I'm from

[@dwebman11]

Excellent. I build furniture by hand using traditional joinery techniques. Ive decided it's time to jump into design with some type of cad program to help model and visualize more complicated ideas. I've just started with FreeCad and need to model a storage unit with both mortise and tenons as well as dovetails. This assures me it can be done so I'll spend the time to learn how. I tried with Openscad, and although I love some aspects of that program, I think FreeCad will be a better choice. Especially loved your animation at the end. Thanks for spending the time to do this video.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Hi David, sorry for the delay getting back to you. I could have sworn that I replied the following day but it's not here so I can't have. Thank you for your kind words. I am on a journey to use FreeCAD in the design of my furniture and am planning to upload more videos to KZbin over 2020. Please let me know if there is anything you'd like me to look at. Regards...Geoff

[@donhiram9718]

Awesome teaching video, just what I needed to learn. Thank you so much. this will help me a lot. Take care and God bless

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Don. I’m glad you found the video useful. Please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see covered and I’ll see what I can do.

[@donhiram9718]

@@GlassonDesignStudio no problem sir. I’m trying to design a wooden king size bed to build for the wife, So I’m new with freecad. Have seen a lot of videos but nothing like this one. They all rush into everything. You take your time and people can easily follow step by step. That I appreciate. I’ll be checking out your channel to see what else might help me with this project Thank you one more time sir. Take care be safe

[@tonyg1958]

I'd like to add my thanks. Like several others have commented I found a number of other FreeCAD tutorials to be less than clear. Your step by step instructions have tremendously advanced my knowledge of this software, and I'm starting to feel confident that I'll soon be able to use it in the design process for new woodworking projects.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. Please let me know if you’d like to see something specific and I’ll see what I can do

[@originalhotrodder4337]

Thank you for making these videos Jeff. You are an excellent teacher. In one short video I've been introduced to the assembly and animation tool. You've got another sub. I'm looking forward to watching all your other FeeeCAD videos!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad that you're finding the video's useful

[@Bluuuz]

Really excellent tutorial. I’ve really struggled with FreeCad but you’ve opened it up for me. Thanks. I look forward to watching your other videos.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kinds words

[@dylanfroment9698]

great stuff I'm working on some parametric models of joinery simillar to this

[@alistairmorris462]

Just starting out with FreeCad and found this really useful, thank you Jeff. I did notice that the tenons would in reality overlap by 10mm and you would need to shorten one or mitre the ends of each tenon for them to fit.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

I'm glad that you found it interesting Alistair. You're absolutely correct about the tenons in the video, and I'm pretty sure I did mention it but I made that a while ago AND I'm getting old so perhaps....

[@tostaredaikikaiaikidodojo8052]

Wow! So clear and concise! Thank you for taking the time to make this. I've been fighting with the program and trying to teach myself how to use it and failing miserably. With this one video alone you have saved me hours of frustration.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. I’m glad you found it useful

[@danieletva]

Very useful video, complete and easy to watch.

[@jobiiboju9098]

Já assisti muitos vídeos sobre o assunto, mas esse, até o momento, é um dos poucos em que consegui absorver algo. E olha que o inglês nem é minha língua nativa. Greetings from Brazil and thanks for sharing that. You got a new subscriber.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

I don't speak Portuguese so I hope that Google translate gets this right - Obrigado pelas suas palavras gentis. Estou feliz que você achou o vídeo útil.

[@petrsurf3373]

Thank you very much for this fantastic tutorial

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad that you found it helpful

[@johnconstantine3056]

That seemed a lot more user friendly than Assembly 4 in Freecad version 19. Nice tutorial anyway

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Have you looked into the A2Plus workbench? That’s the one that I now use because it’s not overly complex

[@johnconstantine3056]

@@GlassonDesignStudio No not yet but having seen this I will investigate

[@cekuhnen]

Informative explanation - well done !

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad that you found it useful

[@cekuhnen]

Looks to me freecad is very useful for furniture making

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

I think so too. So far most of my work has been using straight lines but I'm starting to look at how to use FreeCAD for more curved furniture. It should be an interesting journey...

[@cekuhnen]

@@GlassonDesignStudio I think with one bend surfaces you will be fine. Did you ever use FCs cnc module ? Just curious

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

I don't have a CNC so I haven't used the module. I know people that have CNC machines but they are not technically minded so are unlikely to be prepared to set outside their comfort zone and allow me to use something generated by the model. I'll have to wait until I can afford a machine of my own

[@TomSilver_42]

Few icons nowadays looks a bit different. A2plus is also a tiny bit more complicated as I had to select both planes and then the PlainCoincidence tool was available (not greyed out). But in general it's still the same and that tutorial was "A giant leap for .." Me-kind. Thank you very much. I had to repeat few steps again and again, as I made accidentally those tenons a bit longer, so they freely protruded through leg 🙂 But I learned how to update Pad element, then update a stretcher as whole Part .. and update A2plus assembly to apply changes. Which unfortunately broke the plane constrains so I had to re-do those. Whatever - Repetito Mater Studiorum Est !

