One week into five weeks at home recovering from surgery. Binge watching woodworking videos. Mostly yours. Thanks for the effort putting this stuff out. I’ve learned much. I’m having to rewatch and take notes.
Another excellent and educational tutorial, Stumpy. I for one appreciate the fact that you continue to roll out videos useful to even the newest of woodworkers. Great job!
Thank you for this technique. I have purchased a Woodsmith plan for a Craftsman style front door. The instructions call for drilling 3/4" x 3" deep mortises with a plunge router and a 1/2" x 4" roughing end mill. I started looking for such a bit and discovered the one I would need is about $100. I already own a 5 piece set of Fisch forstner bits, and they proven to be very capable over the last year. I intend to try your technique before I spend $100 on a single router bit. Since the stiles are about 80" long, I will have to devise some auxiliary supports for my drill press.
I haven’t thought about that. I have a project where I need to cut 4 through joints for an old chair design and this might be the best way to get it done. Thanks!
Good clear tutorial but one thing might be easier. The center of any thing is easily found by laying a ruler on the board at an angle to a point where there is an even division of markings and getting the center of those (i.e. marks at 0 and 4 - the center is 2 etc.) is easier for me than splitting the difference of the estimated center. Just me though. - I have always angled the ruler to get evenly divisible numbers and used that to find the center.
You mentioned you were going to add a link to a good video showing how to create the tenons, as well. I don't see it; did I miss it somewhere? Thank you, LOVE your vids! God bless.
I need to build a stand for my new router table and while I could just use screws to hold it together...what's the fun in that? I haven't done this type of joint but with this video I feel I can make the stand functional and look good.
Your clear explanations and clear video make a world of difference. There are lots of videos on here about mortises. Yours are the clearest. I am curious though. Is there anything to consider when mortising with the grain or is that totally out of the question?
If you mean mortising into endgrain, that's not a good idea. You can do it, for example if you wanted to join two pieces end-to-end to make a single, longer piece, but the grain will be really prone to splitting if you force a tenon in there (so it's really only useful if you need to hide the join on all sides). A dovetail would be perfect for that kind of join, but finger joints would also do a better job than mortise/tenon.
Very well done ! You are a very GOOD Craftsman with craftsmanship. Please,keep your great videos coming, I learn a great deal from you. Thank you so very much ! !
I have seen drill tool marks in the mortises of antique furniture. It looks as if the maker bored the holes and then squared them up with a chisel. Probably not Forstner bits, though. Thanks for showing the modern version.
I use an end mill bit in my drill press and put the piece I am giving the mortice in an X Y vise mounted to the drill press table. Use a 3/8 to start and then clean out the corners with a smaller bit. You can square up the corners with a file with only a couple passes. Your mortice size will be limited to the amount of travel of your vise. For woodworking a cheap vise will work.
I love most your video and this was ok. I also felt like it was more for someone just getting started. I don't think I will be throwing out my mortising bits and press any time soon. Because it really is the fastest way
Hey, James! So sorry of somebody already asked this, but what is that beautiful mallet made out of? The handle looks like it’s possibly twine soaked around and coated with a shrink wrapped coating of some kind. The head looks to me like Bloodwood although my husband has his bet on a nicely finished chunk of mahogany.
I have been following you for years (oh that sounds creepy) the way that this channel has progressed has been nothing less than brilliant. I sub to many many different wood working channels stumpy nubs is my favourite go to wood working channel (sorry matthias) so sit back and have a cold one on me!
Hey James, Thanks for the Wave Forstner bit info... I'll follow up. FYI: There is a neat DIY drill press attachment idea floating around that helps with the mortise clean-up with a chisel REAL easy. The guy's YT channel is called Workshop Companion and the video is titles Drill Press Chisel Mount. Check it out. It seems to work very well. Comments?
Great tutorial. Got a question for you. Do you run your drill press at slow, medium or high speed (said another way what rpm would you recommend? Thank you
Great tip. Just wish forstner bits weren't SO EXPENSIVE. I bought a set of cheap ones from Harbor Freight and they can barely cut anything. Maybe a video on how to sharpen them?
