| Project by dryhter | posted 856 days ago | 3288 views | 8 times favorited | 12 comments |  |
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LumberJocks Woodworking
The Art of Joinery
I decided to build a small Game Table for my Sister in law as a Christmas present two years ago. The table was a relatively simple project using traditional joinery methods. 
I had built several tables similar to this before and on this one I wanted to style it with a light delicate feel.
The mortise and tenon joint at the top of the leg, where the apron joins to the leg I felt was a weak point and I have seen this joint fail.
The problem boils down to the fact that there just does not seem to be enough space to create a substantial joint, especially since I was trying to keep the piece delicate looking, at best I had a small stub of a tenon. Somewhere I had seen an example where the craftsman had mitered the tenon within the mortise to increase the size of the stub. 
That got me to thinking. I liked the idea of the mitering the stub to increase the size, but I did not feel that it really added any strength to the joint. This thought process led me to thinking about developing a joint within a joint. I thought about what needed to be done to improve the strength / stability of the joint. Most of the failures that I had seen were usually the mortise cracking from stresses from the leg acting as a lever on the haunch of the joint the fulcrum.
I visualized the box joint within the mortise as a way to increase the size of the tenon and give it maximum surface area to help with stresses applied to the joint. And by deepening the mortise so that it extended past the mortise that it was perpendicular to and increasing the tenon to maxim depth the joint was actually locked in at this point.
I have named this joint the Superior mortise and tenon joint and have used it several times since coming up with the idea. I no longer glue this joint, but simply use a drawbore peg, making the joint knockdown adaptable. This joint would also work very well in heavy duty applications such as a wood working bench where the repetitive actions of working wood stress the joinery of the associated joints plus the ability to disassemble the bench for moving, storage or repair.
-- Chips and Shavings/ see you at WWW.underconstructionlive.com
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12 comments so far
Bertha
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13111 posts in 860 days
#1 posted 856 days ago
Bulletproof tenons! Can’t say I’ve ever seen it done. Almost a shame to hide it in a mortise. Next up, double dovetailed hidden mortises. Fellow joinery freak, Al.
-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog
dryhter
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74 posts in 1771 days
#2 posted 856 days ago
Hey Al,
Like my partener use to say ” If you can’t make a project out of Why even start!”
-- Chips and Shavings/ see you at WWW.underconstructionlive.com
IkeandBerry
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43 posts in 1431 days
#3 posted 856 days ago
I just finished a bench that uses dovetailed hidden mortises. I unfortunately did not get any pictures of the joints. I worked out really well.
-- There is nothing like the sound of a hand plane passing across a board in otherwise quiet shop.
toxicoval56
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148 posts in 1670 days
#4 posted 856 days ago
This is a great idea. Instant favorite. I will consider this in all of my upcoming projects. It would make a piece last forever.
Thanks for sharing.
-- The view only changes for the leading dog.
Sodabowski
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1805 posts in 1000 days
#5 posted 856 days ago
I’ve tried that once, but with far less success than you did (it was a test run for me). I’ve seen that kind of joinery a couple of times, but can’t remember exactly where.
-- Thomas - There is no such thing as a problem, there only are solutions.
Greg The Cajun Box Sculptor
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3766 posts in 1476 days
#6 posted 856 days ago
A method I have used for a long time to join legs and aprons is a dovetailed joint. Holds great…never had a problem with one coming loose in over 40+ years.
-- Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. http://www.FineArtBoxes.com
happy_budah
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124 posts in 1966 days
#7 posted 856 days ago
I’m a big fan of the sliming dove tails, those interlocking tenons look very promising, have you tried the same joint with dove tails?
-- the journy of a thousand miles begins with a single step " Lou-Tzu"
clarkey
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191 posts in 1223 days
#8 posted 855 days ago
Everything about this piece is awesome!!! Thanks for sharing .
dryhter
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74 posts in 1771 days
#9 posted 854 days ago
Thank you for all the comments. Here is a video of the making of the joint
VIDEO
-- Chips and Shavings/ see you at WWW.underconstructionlive.com
dubsaloon
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619 posts in 961 days
#10 posted 707 days ago
How about a tenon with exposed dovetails in the corners. Sorta like a cutaway. Just thunkin.
-- The works of evil people are not the problem. It is the "Good" people standing by and watching not speaking up. Dubsaloon
TheHarr
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102 posts in 1706 days
#11 posted 302 days ago
I have a couple of comprehensive books on wood joints. You managed to invent one that’s not my books. You have truely invented a new joint. Shouldn’t you get some kind of prize?
-- The wood is good.
dryhter
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74 posts in 1771 days
#12 posted 301 days ago
Thanks Harry.
-- Chips and Shavings/ see you at WWW.underconstructionlive.com
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