What is a Tenon Cutter Hand Tool Thursday
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A tenon cutter is a tool designed to cut a round tenon for joinery in Windsor chairs and other traditional woodworking. this is a hand tool bit designed to fit in a Brace. basically, it is a jig for cutting dowel stock in hardwood sticks.
See the tool in use here: • A coat Hanger I Guess ...
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Sweet!!! I have absolutely no need for one now or in the foreseeable future so naturally I've already started looking for one.
LOL yup. that is the way it works!
it is a sickness i tell ya. Horrible, no good, incurable sickness....lol. Wish i could fine one here locally
I just discovered these last night, and I am already fascinated and have a couple of bids out on eBay. 🤣
Thank you very much for your video, James! I found a tool in my Grandfather's tool chest and it turns out to be the "cone cutter" that you describe in this video. In fact, yours seems to be identical to my Grandfather's. I plan to get into making stick and Windsor chairs and so I look forward to using the cone cutter. Now, I need a tenon cutter. I'll keep my eye out on ebay.
The names for these things I think were most common are "hollow auger" for the tenon cutter, and "spoke pointer" for the cone cutter. Those might help a search.
it depends on the maker. I have seen advertisements from different companies with 3 different names.
I just saw 3 of those tenon cutters at an antique store this morning and had not seen one before. Tomorrow morning I will be going back to pick one up for $30 seems like a good deal to me. I didn’t see the cone cutter it I wasn’t looking either.
I recently bought one of these, not because i build Windsor chairs but because I make a lot of handles for tools like tang chisels. It is easy to shape the handle itself, but I find forming the tenon that receives the tang so that it is centered and straight is fraught. I am making a set of handles for a set of chisels that had no handles as a Christmas gift and will see how well the tenon cutter works. I am also making a saw bench for myself and will use it in that application. There is not a lot of information on these vintage cutters, so this video is much appreciated. I also have the thought of making a Shaker bebch with round spidles.
Cutting circles on Pi day. Excellent!
lol I tried to mention diameter and circumference a few times!
Luke K Bravo! Good point ! The full circle of thought ;)
I have seen these used by a traditional wheelwright at a woodworking exhibition in Brisbane, Australia, near where I live. He used it to cut the tenons on the end of the spokes. Fascinating stuff. Almost as spellbinding as watching a cooper making barrels under the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland when I worked there. How he judged the complex angles on the staves so that they produced a watertight fit, I will never know. Thanks for the excellent video.
Those are so much fun to watch. I have a lot of respect for someone who can make a nice barrel.
Would you believe my daughter has a giant pencil and I was looking for a sharpener.Ended up here...not that I mind...now I want it... the whole set ...sad sad sad. Excellent video thanks for sharing.
LOL that is great!
This is fantastic and inspiring. Thank you! About two weeks ago, I had been looking on eBay for some vintage auger bits for a bit brace that I picked up a few years ago at a flea market but had never used, and then I ran across some of these devices and was fascinated, but mystified. This video explains them perfectly, and got me very excited to get some for myself. Drilling holes is a no-brainer, but this is the missing link for the other half of that equation, and was a revelation to me. I am really appreciating the ingenuity of the people who came up with these tools a century or two ago! Fast forward a week, and the first hollow auger (from the Bonney tool company, with the rotating dial/wheel) arrived, but unfortunately, something happened to it in shipment, and the top bit portion that connects into the brace had snapped off of the cast-iron body. I had another EC Stearns with the dial/wheel already ordered, so I was not too worried, but sad to see the tool damaged just as it was about to get a new life with me. The seller gave me a refund, which I put toward a third/replacement cutter, and I am now thinking about 3-D printing a carbon fiber snap-on part to replace the cast iron part that snapped off. (I like the idea of using 21st-century technology to repair 19th century technology. 🤓) Today I received a spoke pointer, and the third tenon cutter, which is another EC Stearns, and almost exactly the same model as you showcase in this video, except that it does not have the small wheel for fine adjustment of the blade depth. Thanks so much for this video! It has inspired me, and I am now starting to fill with ideas for things like chairs and other furniture made from local redwood branches that rain down in my yard, etc. 🤓
Sweet. Looking forward to seeing what you make!
As we say here in Maine, "That is WICKED cool!" :)
LOL thansk Garry. and congrats on first!
