Coffee Table: Episode 3

Posted 13 March 2013

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In this episode Paul shows how to layout for and cut the through mortise which provides the connection between the table leg and the shelf. Through tenons require some extra care because the results are clearly visible on the outside of the joint.

Previous: Coffee Table: Episode 2

29 Comments

  4. Thanks for the lesson, Paul! I discovered that in this series you always remove some of the waste wood briefly after the start of the mortise chopping. I don’t think that it’s critical but is there a reason? I remember that you didn’t do that during the other projects like the table you built in the book series or the workbench legframe.

    1. It’s an alternative technique that shows that there are slight variations that progress the deepening of the mortise early on,which is helpful on wider tenons. This is quite a bit faster and the reason we don’t go too deep is because there is no room for us to lever waste at depth. Going down say 1/4″ initially like this gives enough space for deepening without compromising anything. We are all advancing in our training nicely and there will be more revelations for us to increase as we go. Some of you will start to think through other ways whereas for me, now, I will remain faithful to what I feel works for me and the habit I have will always make my work fast but without any sense of rushing. Economy of motion has always been critical to my working life as I have never had the luxury of working wood as anything but making my living.

      1. Thanks for your answer, Paul. Most of your methods work for me but the mortise chopping with a bevel edged chisel has been my best friend from the beginning. I haven’t seen a german joiner chopping even small mortises with the bevel edged chisel. Is this generally more common in the UK or is it something you discovered for yourself?

  5. Florian, removing the waste at the beginning provides a place for the waste to go during the next chopping action and thereafter. I do remember Paul describing this during the dvd videos.

  6. It’s absolutely clear why he removes the waste from the start but it’s different now than before. Before, I remember that he went along with the chisel perpendicular and startet to lever after maybe 3/8″ or a bit before. Now he travelled along the same distance, turned the chisel around and removed the waste of the already chopped stretch with the bevel perpendicular. As I said, I don’t think it matters a lot I was just curious why he made it a little bit differently.

  8. Paul great video as all ways, these video’s are very valuable and I have learned so much. I am still on your bench and I blew up the mortice on my last leg. Now I know why, and am so looking forward to this build.

    Thanks Guy’s for another excellent video, keep up the good work.

    Steve

  9. Very nice video again. Paul makes a template faster that I can write the word template down on paper 🙂

    This project is also the first time I see Paul using four shoulders on a tenon. Looking forward to see how he solves the problem of aligning those shoulders.

  10. Paul, in the first half of the through mortise you show how you check your chisel in the mortise hole to make sure that you have chopped the mortise parallel to the face of the leg. Now I am recalling some bad mortises I have chopped in the past where there was a definite tilt. Without a guide in the through mortise, how do you suggest a) preventing tilt and b) compensating for it if in fact you have chopped at an angle. I can imagine the two halves of my through mortise not meeting very exactly, you see…

      1. Robin, thanks for answering: it’s even at the surface of the wood, where the knife-wall is, but it tilts with reference to the other faces of the wood. Paul shows how to check for this but his is straight, so he doesn’t show how to correct for it as it isn’t necessary on his mortise.

  16. Great video. As usual I am a few projects behind but I am going to make a set of end tables using this design and follow along the course for the coffee table. I read through the thread of comments and before I watched the video I thought that Paul would make a knife wall all the way around as some have suggested. I’ll go practice this a couple of time on a piece of pine from my scrap pile to see if I can be as successful as Paul was getting the mortise to line up in the middle… I suppose having patience is a big part of it…

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