Making Miter Box Joints
Generally miter box joints are fairly weak because the joint is predominately endgrain to endgrain. Tenons significantly increase the strength of the joint and make it easier to assemble and clamp the pieces.
Construction Tips
►For thinner materials, keep the mortise close to the inside corner. This minimizes the chances for boring all the way through the workpiece.
►For very thin materials, it may be necessary to shorten the Domino tenon length as described on page 19.
►For thicker materials, stacked mortises can be used as shown in the picture to the right.
Setup and Machining
1.Tilt the fence to the appropriate angle. (Refer to the table on page 7 for miter angles for
2.Lower the fence to the desired height. Note that the mortise should be close to the inside corner to avoid penetrating through the workpiece.
3.Plunge the joiner as shown below.
►The stacked mortises are used for thicker stock.
►Grasp the joiner by the auxiliary handle for best control.
Making Lock Tenon Joints
A locked tenon joint is any type of joint with two or more tenons at opposing angles. Once the opposing tenon(s) are inserted, the joint cannot be disassembled. With the exception of the
There are many variations of a locked tenon joint, but the simplest involve a mitered corner in a box or flat frame. The miter angle provides an easy reference for the two tenon angles.
In the example shown to the right, a standard miter joint is constructed using a large Domino tenon for strength in the main joint. The locking tenon is a 5mm x 30mm Domino tenon.
The mortise for the locking tenon is milled with the joiner’s plunge depth set to 28mm. This mortise is typically milled after the joint is assembled, but it is possible to mill the mortise in each piece separately.
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