There is no point in sharpening the cheap ones, the steel is rubbish and won't hold a good edge - I learned this by buying cheap as well. One day I will buy some good ones, but damn are they expensive.
I understand about getting the best forstner bits, but what is a good alternative to get started with? I'm assuming we're not talking Harbor Freight bits here.
They make dominos like that and it would be super easy to do if you used Domino's but if you're putting a tenon on a piece it's hard to fit a router and get a perfect round over that fit in there I for one prefer just making to mortise and then I make a giant stick with roundovers on it that's the same size and cut it to length and just fit it in both sides
There is one more problem, using a drillpress. When the table acts like piece of paper, look for a support under it. Cheap drillpresses are not stable enough for drilling thick holes. The holes are not square. Or use a drillpress, where the table of the drillpress ist the part, which is mountet directly, where the drillpress resides. So you can reduce the problems. This is a theme, which is good for longer video. Cheerio from Germany.
Thanks for the great instruction! Always learn something from your channel. BTW, How do feel about the specialized Mortising bits? Wouldn't they be easier to work with?
If you mean the ones with the parring collar for square holes, they can be a little finicky and it's a pain in the ass if chips get wedged in the bit. I know of a Russian drill and rig that could cut a square hole with slightly rounded corners. It's not hard to get the corners square afterwards. I don't think it was ever adapted for use with a drill press, and it was a lot of steel on the end of a drill. I don't think there's any other specialty equipment for it, maybe a plunge cut router if you're really good at setting the fence. If you know any other ways, I'm always eager to hear about tools that are new to me.
There are machines called Chain Mortisers which are basically small, yet wide, chainsaws with special chains that plunge cut mortises. Though they are most commonly used in log construction. But those are only really useful for cutting through mortises, or for really thick stock. As in those situations you don't have to clean up the bottom of the mortise. Personally I use a plunge router and just round over the tenon with a tiny spoke shave I made from a Stanley blade and a bit of wood.
@@fermitupoupon1754 interesting, thank you for the insight. I wouldn't have thought of using a chain mortiser outside of house framing and log cabins. If you don't mind me asking, do you make a jig for it or do you set guide fences?
@Blarg Kliggle, the one I use for work is a floor standing unit. It comes with fences and a power feeder and digital controls. I just enter the dimensions and placement, stick a couple sacrificial boards to the workpiece and let the machine do the work. It kinda feels like cheating, but when you have to make like 24 identical mortises with regular spacing between them, it's really nice to have a machine that does it so much quicker than is humanly possible. In my home shop, I don't have a machine like that. I just use a plunge router with a compression cut bit and templates. And then I round over the tenon with my home made spoke shave.
Or, you can just buy a set of morticing bits and build a simple Drill press morticing jig. the Measuring portion is the same but Morticing bits are a whole lot cheaper the Fisch Forstner bits and the jig can be made out of scraps. just a thought...
I remember a friend that had this cool thing that went in the drill press and made square holes . It was a little shorter than the drill and it was square tight around the drill and you would pull the handle down and the drill would start drilling and the square metal thing around it had a 4 sided taper edge that would cut the edges square.. . I don't see that anymore???
Yes I know what u mean. Mortise maker. U can buy them and attach them in your drill press or purchase a dedicated chisel moisture machine. I think though machines like festool portable dominoes joiner is taking over.
Pentel .5 lead. I have half a dozen and love them - real quality. Less than $9 on Amazon. $20 at your local art/drafting store. I was surprised to see him use it.
Thanks for that. I cut one mortise and tenon using forstner bit and table saw. Didn't do so well. Maybe more practice. On a real project I used a template and router to cut mortises. Worked great. The mortises were a different story. I used a dado blade. that was "OK". rounding over the corners of the tenons was a real pain. Got to be a better way.
