Simple and strong, the mortise and tenon joint (also called the mortice and tenon) has been used for millennia by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, usually when the pieces are at an angle close to 90°. Joinery is that part of Woodworking that involves joining together pieces of wood to create furniture structures toys and other items Woodworking is the process of building making or carving something using Wood. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Although there are many variations on the theme, the basic idea is that the end of one of the members is inserted into a hole cut in the other member. The end of the first member is called the tenon, and it is usually narrowed with respect to the rest of the piece. The hole in the second member is called the mortise. The joint may be glued, pinned, or wedged to lock it in place.
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Types of mortise and tenon
A mortise is a cavity cut into a timber to receive a tenon. Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or There are several kinds of mortises:
- Open mortise - a mortise that has only three sides. (See Bridle joint). A bridle joint is a Woodworking joint, similar to a Mortise and tenon, in that a tenon is cut on the end of one member and a mortise is cut into the other to accept
- Stub mortise - a shallow mortise, depth depends on the size of the timber; also a mortise that does not go through the workpiece (as opposed to a "through mortise").
- Through mortise - a mortise that passes entirely through a piece.
- Wedged half-dovetail - a mortise where the back is wider, or taller, than the front, or opening. The space for the wedge initially allows room for the tenon to be inserted, the presence of the wedge, after the tenon has been engaged, prevents its withdrawal. Sometimes called a "suicide" joint - since it is strictly a "one way trip".
- Through wedged half-dovetail - a wedged half-dovetail mortise that passes entirely through the piece.
A tenon is a projection on the end of a timber for insertion into a mortise. Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Usually the tenon is taller than it is wide.
There are several kinds of tenons:
- Stub tenon - a short tenon; depth depends on the size of the timber; also a tenon that is shorter than the width of the mortised piece so the tenon does not show (as opposed to a "through tenon").
- Tusk tenon - a kind of mortise and tenon joint that uses a wedge-shaped key to hold the joint together
- Through tenon - a tenon that passes entirely through the piece of wood it is inserted into, being clearly visible on the back side
- Teasel tenon - a term used for the tenon on top of a jowled or gunstock post, which is typically received by the mortise in the underside of a tie beam. A tie is any strong component designed to keep two objects closely linked together A common element of the English tying joint
- Top tenon - the tenon that occurs on top of a post.
- Feather tenon - a round-shouldered machined fillet or feather which is glued into a machine (router) made slot or mortise on each side of the joint.
Generally the size of the mortise and tenon is related to the thickness of the timbers. It is considered good practice to proportion the tenon as 1/3rd the thickness of the rail, or as close to this as is practical. The haunch, the cut away part of a sash corner joint that prevents the tenon coming loose, is one third the length of the tenon and one sixth of the width of the tenon in its depth.
In anatomy, a mortise is an anatomic part of the distal tibia joining the talus bone to form an ankle joint. The tibia, shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two Bones in the Leg below the Knee in vertebrates and connects See Talus for other meanings of the word The talus bone or astragalus of the Ankle joint connects the leg to the foot In Human anatomy, the ankle Joint is formed where the Foot and the leg meet
Gallery
 A traditional through, wedged, mortise and tenon joint |  A stub tenon corner joint |
 A haunched stub tenon corner joint |  A foxtail wedged tenon joint |
 A pinned corner tenon joint |  A modern feather tenon joint |
History
This is an ancient joint and has been found joining the wooden planks of the "Khufu ship",[1] a 43. The Khufu ship is an intact full-size vessel from Ancient Egypt that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza 6 m long vessel sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex of the Fourth Dynasty around 2,500 BC. The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. The fourth dynasty of Ancient Egypt is characterized as a Golden age of the Old Kingdom.
It has also been found in archeological sites in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. In traditional Chinese architecture, wood components such as beams, brackets, roof frames and struts were made to interlock with perfect fit, without using fasteners or glues, enabling the wood to expand and contract according to humidity. Chinese architecture refers to a style of Architecture that has taken shape in Asia over the centuries [2] Archaeological evidence from Chinese sites show that by the end of the Neolithic, mortise and tenon joinery was employed in Chinese construction. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Joinery is that part of Woodworking that involves joining together pieces of wood to create furniture structures toys and other items [3]
References
- ^ Ward, Cheryl. "World's Oldest Planked Boats," in Archaeology (Volume 54, Number 3, May/June 2001). Archaeological Institute of America, [1]. The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA is a North American Nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in Archaeology,
- ^ Steinhardt, Nancy W. (2002). Chinese Architecture, English Ed. , Yale University Press, p. 1. ISBN 0-300-09559-7.
- ^ Xujie, Liu (2002). Chinese Architecture - The Origins of Chinese Architecture, English Ed. , Yale University Press, p. 11. ISBN 0-300-09559-7.
- This article is partly based on a Quicksilver wiki article at A Glossary of Terms For Traditional Timber Framing (Timberbee) under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known primarily for his Science fiction works in the Postcyberpunk genre
See also
External links
- DIYinfo.org's Timber Joints Wiki - Heaps of practical information on various types of timber joints. The finger joint / box joint is made by cutting a set of complementary rectangular cuts in two pieces of wood which are then glued A dado (US and Canada housing (UK or trench (Europe is a slot or trench cut into the surface of a piece of machinable material usually Wood A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery.
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