| Tools used in Cabinet Making I class |
Building a base cabinet |
| Students learn how and why to use mortise and tenon fittings by building a router table. |
Mortise and tenon joinery is used when a smooth finish (no nails or nail holes) is desired
 |
Example mortise
 |
Example tenon - fits in the mortise
 |
Step one is choosing the wood
 |
All the legs are planed to the same size...
 |
...and cut to the desired length.
 |
Students secure the leg in a jig and use a plunge router to cut the mortises
 |
All of the legs have 2 mortises for the tenons on the connecting boards
 |
Before the tenons can be cut, the router must be set to exactly the correct height or they won't fit
 |
How to fit a square tenon in a rounded mortise? Round the corners with a chisel!
 |
Students apply glue to the tenons and mortises...
 |
...and assemble and clamp them together while the glue dries
 |
Students learn how to make a dovetail cut to add the middle stretcher bar...
 |
...using a special dovetail router bit.
 |
Dovetail cuts
 |
Then the removable table top is added (the small rectangular blocks fit inside the top frame to keep the top in place)...
 |
...and the router table is finished!
 |
|
.
