center finding trick

[forrestb]

Cutting an accurate tenon on a dowel requires a really good center finding. My first try - see photo - for a 3/4 tenon on a 1 inch dowel was to mark the center of the dowel with a center finder and then manipulate the table and support frame using a Forstner bit to hit right on the center, then change over to the tenon cutter. It worked since the test tenon was very, very accurate.

When I went to put the tenon cutter (Lee Valley set) back in the box I saw the 1 inch tenon cutter and it hit me: since it fits the 1 inch dowel very closely why not use it in the drill chuck and manipulate the table and frame until the dowel slides into the cutter. Worked like a champ and really saves wear and tear on these 'seasoned' eyeballs.

Forrest

[charlese]

Thanks Forrest!:) Re-learned something all over again.

Couldn't understand cutting a tenon onto a dowel (was thinking rectangular dowel) Forgot altogether about pencil sharpening dowels. Had to look up this page - http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page ... at=2,33286

[forrestb]

The nice thing about aging is that when you re-discover something, you can actually think you discovered it just now for the first time!;)
These are the tenon cutters I am using:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... ,180,42288
Forrest

[alisfair]

Great idea, thanks for sharing

[alisfair]

Great idea, thanks for sharing