Old-Time Secrets Uncovered: Crafting Mortise and Tenon Joints

By Bill Friday
Published on July 30, 2013
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Inset photo showing a mortise and tenon joint.
Inset photo showing a mortise and tenon joint.
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Blind mortise from the Star gin was hand-drilled.
Blind mortise from the Star gin was hand-drilled.
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Close-up of a blind mortise.
Close-up of a blind mortise.
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Blind and through-hole mortises.
Blind and through-hole mortises.
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Another mortise and tenon joint.
Another mortise and tenon joint.
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Tenon: A projection on a piece of wood shaped for insertion into a mortise to make a joint.
Tenon: A projection on a piece of wood shaped for insertion into a mortise to make a joint.

Today’s question: How did
the old guys cut perfectly square mortises in wood, including through-holes and
blind-pockets?

I’d not really thought about
it until I started restoring a cotton gin stand dating to the 1840s (for more
on the Star gin, see Restoring a Pre-Civil War Cotton Gin). The entire structure was built with

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