# Mortise and tenon 3/8" stock.



## Maestro0416 (Nov 15, 2017)

So I am in need of some advice. My wife and I are adopting and I want to build the baby's crib. I have seen Jeff's crib on LJ and that really inspired me to do it. So, on to my need for advice. I have A LOT of 4/4 red oak. To keep the weight down I am resawing them down to 3/8" for the vertical slats, 30 total. Would i be able to mortise and tenon stock that thin without losing strength? Using the 1/3 method is too small. Would making the tenon shoulders 1/16" be enough of a shoulder or should I try an off-set tenon?


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

slats that thin are often made without a shoulder, just let fitted to a mortise. I think the strength of the crib comes from the corner joinery and the rails, not the slats, so tenoning is sort of making more work, but if you want to do it, go with 1/4" thick. You might find making a narrower mortise inconvenient anyway.


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## zoro39 (May 21, 2019)

+1 with Loren…exactly my thoughts


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

^^^what they said, it does make cutting your mortises precisely a little more necessary but is the best approach. One way around this is to cut the mortises as a groove with a router or dado set, then cut filler pieces to go between the slats. Carefully done it's look quite nice.


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

congrats on the adoption, Anthony !!
I sincerely hope the next 18 years will be filled with fun, joy and good health.
looking forward to seeing your project.

.


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> One way around this is to cut the mortises as a groove with a router or dado set, then cut filler pieces to go between the slats. Carefully done it s look quite nice.
> - Fred Hargis


That was my first thought when I read the OP


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

+1 slot and filler blocks.


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## 987Ron (Apr 9, 2020)

Happy times ahead with the addition to the family. Congradulations.


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## Bstrom (Aug 30, 2020)

> ^^^what they said, it does make cutting your mortises precisely a little more necessary but is the best approach. One way around this is to cut the mortises as a groove with a router or dado set, then cut filler pieces to go between the slats. Carefully done it s look quite nice.
> 
> - Fred Hargis


I agree - this approach would also allow for a full slat to be inserted into the Mortiser if the rail is a wider piece, of course. no loss of strength with that. Hope you get what you want out of All your Red Oak…


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Tenons have shoulders for reasons. One is that it hides any gap around the tenon itself. You need clearance between the mortise and tenon for a good glue joint. That clearance becomes a gap in the final joint. Another reason is to give the joint something to rest on so that the tenon doesn't bottom out in the mortise and ensures a perfect distance between the rails along the length of the panel.

To answer your question, yes, 1/16" is fine. You might want to make the tenons more like 1/4" narrower than the slat so that part of the shoulder is wider.


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## northwoodsman (Feb 22, 2008)

+2 slot and filler blocks. I have done this many times. The 3/8" slats aren't going to add much strength, they are there to keep the kid from falling out. Add a dab of glue to the ends to keep them "in place" and so they don't appear to be loose. For the first time I actually used an M & T joint on a dog gate with small thin slats. Truth be told it was the day that I purchased my Festool Domino and I was just trying it out. I really didn't even need the dog gate but I was dying to try out the Domino. My slats were 9/16" thick


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## Maestro0416 (Nov 15, 2017)

Thank you all for the well wishes. I will definitely post pics as the project progresses. *Fred, I think that will be what i will do. Much less of a hassle. Thank you.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

Just be sure you meet the modern safety standards for slat spacing. Don't copy the spacing on an old crib. Children have gotten their heads stuck between the slats.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

Would do 1/8 tenon. I think slats going in mortise without shoulders looks like crap.

Congrats.


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## ac0rn (Jan 31, 2020)

Keep it simple, slats, dado, and fillers


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## Maestro0416 (Nov 15, 2017)

Thanks. Yeah I think slats, dado, and fillers are gonna be the way I go. Thanks for the pictures Jeff.


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