Shopsmith Forums

I got stranded at Barnes and Noble today while my wife finished her Christmas shopping. While there I got to looking through some magazines and found this.

No I did not. I was surfing another forum when I found http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/42295/behold-the-speed-tenon/?&lookup=auto&V18=&V19=&V20=&V21=&V22=&V23=&V24=&V25=&V26=&V53=&V54=&Taun_Per_Flag=true&utm_source=email&utm_medium=eletter&utm_term=tablesaw-safety&utm_content=20111105-worlds-fastest-tenon&utm_campaign=fine-woodworking-eletter .

It looked interesting so I gave it a try. At first I thought NO WAY - far too dangerous. But not really. It worked quite well. I would not do tenons this way if I was doing a large number of them but for just a few I see no reason why not.

I set up on the other side of the blade and held the stock in tight against the miter fence with my left hand (hand never moved from that position). I then fed the stock into the blade with my right hand. This way there is no movement of my hands toward the blade and my left hand is completely out of the red zone.

I'll have to do a couple projects this way but it just may be a new way for me to do tenons and half laps.

What say you?

dusty wrote:I got stranded at Barnes and Noble today while my wife finished her Christmas shopping. While there I got to looking through some magazines and found this.

No I did not. I was surfing another forum when I found http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/42295/behold-the-speed-tenon/?&lookup=auto&V18=&V19=&V20=&V21=&V22=&V23=&V24=&V25=&V26=&V53=&V54=&Taun_Per_Flag=true&utm_source=email&utm_medium=eletter&utm_term=tablesaw-safety&utm_content=20111105-worlds-fastest-tenon&utm_campaign=fine-woodworking-eletter .

It looked interesting so I gave it a try. At first I thought NO WAY - far too dangerous. But not really. It worked quite well. I would not do tenons this way if I was doing a large number of them but for just a few I see no reason why not.

I set up on the other side of the blade and held the stock in tight against the miter fence with my left hand (hand never moved from that position). I then fed the stock into the blade with my right hand. This way there is no movement of my hands toward the blade and my left hand is completely out of the red zone.

I'll have to do a couple projects this way but it just may be a new way for me to do tenons and half laps.

What say you?

Well, it looks like it works great and I was about to run down to the shop to check it out, BUT then I remembered that it was a big table saw no-no to use both the fence AND the miter gauge like that because the chance of kickback is greatly increased.

Been there, done that.

Non-aggressive feed and pay attention.

The fence + miter gauge is a minimal issue with small workpieces held firmly.

JPG40504 wrote:Been there, done that.

Non-aggressive feed and pay attention.

The fence + miter gauge is a minimal issue with small workpieces held firmly.

And your knot making a through cut.

The fact that you are not making a through cut while using the rip fence and miter gauge together in this fashion does somewhat remove the hazard.

BUT there is still a chance of getting the piece being cut squeezed in that space between the fence and the blade. The piece being cut MUST be kept tight against the face of the miter gauge and down tight to the table.

This is no time to get careless or to allow yourself to become distracted. If you have many of these to do, I would suggest any of the old fashioned ways.

I cut a half dozen half laps this morning (before the sun even began to rise). I must say that they were only marginally acceptable. The problems were not associated with this particular methodology but there were problems.

I was using cutoffs; whatever was available. Thus the pieces were not all the same dimension. Doing half laps, thickness is especially critical. I just could not get closer than about 1/32". That is pretty good but remember, with a half lap, a 1/32" miscut becomes a 1/16" mismatch when you mate the two pieces.

It was a fun way to start the morning. It was fun only because all the mistakes could be gathered together and deposited in the trash.

LESSON LEARNED: If I was going to do tenons this way, I would build a jig. The primary purpose of that jig would be to secure the work piece where it should be throughout the entire cut - "Down Against the Table and Tight Against the Miter Fence".

I prefer my method. I am more comfortable with it
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Bill V

Why not just use a wide miter-gauge face with a stop on the right end and dump the fence? Or a sled with a stop should offer even more control.

BTW, there is NO time when it is OK to become careless at the tablesaw.

Also, I have been known to screw up a half-lap on some quick and dirty utility piece (like a screen frame) so badly that I ended up gluing a shim in the joint to avoid wasting a piece of stock.


.

I've used that "speedy system" quite often. However, my method is a variance of this one. I first make the shoulders, just like he did, but then make a bunch of crosscuts closer to the end of the board. This practice leaves a rough surface on the tenon face, so that's when I slide the piece into the side of the saw, much as he did. Little bites. Results in a fairly smooth face that can be easily cleaned with a block plane or scraper.

Yes, I use the miter gauge rather than free hand.

This looks like the method for cutting molding by pushing the stock across the blade at an angle. I have been intrigued by this, but it reading about it, I got the impression that it was not for beginners. Like Chuck, I might use this method to " clean up" a repetitive cut process, but I am not at all comfortable with the method. I have learned to listen to that "voice"! ( Couple of red marks on the old belly convinced me that not all the voices I hear are crazy):o I also have started to get a few hand planes and the clean up of a tenon seems a good place to used them.

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