Figure 6
Figure 8
2
5
/
8
"
1
5
/
16
"
1
5
/
16
"
Figure 7
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Wood Guide set too
far from front edge
Spiral variation
in tenon
diameter
Wood Guide set too
close to front edge
Unable to
feed log
Figure 10
Bit set too high
tenon diameter
too small
Figure 9
Bit set too low
Unable to
feed log
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Thread wing screws (H) through tapped holes on both
sides of the tenon maker U-bracket (A). Attach
mounting nuts (G) to each wing screw. Select the wood
guide for your tenon size preference, and slide the
guide into the front of the U-bracket. Make sure the
wood guide hole you have selected is toward the bit,
and verify that the inside portions of the wing screws
engage through the slots in the sides of the wood guide.
Align the wood guide so that the front face is set back
2
5
⁄
8
" from the front edges of the U-bracket, and securely
tighten the two wing screws (see Fig. 7). Raise the
router bit to a height of 1
5
⁄
16
" (see Fig. 8).
These initial settings provide a starting point for
adjusting the bit height and guide depth; variations in
how your router mounts to the U-bracket may affect
these settings, so some experimentation is in order.
The bit height defines the diameter of the tenon, which
ideally will be exactly the same as the guide size
chosen. If the bit is too “low” (too far away from the
center of the tenon guide hole), the tenon diameter will
be too large and it will not be possible to feed the
workpiece through the guide hole (see Fig. 9). If the bit
is too “high” (too close to the center of the tenon guide
hole), the tenon diameter will be smaller than desired,
and if too far out of line may present a safety hazard
(see Fig. 10).
Never feed a log into the Tenon Maker that
has a smaller diameter than the targeted wood guide hole.
The wood guide depth controls the consistency of the
tenon diameter. If the wood guide is set too close to the
front edges of the U-bracket, not enough of the router
bit will be exposed, and the front of the workpiece will
not engage the cutting edge of the router bit, making it
impossible to feed the workpiece and create a tenon
(see Fig. 11). If the wood guide is set too far away from
the front edges of the U-bracket, too much of the router
bit will be exposed and the tenon will start to develop a
varying diameter in a spiral fashion (see Fig. 12).
