Less Than one Tips To Cut Perfect Mortise

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

How to Cut A tenon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZTPdnhqlJ2kipo Tape:amzn.to/3Gy7Jio Marking Knife: lddy.no/gteg Drill stop: lddy.no/u17z Bench Chisels: lddy.no/gt4o Mortising Chisel: lddy.no/gtcp

[@MartinMMeiss-mj6li]

Excellent video. Here's a few points I would add: 1) A mortising gauge (with two independently adjustable scratch pins), allows one to scribe both sides of the mortise and tenon with one motion. This is quite handy and removes one possible source of error. 2) Because errors can creep in, either in the layout or in the cutting and chopping, I like to chop the mortise first and cut the tenon it fit it. This is because it is easier to adjust the width of the tenon than to adjust the mortise.

[@GizmoDuck_1860]

I now have knowledge. Thank you. The thing that worries me is, how do you ensure you're plumb in all axis when you're drilling?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I generally just eyeball it, but you can set up a square beside where you're drilling so you can plumb the bit too the square.

[@brettjohnson9453]

Talks about using reality while using imaginary numbers.......

[@dlevi67]

Tip number 3/8: if you do drill the mortice, drill the two 'ends' first. It's easier to drill (or chop out) a partial diameter hole between two other holes than between one hole and your end mark.

[@gartsartem]

Man, your videos on mortise and tenon sum up this theme perfectly. Better than any of the rest of the videos I've seen on KZbin! You rock! Thanks a lot!

[@robertweldon7909]

Way back in the 1960s I was taught this joint in high school woodshop. I took wood shop for three years. I still have and use those three projects. The screws to attach the tops failed, my joints are still tight in 2021. That has a lot to say in favor of a mortise and tenon joint. ;-)

[@SweSuf]

I'm eagerly looking forward to all the imaginary tips in your next video (you know, the sqrt(-1) = +/- i).

[@dlevi67]

They are ideal for squaring pieces up.

[@warrenmunn3224]

Watching you use the "flag" tip for marking the depth of holes, I recently found (using a power drill), if I slowly drill down the "flag" tells me when to stop as it dusts the surface of the material. Once the surface around the hole is getting cleaned I'm at or fractionally below depth.

[@reaper060670]

Enjoyed this one very much man.. I want to master the Mortise & Tenon joint. Master might be a bit strong a word but u get my meaning.. LOL I struggle a little every time I attempt it. The tenon is never cut as straight and true as I would like and the Mortise ends up being too wide or damaged bcos I don't take my time, and begin to rush certain cuts with the chisel. Is it important to work at the same pace always? What I mean is how do u find that sweet spot with timing. I may place the chisel wrong bcos I rushed it a little or something like that??? I'm also trying to cut the tenon with my hand saw too. I try to chisel it all out on both. For me the Mortise is the easier part but I still struggle with it. I keep messing up on the Tenon though. I'm going to try using the tape from now on. I need to get me some of that blue tape but I HAVE WHITE AND YELLOW COLOURED STUFF. The BLUE TAPE looks better option to wok with. u CAN CLEARLY SEE THE CUTS U NEED TO MAKE WITH THAT COLOUR IMO. That's something I haven't tried before so I'll be picking it up tomorrow.. Thanks for a very informative video my friend. Appreciate the work u put in to teach us too. Take it easy pal..

[@2logj]

Thanks.The Mortise and tenon is a Nemesis especially with Pine.

[@Heseblesens]

Today I think I will nitpick...and here's less than one nit: At 2:46 through 2:55 you did the small no-no....you referenced off the opposite side of the reference side...I almost cried a little... Ok ok, so it was not the long sides of the mortise but I am very bored today so.... 🙃🎱🔎

[@chriscunicelli7070]

I loved this video! I’ve watched it twice and agree that, M&T is more difficult then dovetails. The tips are really quality! Great video James. Quality tips from a quality guy.

[@steveshapland8846]

I happen to have lock mortise chisels matching my mortice chisels. I use them for cleaning our the chips. They pry against the wall, not the edge line of the ends.

[@BillCoale]

You're an excellent teacher. How do you determine how deep the mortise should be/how long the tenon should be?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

it all depends on the application. if it is a frame on a door it does not need to be very deep. in most cases 1" will do. but if it is to provide diagonal straight you want it to be as long as the joint will allow.

