American Woodworker: Project of the Month: Frame and Panel Hope Chest

SAVE THIS SETTING! You’ll need it for cutting tenons on the stiles. Mark the position of your hand wheel to record the height of the dado set. Then lower the dado set and cut the back side of each tenon.

SIZE THE TENON by inserting the test piece into the mortise. If it takes a mallet to get the tenon into the mortise, the fit is too tight. If the tenon drops into the mortise with ease, it’s too loose. The correct fit is somewhere in between. Adjust the height of the dado blade to find that fit, then cut the back side of all the tenons.

BANDSAW THE NOTCH that forms the haunch. A fence helps keep the cut straight, but you can also cut freehand, following a pencil line. Clamp a board onto the fence and raise it above the bandsaw’s table. When the waste piece falls out of the notch, it will slide underneath the board and won’t get trapped between the blade and the fence.

OOPS!
We accidentally cut off the haunch on one tenon. Here’s an easy fix: You can insert a new one! Cut a dado right in line with the tenon and glue in another haunch.

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Hope Chest • Tools, Materials, & Sources • Exploded View of Hope Chest
The Grooves & Mortices • The Tenons • The Tenons (Continued)
The Stiles & Panels and The Top & Bottom • Assembly