Page 41 - Router Boss Manual

The mortise you’ve just cut has rounded corners
but tenons are typically square-cut. While you can
round the edges of the tenon, we suggest cutting the
corners of the mortise square. It’s simple to do with a
chisel, the joints fits tighter and the chisel’s cutting edge
is “hidden” inside the mortise so the danger from slips
is minimized. Repeat the above steps to complete all of
the mortises in the stiles.

Cutting the tenons
Tenons are cut in the ends of the rails and the
thickness of the tenon needs to match the width of the
mortise.With the Router Boss, there’s no need to mark
the layout of the tenon. Instead, you use the groove you
cut previously to position the bit properly, making sure
the marked faces are oriented the same way as when
you cut the grooves.

To cut the tenons, you’ll need to set up the Router
Boss with the fixed fence and clamping block. Clamp
the rail stock against the fixed fence, making sure the 3/8” dia. bit aligned
end is butted against the bottom of the base plate and with edge of groove
the marked face is squarely against the face of the ma-
chine.

You can use the 1/4” bit that you previously used
to cut the grooves, but to cut the tenon cheeks, we rec-
ommend switching to a beefier bit that’s less likely to
flex. Visually align the edge of the bit with one edge of
the groove, then tighten the router plate locking knob.
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