I was given a. 1960s Harbor Freight Drill Press. It needs a capacitor. Mean time. I 'll practice. A forestnor bit is the way to go. I always like To put new wood.or really good wood on repairs, but sometimes there is just small flaw. Case in point. on the center of a 1 foot high deck..right above the support is a small. rectangular hole. It is about 2 inches long with the grain of the wood.. I originally was going to put filler in like plastic wood..I like a challenge. .So. I'm going to. find a suitable stick of wood and go from there. Take the cedar stick. to. the the weather damaged hole. Now trace the side lines of the stick . Route. At about. quarter inch at first. Cut the stick about 2 inches long..essentially they stick will be a good fit. Not extremely type..gorilla glue . any glue needs a little room. Then take out the plug.. Route out another 16th down...that will now be 5/16 deep...put. the plug. In. Check...Use. hand chistles next..should be perfect. (probably. salvaged red cedar)
well i prefer to have my tenon rounded, clean my mortise flat side with the forstner bit and do minimum chiseling and if my tenon is slightly shorter in length that's no problem (end grain), dominos work in this way. I personally find this method easier.
Wait u didn't use a domino??;)haha j.k. I dont either. I have a mortise machine but Some/alot if the time I actually like making m&t joints by hand.like u did here.🍻
One week into five weeks at home recovering from surgery. Binge watching woodworking videos. Mostly yours. Thanks for the effort putting this stuff out. I’ve learned much. I’m having to rewatch and take notes.
I learned more in this 5min video than a week long wood working class. Thank you so much!
Another excellent and educational tutorial, Stumpy. I for one appreciate the fact that you continue to roll out videos useful to even the newest of woodworkers. Great job!
I chop my mortises by hand and this has convinced me that a drill press with set of good forstner bits is the way to go. Great tutorial!
Makes perfect sense and that must be why I couldn’t figure out how to do it. Thanks Stumpy!
Well, ya did it again, James -- clear, concise, and effective. Thanks again, sir.
Well explained with good camera work showing the workpiece in question at various stages. Thanks from Cape Town, South Africa.
Thank you for this technique. I have purchased a Woodsmith plan for a Craftsman style front door. The instructions call for drilling 3/4" x 3" deep mortises with a plunge router and a 1/2" x 4" roughing end mill. I started looking for such a bit and discovered the one I would need is about $100. I already own a 5 piece set of Fisch forstner bits, and they proven to be very capable over the last year. I intend to try your technique before I spend $100 on a single router bit. Since the stiles are about 80" long, I will have to devise some auxiliary supports for my drill press.
Very well explained!You're a great teacher.
You explain things better than any other wood working channel. Thanks for the attention to detail.
I haven’t thought about that. I have a project where I need to cut 4 through joints for an old chair design and this might be the best way to get it done. Thanks!
Good clear tutorial but one thing might be easier. The center of any thing is easily found by laying a ruler on the board at an angle to a point where there is an even division of markings and getting the center of those (i.e. marks at 0 and 4 - the center is 2 etc.) is easier for me than splitting the difference of the estimated center. Just me though. - I have always angled the ruler to get evenly divisible numbers and used that to find the center.
I also used that technique it is simple
Thanks for the tip
Yes a good idea tooo
I prefer stumpy way though
I just learned this trick. Love it.
Thanks and greatings from Germany
Stumpy... You're the frickin' man! Such an easy explanation. Thanks!
You mentioned you were going to add a link to a good video showing how to create the tenons, as well. I don't see it; did I miss it somewhere? Thank you, LOVE your vids! God bless.
Amazing, simple tools! Thank you!
Great tutorial, clear, brief, and well illustrated. Thankyou
Thanks for posting this! Great point about boring the ends before the middle -- I never would have thought of that.
Clear, concise and very helpful. -Thanks!
Whew those are speedy bits, but they cut like a hot knife through butter. So tired of my cheap bits. Thanks for the tip.
Great video stumpy!