[@jacobbrown2306]

Bro! You are great! Clear communication, and great content.

[@nxsmotorsports]

8:25 "Now for the boring part" - Clever pun, good sir.

[@ilantwito]

Excellent video!!! Thank you so much!

[@liquidrockaquatics3900]

As of today, what is the best marking gauge in terms of accuracy and value when taking into account usability, reliability, comfort, etc. materials/brand name/etc aren’t as important. What features are absolutely essential on a marking gauge?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

When it comes to Mark engages it is all personal preference. My go-to favorite mortiseing gauge is the simple one from harbor freight. A lot of people love the two wheel marking gauge from veritas

[@christophercastor6666]

Pretty joint. I thought you just a pretty face, great beard, and a boat load of dad jokes but Alas! You are a hell of a hand tool woodworker as well! Keep having fun and dividing by Zero!

[@whittysworkshop982]

Very good advice at the end........ everyone needs to know how to do this. The M&T is the king of joints, its in nearly everything :) I still hate doing the mortise part tho hahah :P Pi minus 4 made me chuckle :P

[@karl_alan]

Ugh...would've loved this 2 weeks ago...in the past 2 weeks I've done 18 mortises with what I already knew...never hurts to know more for next time. For these I did try both methods of chopping them out.

[@donovancampbell7785]

Thank you for your knowledge!:)

[@mypony891]

I wish i could give this 2 thumbs up

[@tombrownrigg8794]

Thank you👍Very Helpful

[@thedookster4143]

Question for ya. Other than using hand tools and having a serious satisfaction level it is the same if you use a router and dado stack correct? I just did my first mortise and tenon (through tenon) and wished I remembered not to go all the way through. I got tearout because I didn't go half half...Great video bro.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Yes same if using power tools. Just more setup time.

[@russellschwartz3896]

Another thing I learned: Have a sharp chisel. Mine wasn't, and I couldn't clean out the tenon easily like you did in the video. In fact, when I tried to chop, the chisel only went in less than 1/16 in. (My chisels are also inherited -- from my late father. When I was a kid, he wouldn't let me use them because I would make them dull. Irony!)

[@richardlane9582]

Do you usually cut the tenon first? I thought the mortise first was standard? Thanks.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I prefer to cut the tenon first as it makes it easier to Mark out the mortise. Somewhere around 60% of people cut the mortise first.

[@lincolndickerson1293]

Great video. I love the way you say if “If you have this, use it, if not use what you got” then move on and mostly use the less specialized tool. I have a thing about semi-perminent joiner. Sliding dovetails, tusked tenons, pegged tenons… joinery if you leave out the glue it will last forever but can be disassembled. Anything like that I love to see. Thanks for all you share with us

[@brooklynpaul4003]

This is gold.

[@Theiftanlazx]

Man you're a great teacher. Remind me of my first wood working teacher!

[@mohdalisyed]

Great video James! Just another tip: dig the mortice first, so if you have to compensate for errors, you can do it while cutting the tenons. Easier to work on tenons than mortises imho

[@mariocavallo331]

I love the “use reality” tip. I always tell my guys the same in certian situations

[@FranksWorkbench]

So right about it being the more difficult joint. Dovetail= saw to a line for 1/2 to 1". M&T= saw to a line for at least an inch and chop accurately for the same. Not to mention how much easier it is to repair a dovetail oops since it's exposed.

[@standswithfish]

How to deal with blisters from all that chiseling? Oh, tenon balm!

[@rmclean3]

Really fantastic video!

[@anferney1323]

great video thank you!

[@GinaHubany]

I have 5 1920 windows to rebuild & this is exactly what I was looking for!! Thank you!

[@sylvano1955]

Great! Thank you,

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic tips, James! 😃 Thanks a lot!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@roger55es]

Great instruction thanks

[@OrangeGeemer]

you are cutting a 3/8" mortise on a 3/4 " board, so you are using a 1/2 ratio. Isn´t this too big of a mortise? you can see the walls flexing a bit on 10:12, would a 1/3 ratio make a stranger joint (a 1/4" mortise)?? or will those walls flex just the same??

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Anywhere between 1/2 and 1/3 is good. Woodworkers like to argue about what is best there.

