I'm a long time lurker, but not a very frequent poster. I'm definitely an intermediate power tool worker and a newby at most hand tool operations. I've read most things I can read on the forum about MT joints and I have a question for a bed I'm designing.
It is a recessed panel bed with posts/beams rail/stile (what do you call those parts on a bed anyway?) of 4.5x2.5. The rule of 1/3 (or 1/2 I guess if I'm a power tool user) says the tenon should be somewhere between 7/8 and 1 1/4 thick. So call it 1" to make the numbers easy (gives a 3/4" shoulder). If I use the length = 5x thickness, I run out of board space, so maybe I use 3 3/4 for the length. Leaves 3/4" from the bottom of the mortise to the outside edge.
Since the boards are long (76" for the stile/stretchers, 57" for the posts), I'm thinking more of hand work than machine work.
Question: how would you cut that mortise (1" wide by 3 3/4" deep)? It's pretty big and deep.
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