I need to build a stand for my new router table and while I could just use screws to hold it together...what's the fun in that? I haven't done this type of joint but with this video I feel I can make the stand functional and look good.
Great video thanks from London England 👍
Your clear explanations and clear video make a world of difference. There are lots of videos on here about mortises. Yours are the clearest. I am curious though. Is there anything to consider when mortising with the grain or is that totally out of the question?
If you mean mortising into endgrain, that's not a good idea. You can do it, for example if you wanted to join two pieces end-to-end to make a single, longer piece, but the grain will be really prone to splitting if you force a tenon in there (so it's really only useful if you need to hide the join on all sides). A dovetail would be perfect for that kind of join, but finger joints would also do a better job than mortise/tenon.
Thanks. I often see what look like tapered finger joints used for end to end. Guess that's why.
Yes that's right, the wedge type ones. Which type to use depends on which axis, if any, will be taking the strain as well as the appearance.
Very well done ! You are a very GOOD Craftsman with craftsmanship. Please,keep your great videos coming, I learn a great deal from you. Thank you so very much ! !
Have you tried technique where you drill 1/16 -1/8 size guide holes in inside of the corners?
I have seen drill tool marks in the mortises of antique furniture. It looks as if the maker bored the holes and then squared them up with a chisel. Probably not Forstner bits, though. Thanks for showing the modern version.
this is awesome, love the pragmatism, don't fancy burning incense and sacrifices to wood gods of mortises
Excellent technique~! I'll definitely go this route on my next project with mortise & tenon joints. Thanks~!
We used to use an auger and a brace to do the same thing.
I use an end mill bit in my drill press and put the piece I am giving the mortice in an X Y vise mounted to the drill press table. Use a 3/8 to start and then clean out the corners with a smaller bit. You can square up the corners with a file with only a couple passes. Your mortice size will be limited to the amount of travel of your vise. For woodworking a cheap vise will work.
Nothing like keeping it simple ;)
Do you ever run into problems attempting to mill on a drill press? I tried it once & the lateral forces de-chucked the thing.
I don't even own a handsaw- but I am subscribed and fascinated by your work
Really nice tips. Thanks.
Your awesome Stumpy, great tip.
I love most your video and this was ok. I also felt like it was more for someone just getting started. I don't think I will be throwing out my mortising bits and press any time soon. Because it really is the fastest way
That's nice :) Most usable tips & tricks in 5 mins EVER :) TNX 4 sharing :)
Very nice Video, helpfull discription
Hey, James! So sorry of somebody already asked this, but what is that beautiful mallet made out of? The handle looks like it’s possibly twine soaked around and coated with a shrink wrapped coating of some kind. The head looks to me like Bloodwood although my husband has his bet on a nicely finished chunk of mahogany.
Excellent explanation, thank you
Very clear explanation Mr. Nubs. Thank you.
I have been following you for years (oh that sounds creepy) the way that this channel has progressed has been nothing less than brilliant. I sub to many many different wood working channels stumpy nubs is my favourite go to wood working channel (sorry matthias) so sit back and have a cold one on me!
Matthias Wandel? I followed him too
Yes Matthias is good to
Hey James, Thanks for the Wave Forstner bit info... I'll follow up. FYI: There is a neat DIY drill press attachment idea floating around that helps with the mortise clean-up with a chisel REAL easy. The guy's YT channel is called Workshop Companion and the video is titles Drill Press Chisel Mount. Check it out. It seems to work very well. Comments?
Can I mortishing in existing door by using drill machine?
Love your videos I allways learn from them what is the marker you was using to mark the wood
Thank you
Regards Steve
UK London
A nice one
Use anything!
Thanks for the easy solution. This is great. Keep them coming.
Lots of good tips. Thanks for sharing.
Great tutorial. Got a question for you. Do you run your drill press at slow, medium or high speed (said another way what rpm would you recommend? Thank you
The larger the bit, the slower the speed. There are charts available online.
Another excellent video. Thank you.