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback Tom. I have trouble with the constraints some days as well :)

[@gregimo2877]

Excellent tutorial, can follow with understanding will down load this program and try to learn how to use with your tutorials and help thanks again please keep up the good work Regards Greg

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Greg

[@p.w.2149]

Very cool. Thank you a lot, this is exactly the tutorial I needed.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Patrik. I'm glad that you found it useful

[@robhooper]

Thanks mate. I've been looking for the past few days for some concise and relevant instruction on the use of FreeCAD with regards to woodwork designs. Your video is the best instruction that I've found to date.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Rob. Please let me know if there is something specific you’d like to see covered and I’ll see what I can do

[@bradsmith1046]

Well done! I particularly appreciate that I could follow the key stokes and tools you were using for each step. Very helpful indeed. I imaging you could make one stretcher and then duplicate it to complete the assembly Have you done a video showing efficiency tips like that?

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Brad. Yes you could do it that way. Unfortunately I don't have a video of tips :(

[@williamweatherall8333]

That was really cool!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words

[@willz5570]

Great , practical video. Hope to see more.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kinds words. Is there anything specific that you'd like to see?

[@szalontaiistvan4139]

very useful video, thanks the teaching!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words

[@aldoraine52]

Great vid, learned a lot.

[@cornishman1954]

awsome thanks very much

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback Ian. I’m glad you liked it

[@UBO58]

Great tutorial! Thanks a lot! As a woodworking hobbyist, I am familiar with sketchup. It was relatively easy to learn, because there are so many tutorials out there. For different reasons, I want to switch to Freecad. So I would really love to see more of your excellent tutorials for woodworkers! Of course, I already subscribed to your channel. :)

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words and subscribing Uwe. My primary reason for switching to FreeCAD is that I found that the free version of SketchUp's output capabilities (such as printing) are quite limited especially if you're looking to produce scale drawings. Is there anything in particular that you'd like me to demonstrate in FreeCAD?

[@UBO58]

I don't like the online version of Sketchup. I used the 2015 Version via Wine on Linux. That was my last connection to the Windows world, which I hate. Each tutorial showing relevant aspects for woodworkers would be really apreciated. And I am sure, there are more people who will like your tutorials. Modelling a cabinet with drawers may be a good example, or a workbench, a shed, or a carport, ... (I already built them in reality). And your tutorials absolutely need to be linked on the freecad homepage! Thanks a lot again for your work, Geoff!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for the suggestions Uwe. I’ll have to work out which one(s) to do

[@dsevero]

Thank you. Nice video. I was using A2plus instead than Assembly2, but without difficulties to replicate the final result. Also, it is interesting the possibility to animate the assembly. Regards from Argentina.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback Daniel. I have switched to the A2Plus workbench since I made that video and have a lot less issues than I did with Assembly2

Thank you thank you !!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

You're welcome. Please let me know if there is something specific that you'd like to see

[@paolofogaccia9455]

Thanks a lot for your video. I think that Mortise Pocket Length and Tenon Pad Length must be 25 mm, instead 35 mm. So, there is not interference between the two tenons when they are inside the mortises.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback. What you've suggested is one way to do it, the other way is to mitre the ends of the tenons so they come together without interference.

[@paolofogaccia9455]

Glasson Design Studio Yes, that’s a good idea to mitre end of tenons. It’s simple do it by rasp and file, but to modify the Tenon Pad by FreeCAD what way you suggest? Thanks.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

@@paolofogaccia9455 I would create a sketch on the top of the tenon representing the waste portion of the mitre (i.e. it would be a triangle) then use the Pocket tool to remove the waste leaving a mitred tenon.

[@paolofogaccia9455]

@@GlassonDesignStudio Done, like you suggested. Thanks

[@restholzjunkie]

great! need to leave an Abo..

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for the feedback. I've started doing that in my later videos

[@caseychan6909]

Casey from Toronto Canada. Thank you for creating such a helpful tutorial for FreeCAD beginners like me, especially the assembly video part. I have a question regarding the assebly. The length of tenons from both stretches are 35mm and the depth of the 2 mortises of the leg is 35mm. Would the tenons bump into each other inside the leg because of the thickness of the tenons so not full length of tenon is able to stick into the mortise?

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, the tenons in the video would bump into each other preventing the joint from closing properly. There are two solutions to this. The obvious solution is to shorten on of the tenons. The other solution is to mitre the ends of the tenons so they meet at 45 degrees. This solution provides you with a bit more glue surface than the first making the joint a little bit stronger.

