At the table saw, Catriona installs a dado blade set. Since she will be cutting a 1" tenon, multiple passes will be needed.   She uses the bread board end to set the depth of cut.  Actually, she sets to this height and then lowers it slightly. She will make a test cut and raise the blade a bit until it is exact.    To cut the right tenon width (1"), she measures from the inside blade to 1" and then places the magnetic Grip-Tite to serve as a stop block.    She uses a scrap piece of same thickness walnut to make a practice tenon. She adjusts the height until the tenon fits the groove snugly.    The sliding table makes the actual cutting of the large table top manageable. Without the sliding table, you would probably make the tenons by using a straight edge clamp and a hand held router.     Now, she can position the bread board ends and mark where the tenon needs to be cut to fit the stopped dado.    She carefully cuts to the mark.     She uses a rasp to round over the tenons to fit the shape of the dado.    It takes a few minutes, but the bread board ends now fit snugly. She is ready to cut the legs.      I do this next step, marking the center position. I am working from the bottom and will be drilling one hole in the center and one at each end.    I have very carefully set the stop collar so that I will drill through the tenon and just barely into the other side of the bread board end groove.     With the bread board end removed, I elongate the two outer holes.    I add a little glue just around the center hole. I tap a dowel in place in each of the holes. By elongating the outer holes and cementing only the center section, the bread board end will be able to move slightly and adjust for seasonal expansion and contraction. Main Menu Previous  Page Next  Page