Wedged tenons - part 1

After yesterday's post I thought it would be nice to write a little more about the wedged tenon I'm using to attach the side rails to the posts on my crib project.

This wedged tenon is usually called tusk tenon, where a wedge shaped key crosses the through tenon to lock things in place, making the joint sturdy and allowing the piece to be disassembled.

Also, the image above is much more clear then yesterday's which was just a close-up of the joinery detail with the x-ray feature in SketchUp turned on.

When making this type of joint there are a few points to consider:

• The angle on the wedge should be between 3º and 5º
• The mortise for the wedge is located slightly inside the post
• The wedge should be made from a wood that is as hard or harder than the stock they wedge
• Single loose wedges are usually oriented vertically and double loose wedges are usually oriented horizontally

Attached files:

• wedged_tenon_01.skp

Traditional crib - design stage

In the last few days I've been busy designing a traditional crib for my baby daughter and thought it would be a nice feature project for the blog. You can download the 3D SketchUp model for free and check all the measurements and joinery details for yourself.

This project will be my first furniture piece and I feel nervous just to think about it. For one I have never build anything of this size and I want to try a few new things both in terms of construction and finishing.

The frame will have to be a knockdown design so it will be easy to get it out of the shop and into the bedroom. Instead of using standard hardware for this purpose I decided to join the side rails to the posts with a wedged mortise and tenon with a loose wedge made of ebony. This will be one of the design features of the piece influenced by the arts and crafts style.

Another design feature will be a drop side rail for which there are no details in the drawing yet. I have a few ideas in my head at the moment and will post an update in the future.

The crib will be built with solid cherry and will have a shellac and wax finish which are both non-toxic finishes, something to pay attention when making furniture for babies. Both shellac and beeswax are approved by the FDA and are widely used in the food and drug industry.

I also tried to follow all the guidelines regarding crib design. The distance between the slats in the rails is 60mm, the rails are approximately 600mm high and the posts don't protrude above the top headboard.

The images on the left show some of the joinery details.

The first image is a simple mortise and tenon used to attach the top headboard to the posts, nothing fancy here.

The second image shows something I'll be very proud of if it works out well.

The bottom footboard will attach to the post with a mortise and tenon which will have to make enough room for the through tenon in the side rail which in turn will be wedged to lock thinks in place.

I guess that if this isn't sturdy enough I'll add some screws to the joint and cover these with some ebony pegs. What do you think?

Attached files

• traditional_crib_01.skp

How to become the best in the world

This isn't a woodworking centric article, but if you find the title of this post intriguing you can read more about it on the ChangeThis website.

The long, tough slog through mediocre-ville. To be the best, Seth Godin explains, you must concentrate your effort, push a little harder, commit a few more resources and leave mediocre to those willing to be average.

Making and Mastering Wood Planes

David Finck's book on wooden planes is without doubt one of the best books on the subject and well worth buying if you're a hand tools enthusiast like me.

The book if well structured and takes you through the steps of building and using the Krenov style wooden planes from start to finish.

It does not give specific dimensions and drawings but rather takes the approach of giving you the information you need to design and build any plane you want.

This revised edition is full of color photos which take it a step further, making it more comprehensive and pleasing to the eye.
I can not recommend this book too highly!

Card scrapers

Card scrapers are an efficient tool used to put a finish on woods with difficult grain patterns like curly maple, walnut burl and many of the exotic woods.

Even a fairly straight grained wood may show small spots of grain tear-out after planing with a smoother, which can be easily smoothed with a card scraper. The alternative being the use of sandpaper, either by hand with a sanding block or using a random-orbit sander and producing lots of dust in your shop.

One of the tricky thinks about using a scraper is the sharpening process which is not clear for everyone but is in fact quite simple. All you need is a flat file, a set of waterstones (the same used to sharpen and hone your plane blades) and a burnisher to turn the burr on the edge of the scraper.

Marc Spagnuolo, the man behind The Wood Whisperer and all those great podcasts, has recently published a video showing how to sharpen card scrapers in three simple steps.

This video demystifies the process better than any article I've ever read. Great work Marc!