Pán dělá hezkou reklamu našim dlátům :) Narex navždy
Good Video/Info.
Such good information, thanks!
Great tip. Just wish forstner bits weren't SO EXPENSIVE. I bought a set of cheap ones from Harbor Freight and they can barely cut anything. Maybe a video on how to sharpen them?
There is no point in sharpening the cheap ones, the steel is rubbish and won't hold a good edge - I learned this by buying cheap as well. One day I will buy some good ones, but damn are they expensive.
thaitichi: He has. Check it out: ua-cam.com/video/rLoEulA4mM8/v-deo.html
I understand about getting the best forstner bits, but what is a good alternative to get started with? I'm assuming we're not talking Harbor Freight bits here.
I use Freud bits and am quite happy with them.
What about leaving the ends rounded, then rounding over the tenons? Wouldn't that be easier?
They make dominos like that and it would be super easy to do if you used Domino's but if you're putting a tenon on a piece it's hard to fit a router and get a perfect round over that fit in there I for one prefer just making to mortise and then I make a giant stick with roundovers on it that's the same size and cut it to length and just fit it in both sides
Excellently explained. Thanks
Make a drill press sled and you can dispense with the chisel in the middle- just mill back-n-forth.
Keep up the great work
Well done, thank you
Well did you ever cut tenons with a forstner bit!?
This was very helpful, thanks for sharing.
I like it it’s so easy
How to do it using router just to skip the chisel work thanks
Great vid
So much nice😄👍
That was so helpful. Thank you!
What happens with the pencil marks on the finished piece?
Some great points as usual. Thanks for sharing
Another great video!
There is one more problem, using a drillpress. When the table acts like piece of paper, look for a support under it. Cheap drillpresses are not stable enough for drilling thick holes. The holes are not square.
Or use a drillpress, where the table of the drillpress ist the part, which is mountet directly, where the drillpress resides. So you can reduce the problems. This is a theme, which is good for longer video.
Cheerio from Germany.
Thanks for the great instruction! Always learn something from your channel. BTW, How do feel about the specialized Mortising bits? Wouldn't they be easier to work with?
If you mean the ones with the parring collar for square holes, they can be a little finicky and it's a pain in the ass if chips get wedged in the bit. I know of a Russian drill and rig that could cut a square hole with slightly rounded corners. It's not hard to get the corners square afterwards. I don't think it was ever adapted for use with a drill press, and it was a lot of steel on the end of a drill. I don't think there's any other specialty equipment for it, maybe a plunge cut router if you're really good at setting the fence. If you know any other ways, I'm always eager to hear about tools that are new to me.
There are machines called Chain Mortisers which are basically small, yet wide, chainsaws with special chains that plunge cut mortises. Though they are most commonly used in log construction. But those are only really useful for cutting through mortises, or for really thick stock. As in those situations you don't have to clean up the bottom of the mortise.
Personally I use a plunge router and just round over the tenon with a tiny spoke shave I made from a Stanley blade and a bit of wood.
@@fermitupoupon1754 interesting, thank you for the insight. I wouldn't have thought of using a chain mortiser outside of house framing and log cabins. If you don't mind me asking, do you make a jig for it or do you set guide fences?
@Blarg Kliggle, the one I use for work is a floor standing unit. It comes with fences and a power feeder and digital controls. I just enter the dimensions and placement, stick a couple sacrificial boards to the workpiece and let the machine do the work. It kinda feels like cheating, but when you have to make like 24 identical mortises with regular spacing between them, it's really nice to have a machine that does it so much quicker than is humanly possible.
In my home shop, I don't have a machine like that. I just use a plunge router with a compression cut bit and templates. And then I round over the tenon with my home made spoke shave.
@@fermitupoupon1754 as long as the result is a quality product, then it isn't cheating. My great grandfather always told me "work smart not hard".
could you have left the drill holes. cleaned up the two long sides and just rounded the ends of the tennon?
You could, yes.
