My First Blog - My First Workbench #3: The Stretchers

Hi Everyone,

Nice to see you again. Welcome to the third part of my series. I’ve noticed that I am getting many reads. OK I stand corrected. I mean views. :-) I hope you find it interesting. I am dedicating this series to all the beginners out there. I hope that this may serve as an inspiration to you that it can be done. A few basic tools and a lot of determination and resolve would do it. Ok enough of the rant and on with the work.

After completing the M & T work on the legs, I thought it is not that difficult at all. It is well within my realm. I thought why not raise the ante to make it even more exciting. I decided to make a pocket screwed double mortise/tenon joint for the stretchers.

I layed out the lines on the legs. The mortises are 1 1/4” long 3/4” wide and 1” deep. I think. And again, used my router with an edge guide. I then placed the necessary stops and plunged away. I was too busy with the job at hand that I forgot to take pictures how i did it :-( ....

I then transferred the layout lines to the stretchers as in the picture above. With a speed square clamped on the workpiece, aligned the tip of the bit with the lay out line and chewed most of the waste out. I then used a hacksaw to cut close to the line….

Then chiseled out the waste on the middle. (Does anybody know what to call that part?).

Here is how it looks after taking most of the waste out …..

I then rounded out the corners with a chisel and sandpaper…...

Voila! I now have a double mortise and tenon joint….

I then dry-fitted the legs and the stretchers. I am sorry. I again forgot to take pictures. Rest assured it really did happen. It’s tough to be the actor, the director and the crew. ;-) Marked the holes where the bolt will pass through and drilled the hole…..

Because my bit is not long enough to reach the pocket hole in the stretcher, I drilled to maximum depth disassembled the legs and the stretchers and continued on …..

So far, so good. Hope to see you again in my next installment.

-- "Real jocks do it on a bench"