Hand Insight

Trimming an African blackwood wedge for a perfect fit

Hand Skills Peter Sefton’s students find their skills tested by having to produce really neat The saw kerf must go exactly corner looking through tenons to corner

ontinuing on from last month’s The cutting of these mortices could contrasted the pale ash (Fraxinus article on the dovetail housing be done purely with mortice chisels, excelsior) rack, such as African Cjoint used on our students’ tool but I demonstrated both drilling out blackwood ( melanoxylon), racks, some of the guys also practised and routing the waste. Both techniques American black walnut ( nigra) their hand skills cutting through ultimately requiring some careful and lignum (Guaiacum officinale), mortice and tenons wedged, both for chisel work, but the routing method which were chosen to give the best aesthetics and strength. As part of the was a favourite, using the same router effect. Remember, for those wedges exercise they needed to decide on the housing jig that was talked about in set diagonally across the tenons, the configuration of tenons – would it be last month’s article. This left just a wedges needed to be cut with angled two or three? The wedges also led to millimetre around the cutter for ends to match the edges of the mortice. a few design decisions, like how many final chisel clean up. Now the tool racks are completed and wedges and then their placement; One of the most important things full of tools, the guys are moving onto vertical, horizontal or diagonal – most to remember when making decorative bigger and more complex projects opted for diagonal. show joints like these is that they must using their newfound experience. ■ be good and clean. Most mortices are hidden by the shoulders of tenons, but these are on show. The starting point Peter Sefton for clean joints is good marking out Peter Sefton is a well- and I used my Veritas dual marking known furniture maker gauge for the mortice and tenon. who runs courses in fine The Veritas gauge’s cutting discs are woodworking, teaching set so the bevel edge of the chisel and mentoring students at the Peter is cutting into the waste side of the Sefton Furniture School. He also mortice, leaving a very clean square owns Workers Workshop and line around the mortice. The tenons he is a Liveryman of the Worshipful were cut by hand, using tenon saws Company of Furniture Makers. and the shoulders were cleaned up Web: www.peterseftonfurniture Checking the through tenons are a with a sharp bevel edge chisel. The school.com perfect fit before fitting wedges wedges were made from timbers that

Woodworking Crafts issue 09 13