| The mortise-and-tenon joint is used in structural timber | | | | shoulders of the tenon than those through the mortise, |
| work and framing as well as in high quality furniture | | | | the joint will be tightened as they are driven in. |
| and cabinet work. | | | | Haunehed mortise-and-tenon |
| The mortise is a rectangular slot or recess cut in one | | | | The ordinary through or stopped mortise-and-tenon |
| piece of wood. The tenon is a projecting tongue cut on | | | | joint is used for T-joints. Where the joint is made at a |
| the end of a cross rail, which locates in the mortise. | | | | corner - say, the junction of a chair seat rail and the |
| There are a great many variations on the basic joint. It | | | | top of a leg - a variation called a haunehed |
| may be used with wood of similar or differing | | | | mortise-and-tenon is used. The haunch slops any |
| thicknesses and as a through or stopped joint - the | | | | tendency the joint has to twist. |
| latter is a stub tenon joint. | | | | The tenon should be cut to the full width of the rail, |
| The mortise is usually made with the rail 'on edge", but | | | | then about three-quarters of the length of the tenon |
| the joint can be used with the rail face up as in a | | | | should be cut out from its top edge, down for about |
| cabinet drawer rail. In this case a double tenon joint is | | | | one-third of its width, leaving a rectangular projection |
| made. | | | | on top of the main tenon. This is the haunch. If the |
| Stopped mortise-and-tenon | | | | haunch is cut at a slope from the top of the shoulder |
| A stopped mortise is cut from one edge only and | | | | to the top edge of the tenon it becomes a secret |
| should not be deeper than two-thirds of the stile width. | | | | haunch. Cut the mortise to take the full length of the |
| A stub tenon should be about 2mm shorter than the | | | | tenon but only the two-thirds width. Then groove the |
| mortise depth, so that the end docs not touch the | | | | mating face of the stile (or leg) from the end down to |
| bottom of the mortise. | | | | the top of the mortise to accept the haunch. With the |
| You can tighten a stopped mortise-and-tenon by fitting | | | | secret haunch, the groove should slope inwards from |
| dowels at right-angles through the mortise and the | | | | the top. A haunehed tenon can be lightened with |
| tenon. If the dowel holes are made slightly nearer the | | | | wedges. |