How to make round tenon on end of square board

[Carl Beckett]

Im making some chairs, and would like to fasten the back to the top of the rear legs using a round tenon which will go into a bored hole. I want the diameter of the dowel part to come out around .75" (will bore the holes with a forstener), and the length about 2.5" (relatively long)

But as these legs extend up, they are tapered (and square), about 1" x 1" at the tip.

I have a couple ideas. Of course there are tenon cutters out there that you mount in a drill or drill press and cut them. Also I saw a way to make dowels on a router setup that could be used.

Tricks, tips, suggestions?

[Myk Rian]

Drill a round hole, use a round dowel.

You can make your own 3/4" dowels on a router table by using a 3/8" round-over bit, and stock cut to 3/4" square.

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[Prashun Patel]

Lee Valley has tenon cutters that are like big pencil sharpeners. I don't think they go to 3/4", though. I used them for a rocker. You still have to use a spoke shave or block plane to bevel the stock into a rough octagon first.

Doing it with the router and a 3/8" roundover bit and a good fence might be the easiest

[Michael W. Clark]

I think using 3/4" dowels and drilling holes is the most straight forward. However, there is a jig in Billy Hylton's book, Router Magic, for makin tenons on the router table. Either way, it sounds like it would be easier to drill the holes or make the tenons before tapering the backs, just my opinion.

[Carl Beckett]

Lee Valley has tenon cutters that are like big pencil sharpeners. I don't think they go to 3/4", though. I used them for a rocker. You still have to use a spoke shave or block plane to bevel the stock into a rough octagon first.

Doing it with the router and a 3/8" roundover bit and a good fence might be the easiest

Have been eyeing those tenon cutters. They do go up that big ( and bigger )

Not sure about the dowel route. There wouldnt be a lot of material once the leg is drilled.

And ideally I want to wedge it on the through side ( these are through tenons ). I know... Making life difficult for myself but what else is new

Indeed this particular step would have ( past tense) been easier to do before tapering.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I use 3/4" tenon cutters fairly often. I made a large 90 degree angle attachment out of MDF for my drill press. I also have a large thru hole in the MDF top on my drill press. I use a block between the base of my drill press and the non-tenon end of the spindle. By doing this, all the drill load goes to the base, and I don't have to crank on a clamp to keep the part from slipping.

[phil harold]

Time to buy a wood Lathe!
;o)

[Carl Beckett]

Time to buy a wood Lathe!
;o)

Lol. Ya, I have a lathe. The rear legs are tapered at the bottom, then an angle, and then taper up to the top where I want to Attach the back. So not straight enough to swing on a lathe. At least I don't 'think' it will clear.... Hmmmm.....

Another option I'm considering is to scre a washer on the tip and come down and trace it with a pattern bit on the router. Would only get me started though, not deep enough for the whole length but this would be ok cause I could rasp the rest and it would be concealed inside the joint

[Thom Porterfield]

My grandfather made just about anything "round" using an eclectic assembly of files. Wood rasps for coarse work, bastard files for the fine stuff. His ability to make perfectly fine pieces of wood with parallel sides into dowels, spheres, spoon handles, etc, was truly astounding.

I've done it. Takes awhile, but it does work.

[pat warner]

"Tricks, tips, suggestions?"
*************************
Walnut, top right, has two round tenons; they're part of the stock, not pasted on. Two disks were screwed to the end of the board on 1.75" centers.
Now with a tenon fixture platform, which holds the work on end, I cut the tenons with a router and shank bearing straight bit rolling on the disk templets.