[@OrangeGeemer]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo thanks for the reply, if the best size is between 1/2 and 1/3 (or 50 and 33%), then a 5/16" chisel is a great choice; it would make a mortice 42% the thickness of a 3/4" board, so right there in the middle.

[@malcolmsmith5903]

Great video James. Of course all aspects of the joint are important but if only one thing can be perfect then, as you said, make it the internal face parallel to the reference face. I'd rather a slight shoulder gap than a twisted frame. Great job.

[@RICKYDENNIS49]

“For some reason this is going a lot faster than I remember “ I almost wet myself when that came out 😂 awesome video, nicely done 👌

[@richardc6932]

I know this is a mortise demo but always thought that the mortise was made first and then the tenon made to fit the mortise.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

It's about 50/50 depending on who you ask. Generally I prefer to make the tenon first so that I can very easily Mark out the mortise to match it. The other argument is that if you do the mortise first it's easier to modify the tenon. I find it to be about 50/50 both ways.

[@chadwickpainter8212]

Very well done bro.

[@richardsilva-spokane3436]

Excellent!!! Thanks!!!!

[@MphileManzini]

That was so cool👌🏾👌🏾

[@simclardy1]

nice video. that drill depth, bearing, thingy is too much. you my friend have a tool addiction. And No these videos don't justify owning a plastic, bearing depth collar. lol cheers

[@Nick5o9]

7:24 me before my morning coffee 😂

[@robertberger8642]

Another comment.

[@russellschwartz3896]

Thank you again! I have a mortise that's much deeper than 3/8 inch, and using a chisel was taking forever. But I have my late father-in-law's augers, and boring is going to save me much time. (Can you tell that I'm a noob?) ;)

[@markkoons7488]

How about that? They love your video.

[@franklerouge]

cOMMENT DOWN BELOW

[@robertberger8642]

Good info & demo!

[@rkalle66]

Tipp no. 4 minus 5 ... Even a knive is not infinite small. Put the mortise flush, get a square to "hold" the line against the mortise, remove the mortise and then mark the line with a knive along the square were the mortise was.

[@tlange5091]

You used your fancy math thinking thing to confuse us but we got there, you skipped 0 every time you jumped to negatives and back. So there are several untold tipps that hide in the future. What is that hidden knowledge?

[@steveshapland8846]

Thank you for the excellent pair of videos on M&T joints. My next project has nearly two dozen of them.

[@The_Joker_]

Brilliant ❤

[@jamescawdell3321]

What a great video! Fun and careful explanations and tips. Please could you demonstrate a wedged M&T? It would showcase the through M&T really well but many demonstrations of it miss out how to make the slopped sides accurately and I think you'd be great at showing us how to do it!

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I might have to do that one. I've got a couple videos showing at live but it would be good to do a detailed video like this.

[@jamescawdell3321]

@@WoodByWrightHowTo I'll go check those out, thank you!

[@curiolus]

I thought you are supposed to cut the mortise before the tenon?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Some people like to do that. It's just personal preference. One is not better than the other. Personally I like to cut the ten in first because I can use that to mark the mortise. You really can't Mark the tenon with the mortise

[@johnrobins8]

Awesome video. Such great detail. Thanks

[@prego2011able]

Great video and information. Was a little disappointed that you used 4-5 =1 and not e^(i*π)=-1 lol. Awesome stuff though

[@MK-lh3xd]

Many practically useful tips. Especially I liked the tip about swinging the chisel to check that you have the required width throughout the depth and width of the mortise. Kind of seems obvious after someone points it out, but not otherwise.

[@SomcoCape]

Hi from RSA

[@ferguscosgrave7510]

Thanks

[@michaelthompson5875]

James we need to work on your jokes. Many of them are boring jokes. See what I did there? 🤣

[@JackKessler-t7u]

marvelous

[@lc360]

Building a something for my mum this Christmas and I can tell I'm gonna rewatch this video a thousand times in the next few weeks. Thank you for sharing!!

[@mikeandlucky]

True. M&T is more difficult that DT. Thanks for the video.

[@walterrider9600]

thank you

[@rjtumble]

Love it, thanks. I’m about to build some legs for a jigsaw puzzle table I’m building for my wife, and had just decided to use mortise and tenon joiner, so really timely.