Absolutely!
I never imagined I’d fall in love with a hand tool, but wow. That tenon cutter will be really hard to forget... great video, thanks for sharing!
Thanks man. Some of these old tools really know how to pull on the heartstrings.
An oldie but a great one!
WRANGLERSTAR was trying to figure out the one with all the holes lol.
Great video! The father of a friend of mine passed away and left behind a set of these bits and we had no idea what they were or how they were used. Your video solved the mystery. Thank you!
I got a tenon gutter yesterday!! An RC Stearnes with 8 hole diameter options. Perfect timing to learn more about the set up! Thanks James
sounds like fun man. this one is a Stearnes too
Thanks for sharing that
Very nice
I would love to get my hands on a set of these!
Nice thanks
Fantastic video James, thank you for sharing
thanks Rick. my pleasure
Wow, the perfect tool for the job. Cuts nice and slow and the amazing clean tenons are lovely.
Such a beautiful tool! I saw a modern version for a power drill in a different video and was amazed but, thought it was a new invention
I just picked up an EC Stearns tenoner! I cannot wait to try it out. Will probably need to pick up the coner first. I’m glad you did this video.
thank you James . it is amazing what or how things get done
So true. Love finding the good old days methouds.
such a cool hand tool
so true!
Very nice cool tools and excellent explanation on how they work thanks for sharing
Thanks. My pleasure.
Very interesting and informative. Thanks. Best wishes. Mark
Thanks Mark!
Way cool! I WANT ONE!
They are a lot of fun!
Been around tools all my life and you somehow continue to show me new ones !
There are a lot of them out there. I'm still finding new ones every time I go to a tool meet.
Wood By Wright well thanks for sharing with us, love the history and seeing how they didn’t in the not so distant past !
Ok. This tool is amazing!
and so much fun!
Very useful tool.
Thanks. Glad I get help
Really cool James! 😃👍🏻👊🏻
thansk Fred!
Fantástico este recurso. Não conhecia
Good
Well explained and great demo. I don’t have any use right now but am now tempted since it really looks like fun. I’d love to see you do a chair or two for your great live edge table you built!
Thanks. Interested to see what projects come in the future
This looks very fun to use ! I would really like you to try chairmaking and demystify it for us.
thanks. I may have to some time in the future.
James thanks for sharing. I have the A.A.Wood & Sons adjustable hollow auger similar to what you showed in the video and also a Sterns with the dial a tendon fixed diameters.
Nice. Sounds like a food collection.
dang it, now i need one of those
I know right!
I found a tenon cutter similar to yours several years ago. Mine doesn't have the knob adjustment for the blade. I never used a cone cutter because I simply use a draw knife or spoke shave (depending on the wood and my mood) to create a cone. Then I run the tenon cutter in my brace like you and get perfect tenons. Nice video.
thanks. yup no need for the cone cutter. it is just fun to have!
Nice job! This is just the video I needed to see. I have a hollow auger and (almost) had a spoke pointer. Now I have an idea how to use them. BUT, that is far from being ready to make a chair!!
I have one of these :D my granddad was a wheelwright and used it for cutting the spokes' tenons. Mine is a bit different, it has 2 handles wich you have to turn to close it, while you cutting it closes until it hits a screw wich is set to the apropriate depth. its so cool. If you want i can send some pictures and a video :D have a good day and congrats for the great great content :)
ya that is another common design. there are quite a few of them. and most of them are so cool and ingenious.
@@WoodByWright I couldn't have said it any better. kzhead.info/sun/edSOesqGnZtrgp8/bejne.html In this video they show it quite well, from 6 min, bit rough though
I’ve got a stearns hollow auger. So much fun to use
the best company there was for them! that is what this one is too.
Very useful and pertinent video for me. Thanks much. If you get a chance maybe a video with the multiple hole version. Thats the one I have but havent had a chance to use it yet. A series on making a windsor chair would be great. Thanks again for all you do for us.
Thanks. That one is a lot easer to use. Just have to make sure the blade just touches the circle. Much easer to setup.
I’ve never seen a hand powered one before yours. Cool device.
it is a lot of fun!
