Mortisers come in several different types, but they all have the same purpose: to create holes in wood pieces for tenons to fit into. These “mortise and tenon” joints are popular because of the ...

The “mortise” is the recess where the tenon goes. It can be cut by hand with a mallet and mortising chisel, or mechanically with a mortising machine and a hollow chisel bit. If you don’t have those ...

In this short build I show how I cut a keyed mortise and tenon joint entirely by hand. I mark out the shoulders, chop the mortise with a chisel, then carefully shape the tenon and the tapered key so ...

Simple mortise-and-tenon joints that meet at right angles can be made satisfactorily with power tools, but the ability to cut a mortise and tenon by hand opens up a much wider range of applications ...

A chisel is one of the most utilitarian and oldest hand tools for woodworking. And a good wood chisel, in particular, has sharp beveled cutting edges, holds those edges well, sharpens easily, and ...