[@markstevens6935]

Thanks, just getting back into woodworking and this refresher is great!

[@zidnyknight3611]

Thanks

[@อนุชาเนียมงาม-ฎ3ผ]

Good Idea

[@jimpowell6102]

So is it better to make the tenon first and then the mortise? Usually I have seen this done the other way, so the tenon can be fitted to the mortice, as the mortise is dependent on chisel size.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

I find it less error prone to make the tenon first and then the mortise. You can adjust the mortise to fit the tenon or you can adjust the tenon to fit the mortise. Both of them are equally easy. However you cannot use the mortise to mark out the tenon but you can use the tenon to mark out the mortise. This gives you far more accurate markings.

[@rickshick8544]

Being on a limited budget and running out of time on my most recent project, and needing to drill holes to accept threaded inserts to be installed in 3/4 inch thick boards, I decided to make a Poor Man's (thank you, Paul Sellers) depth stop. I used a piece of scrap long enough to give me the 1/2" spacing I wanted, and big enough to let me drill a hole the same diameter as the brad-point drill I was going to use. There were other complicating factors that led me to locate centers of my threaded insert holes using 1/16" drill bit. The flies on the wall died laughing at the antics I went through but it all worked great. Or great-ish. That cool depth stop you used stimulated this reply. Thank you.

[@TedStJohn-vz9jr]

Good suggestions, and very entertaining! Thanks!

[@Borescoped]

James, Greene & Greene joinery on boxes? You did say add things we’d like to see

[@johnbeach8607]

Ty your teaching is great now I have a starting point to master the mortise hand cutting method and proper method of using my chisels,my mistakes were starting points of the cuts and choping too much at a time . Your method helped me correct my major issues ty ,my cuts are 100% better now make time too practice the cutting methods too master it

[@ilantwito]

How about doing this with a router?

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

You could but it takes a lot longer to do all the setup. If you're doing a whole bunch of them then the router is faster. But if it's just 2 to 4 usually hand saws and chisels are faster.

[@woodbgworks4275]

shouldnt the mortise be done before the tenon

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Different traditions do it differently. Most do the tenon first as it is easier to transfer the marks to the mortise.

[@markgoode4109]

Very helpful. Thanks for this. Best wishes :)

[@MichaelRodgers670]

thank you! I have always struggled to get this right. I will probably run outside in a moment and try it out

[@dannymurphy1779]

Fantastic - Paul Sellers would be proud of that one! Have just subbed. Would love to see the rebate or router plane used on a joint, routers are fine but very noisy. I find it a lot more fun using hand tools.

[@jimmcnett]

Excellent demonstration. I can't wait to try it in the shop.

[@meatcreap]

Absolute pleasure to watch - thank you!!

[@Danny-ul4sq]

Great advice. Not only on how to cut a mortise (I prefer to use a mortise chisel only), but just how much more important a mortise and tenon joint is compared to all those who want to reminisce about doing dove tales at school.

[@stanp1104]

James, your posts are great. always seem to learn something. Thanks.

[@rontisdale817]

"And now for the boring part"😂😂

[@gawbo005]

I would love to see a bridle joint. I have a hard time cutting out the middle piece

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

here is an old video on that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nn6od3-ZnLZlgKc I should do a new one some time.

[@brettjohnson9453]

I've found that improving my sawing technique was very helpful for bridal joints. Cleaning up the middle was just too error prone for me.

[@chrismoody1342]

Easy Peasy; I just fire up my dedicated morticer.

[@GavinNatur]

What if you are a hand tool woodworker

[@GavinNatur]

And you are poor like me

[@byambaus1]

One of the best explanation here

[@barbaraaxton6497]

8

[@tobiasfrancisco5879]

That was so satisfying seeing the tenon go in 🤤

[@vh9040]

Fantastic video, thanks for sharing.

[@believethebible88]

Do you have a video on miter joints? I’d like to make 90° miter joints without metal fasteners. Thanks for the in depth demonstration of the mortise and tenon joint. Very detailed.

[@WoodByWrightHowTo]

Yes I have a few live videos making those. And I have done a few picture frames too.

[@wlial]

Perfect joint, James! You are a master.

[@truenerge4237]

Awesome! so well eplanained... almost too good

[@jonasdaverio9369]

Tip number 45° was fun