Or, you can just buy a set of morticing bits and build a simple Drill press morticing jig. the Measuring portion is the same but Morticing bits are a whole lot cheaper the Fisch Forstner bits and the jig can be made out of scraps. just a thought...
How do you decide how thick you’re gonna make the mortise and tenon?
1/3 the thickness of the material.
@@StumpyNubs , awesome, thanks!
I remember a friend that had this cool thing that went in the drill press and made square holes . It was a little shorter than the drill and it was square tight around the drill and you would pull the handle down and the drill would start drilling and the square metal thing around it had a 4 sided taper edge that would cut the edges square.. . I don't see that anymore???
Yes I know what u mean. Mortise maker. U can buy them and attach them in your drill press or purchase a dedicated chisel moisture machine. I think though machines like festool portable dominoes joiner is taking over.
Please tell me what pencil you are using!!
So called Rotring,german product
Pentel .5 lead. I have half a dozen and love them - real quality. Less than $9 on Amazon. $20 at your local art/drafting store.
I was surprised to see him use it.
amzn.to/2QHLwDH
Thanks for that. I cut one mortise and tenon using forstner bit and table saw. Didn't do so well. Maybe more practice. On a real project I used a template and router to cut mortises. Worked great.
The mortises were a different story. I used a dado blade. that was "OK". rounding over the corners of the tenons was a real pain. Got to be a better way.
Regarding rounding corners of a tenon, Matthias Wandel (here on YT) had a router jig, pantarouter (IIRC), that did the trick.
What if the forstner bit is not deep enough?
Excellent
Appreciate you sharing thanks again good information
Thanks!
I dig it.
that forstner set - did you re mortgage your house?
First set i ever cut was this way.
Seen same thing done with just a drill bit!
I was given a. 1960s Harbor Freight Drill Press. It needs a capacitor. Mean time. I 'll practice. A forestnor bit is the way to go. I always like
To put new wood.or really good wood on repairs, but sometimes there is just small flaw. Case in point. on the center of a 1 foot high deck..right above the support is a small. rectangular hole. It is about 2 inches long with the grain of the wood.. I originally was going to put filler in like plastic wood..I like a challenge. .So. I'm going to. find a suitable stick of wood and go from there. Take the cedar stick. to. the the weather damaged hole. Now trace the side lines of the stick . Route. At about. quarter inch at first. Cut the stick about 2 inches long..essentially they stick will be a good fit. Not extremely type..gorilla glue .
any glue needs a little room. Then take out the plug.. Route out another 16th down...that will now be 5/16 deep...put. the plug. In. Check...Use. hand chistles next..should be perfect.
(probably. salvaged red cedar)
what size of forstner bit?
I'll stick with the router method. Yes you still have to drill but much less cleanup at the end of it.
What is wrong with finding the center by measuring? I do it all the time. It is quick and easy.
Wouldn't it be easier to use the right tool for the job a mortise drill bit?
well i prefer to have my tenon rounded, clean my mortise flat side with the forstner bit and do minimum chiseling and if my tenon is slightly shorter in length that's no problem (end grain), dominos work in this way. I personally find this method easier.
is it faster than a router ?!!
Well I wish I would of seen this before I got my jig!
1:27 to find that center, USE MILIMETRE insted of inches
Not to be obtuse but for a budget woodworker why not just use a spade bit?
Instead of doing all that chisel work on the Mortise making the hole square why not round off the corners of the tenon>????
Wait u didn't use a domino??;)haha j.k. I dont either. I have a mortise machine but Some/alot if the time I actually like making m&t joints by hand.like u did here.🍻
Why not use a square hole bit?
Because this isn't a tutorial about hollow chisel mortisers.
How to make a square mortice with a drill press and a forstner bit. Looks to me like you also used a chisel.
What is the brand of that mechanical pencil?
Here it is: amzn.to/2QHLwDH
i looked up a mortising machine and they on crack with the price
My chisels couldn't cut warm butter.
that's slow just use mortising setup on drill press much faster