[@trivialcompost6407]

​@@GlassonDesignStudio Is there a way in free cad to prevent objects from going through each other? So you can be be warn when your tenons are bumbing into each other like this? By the way, the video is great!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

@@trivialcompost6407 thanks for your kind words. I don't believe that there is collision detection in the assembly workbench that I currently use (A2Plus). There may be collision detection in other assembly workbenches but I haven't investigated them.

[@alaskanmal]

G'day from South Australia, where are you located ?. just starting with FreeCad, these tutorials are very helpful , keep up the good work .

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. I’m glad you’re finding the videos helpful. Please let me know if there is anything specific you’d like covered and I’ll see what I can do. I am temporarily located in Kununurra for work but normally reside in Perth

[@frankclaessen723]

Can you pls show the same with assembly 4? Would appreciate thx

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Hi Frank, Thanks for your question. I'd be happy to do a video showing how to do it with the Assembly 4 workbench; however this is slight problem - I don't use the Assembly 4 workbench so would need to learn it first. I do use the A2Plus workbench for assembly. Would that be sufficient? If not, I'll have to learn how to use Assembly 4 so it could be some time before I can do a video.

[@mattneff1262]

I’m testing out different CAD programs. When you created the first rectangle, how did you lock it in at the origin? I keep getting 4 degrees of freedom.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your question. There are a couple of ways to do it. You use the vertical and horizontal distance constraints to define how far one corner is from the origin. An easier method is to use a symmetry constraint to make two corner points the same distance from the origin. To do that I would select the top left corner, bottom right corner, then the origin point and then apply the constraint - press the S key or click the icon that looks similar to >

[@sudeepgurung9891]

Thank You very much for the tutorial. Helped me a lot. I have a question, the second stretcher will not be inserted (by 10 mm in real life) as that space (inner) is already taken by the first stretcher. Can you also constrain that in freeCAD. (I used A2Plus instead of Assembly 2 as it now seems to be Obsolute)

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Hi Sudeep, sorry for the tardy response. I could have sworn that I'd responded previously but obviously not. I tried using the A2Plus workbench in this scenario but would imagine that there would be a gap between second stretcher and the leg because they two tenons cannot occupy the same space. I think I said in the video how I would deal with the situation when making the tenons, but if I didn't then what I'd do is make a 45 degree chamfer along the end of both tenons so they could fit together properly. I should have done it in the video but it didn't occur to me to do so at the time because I was having too much fun playing with the animation :). Hope this helps

[@alaskanmal]

Just a quick question, could you have used the mirror function to copy the Mortice ? if there is the function, using a diagonal line across the corners.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Yes you could do it that way too. I was thinking too much like a wood worker and not enough like a designer when doing this video. You could also use the same approach when modelling the tenons, but bear in mind that the mirror tool does not allow you to mirror an already mirrored feature, so you wouldn't be able to use that technique to model the tenons at both ends of a stretcher. Checkout my video on the Mirror Tool for more details about it - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hp3PeaF5qtJomcU

[@BillyJ57]

I am new to FreeCad I am trying to follow along. I had to add assembly workbench 4. I am unable to load both parts into the new body. Can you help me?

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Hi Bill, thanks for reaching out. I can help you with the A2Plus workbench for doing your assemblies but not Assembly 4 because I don’t use it. I recently released an introductory video for the A2Plus workbench which should get you started. I’m currently working on building a playlist of videos about the A2Plus which I intend to cover all aspects of the workbench. I have no plans to do anything about Assembly 4 at this stage.

[@BillyJ57]

I installed A2Plus workbench but don't have the assembly restraints that you are using here. @@GlassonDesignStudio

[@JustAboutAnything66]

What happened to the Assembly Workbench?🤨

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Workbenches are sometimes abandoned by their maintainers so you might need to use a different one. I use A2Plus on FreeCAD 0.21 but I see that there is an Assembly workbench in FreeCAD 1.0RC2 so you might want to switch to that version.

[@JustAboutAnything66]

@@GlassonDesignStudio Thanks. I'm relatively new to FreeCAD and didn't know about the add-ons. I started using A2Plus because I saw a couple of tutorials for it.

[@andyevans8585]

Got a few minutes in and realised this must be a different version because half the stuff you were doing it wouldn't do.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Yeah that's going to happen when the software being used is constantly evolving. From memory the tools to model the joint should be pretty much the same but the workbench used to assemble the joint has changed. I hope that it didn't cause you too much grief.

[@JWB671]

Totally disagree the icons are all the same it works fine.

[@fatroberto3012]

Excellent tutorial. For once somebody appears to have practiced instead of all the usual cursor waving random button pressing.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words.