Hi Jim! I just picked up a AA Woods and sons dowel maker ( similar to yours) at an antique store today. Had my eye on it for about 6 mos. Little pricey though ($70), but looks like it was hardly used and unique? So, I finally grabbed it, brought it home and it worked fantastic. It will definitely be useful to make dowels or tendons when needed! So I watched your great video “again” and I concur....great ( and cool) accessory tool that is a must for the toolbox and collection! Also, when are you heading out to Massachusetts area? It would great to meet you and chat a bit? Keep the videos coming! .... and tell the bride she does a great job as well!
nice. a dowel maker is high on my list. sounds like you got a steel of a deal!
Liked it very much
thanks!
Wow! Cool! Never saw that kind. Thank you very much ! More versatile I think than the veritas.
Thanks. It is a ton of fun to play with.
Any tips for making sure it's centered on the stock? I'd imagine a small pin/needle that's centered on the depth stop might help with that, as long as it could extend down and get pushed up as the tool came down.
that is the nice thing about the cone. as long as the brace is vertical it will center out naturally.
I wood 😊 like to see more done with the cutter
LOL thanks. more coming up
Do some wood spoke wheels
It would be fun to do some wagon wheels. Would love to find a blacksmith shop to collab with on that one.
@@WoodByWright This would be a good tool for bush crafters to take into the the woods with a wood auger to make a stool, benches, table, ladder or draw knife horse. It's too much work whittling tenon's by hand! the applications are many!
Amazing tool, can't imagine the person thinking about designing such a tool.
Lol yes. "You know what we need to make...)
Ooooh something else to put in my braces that I had no idea I needed! Wait...no, I dont need this...do I? Hmmm Maybe...
that is what I tell my wife! I NEED THIS!!!
@@WoodByWright James, STOP IT! I can't keep buying stuff! Haha
As usual great video, thank you James. Is it hard to keep it stright? I mean the final tenon might be twisted on one side as when boring a hole.
You do have to make sure to keep it vertical but just as with a regular auger it is fairly easy to eyeball. There are other tricks you can set up to check it but I normally just keep an eye on it
James, this was informative and showed me how to use both tools which I've just purchased. Just two questions. With the conical tenon chamfer tool I noticed that when you adjusted the iron you tapped it without loosening the 2 screws at all. Also, I wonder if you're not concerned about any mushrooming by using that metal hammer?
Thanks. Yes I leave the screw slightly loose but tight enough to hold it. If I want to tip it one way or the other then I'll keep one of the screws tight and use it as a fulcrum to tap the other side around. I hope that answers the question. As to mushrooming the steel I'm not hitting it hard enough to do that. Some people will use a brass hammer but for the small amount of force it doesn't really cause any problem.
@@WoodByWright Thank you, James.
Long long time since I used one, as a teenager
I did not know they had those on Kashyyyk. LOL they are a lot of fun!
I think a Windsor chair in the Wright style would be an excellent project
Thanks Tom. We will see.
Ahh, the ol' Paul Jackman Pencil Sharpener™
Lol yes now we need to do a colab!
@@WoodByWright Does BLO come in 55 gallon drums? 😁
cool
Thanks
Who is the manufacture of your Tenon Cutter. Its awesome
Hi James. My tenon cutter is very similar to the one you're using. Do you have any tips on keeping everything straight? Sometimes my cutter drifts and the tenon ends up skewed a bit. Love your vids.
Usually I like to drill horizontally. That way I can keep the pressure in my gut and maintain it at the same height. It allows it to run fairly true. But sometimes it just depends on the grain of the wood and your particular cutter. Some of them are better than others.
The cone cutter makes me think of the Pilgrim muskets .
Lol yup. Got to love a good blunderbuss
I tried to use my multi-sized tenon maker (like you described at 3:44 mark) today with a little success. Glad I found this video! I don't remember the brand of my tool off the top of my head. It does not (currently) have a double bevel. Is that bevel unique to your style of cutter? Thanks for sharing!
The double bevel is fairly common. You just have to make sure that the lower bevel still has clearance space. Some people make that bevel too large and the heel of the bevel will rub on the work and not the cutting edge. What kind of problems are you having if you send me an email it be glad to help what you work it out
Would like to see Windsor chairs
hopfuly soon!
Wow
Thanks
I really like the video. I was able to kick up a cone cutter. It took me a long time to flatten the back but it still doesn’t cut smooth. Is the bevel up towards the outside or down towards the inside of the cone?
If it's like the one I have the bevel sticks out away from the bed that it sits on.
