Arts and Craft Side Table – Mortises
After all the lumber was milled and cut to size I spent time carefully laying out the mortises. The plans call for through mortises at the bottom of each leg, so I took my time to ensure I didn’t cause any damage to surrounding areas. Additionally the legs are visible on three side since the top will be circular.
A couple of hours and the mortises are in place with no real problems. It was very relaxing to chop away and I could feel my stress fall away. Took a couple of sharpenings of the chisel but each mortise on took a pass from each side. The first pass was about an inch deep then I flipped the piece and chopped the remaining half inch from the other side.
Before cleaning up for the day I laid out the tenons on the lower rail and the center bridal joint. Haven’t cut one of those in a while so I’ll have to think about the best approach this evening. The upper rail is dovetailed into the top of the leg which is also a technique that I’ve done infrequently. One of the reasons for this table was the couple of joints that will make it fun.
What is the design you’re building? The mortises look great, by the way!
Hi Joe, forgot to add the article in my blog. May June 2006 issue of Fine Woodworking. I thought very seriously about some of the tables you have built recently but I have most of the lumber on hand and can knock this out fairly quick.