Never heard of these before today. Sure look nice! Have you ever tried sharpening/ stropping to even higher grits with something like this or a plane blade? You could go to 0.1 micron but I'm wondering if that's going too far and starts taking up too much time/ effort. Any thoughts?
ya there is not much use doe going any further then green paste. after a couple passes through the wood that fine of an edge just gets knocked off. it does look cool though when you have that high of a polish!
I picked up one of the ones with the circular dowl tenon cutters in it but it seems to jam like crazy. Any tips? I've got the chiseling edge above the plate, but the area where the chisel and the round plate are jams up after a few turns of the brace.
I am not sure. feel free to email me some pictures. I would be glad to take a look.
interesting tools .🤔
Oh ya!
I bought my first brace and bits on Tuesday but it needs cleaning and oiling yet. I've been wondering why people have several of them, now I know. Thank you for this one because I've been wondering how to do this without a lathe, but somehow I think they won’t be common in the UK. This video has been extremely helpful, thank you very much indeed. As a total aside, I got some chisel bit with my augers (hope I’m using the correct terminology). They don’t look too sharp at all and I have absolutely no idea what to do with them. I’ve sussed my coachmakers auger, my counter sinks and my spade bits but I can’t find anything about the chisel things. I’m assuming they are chisels as that’s what they look like. As always I will be immensely grateful for any help please.
I am not sure what you are talking about with chisel bit. feel free to send me an email with some pictures.
Thanks James, I'll do it as soon as I'm able.
Really cool video James! Thanks...rr Normandy
Thanks Richard.
James, if you don't mind, what angle is the bevel approximately on each side of the blade on the tenon cutter? Thank you very much!
It's about that much. But to be honest it's probably somewhere around 10 to 15° on each side bring it to around 20 to 30° of actual cutting angle
Thank you very much, James@@WoodByWright!!!!
@@WoodByWright I got a tenon cutter on ebay and the angle of the blade was right in the range you said, about 30 degrees. I will now have some fun tuning the cone cutter and tenon cutter.
Fascinating. How hard is it to find these?
thanks not that hard at all. i saw several dozen of these today at a tool meet. check out HandToolFinder.com
This is really interesting. Never seen either a vintage tenon cutter before nor a cone cutter. Are these hard to come by? I'm familiar with the new tenon cutters from i.e. Veritas, but these are set to a specific diameter. I'd really like to get my hands on one like you've got there. Any brand or model you can share with me? Oh, and I'd love to see you do a Windsor, or more preferably a Welsh Stick Chair!
I do not have the brand on these off the top of my head. there were so many makers over the years. I see them all the time at MWTCA meets.
@@WoodByWright Alright, thanks anyway! Very interesting to see!
Does anyone know any more terms for the "cone cutter"? The only ones I'm finding on Ebay are large modern ones for rustic log furniture.
On ebay it will more commonly be called a spoke pointer.
@@WoodByWright BINGO! That did it. Thanks!
looks like supplies are somewhat limited on Ebay with prices averaging around 50 dollars shipped in the USA. Most seems to be fixed diameter. I'd read the phrase "hollow auger" a long time ago and didn't think anything of it. I kind wish I'd paid more attention because it seems like more and more people are getting interested in traditional woodworking and it seems to be driving up the cost and down the availability of tools haha
Yeah. I don't shop on eBay much it's way too expensive and the selection is far lower than it used to be. I have a list of online sites that I purchased from on my website handtoolfinder.com but most the time my tools are purchased at Midwest tool collectors association meets
I blame "collectors", the people who pay extra for an original box to store it in forevermore, and won't ever sharpen it. It's a dead end path for a tool.
@@adamperkins6054 they have been a problem for decades. I remember going to a second hand store and the guy who ran it kept going on about how old stuff was worth more because "if those things could tell stories" he looked horrified when I told him I would be replacing the rotten handles on a two man crosscut, ironically, it was the best saw in the store and the cheapest at only 25 bucks. He was asking 60+ for the other saws with deep rust pits
Off topic question, James. What brand diamond plates are the best to get??
DMT hands down. cost a bit more, but last far longer.
@@WoodByWright thanks for the reply. I'll get the DMTs.
Where can I buy these? I want to make custom tipi poles and don't have a lathe. All I need to do is cut a 4 inch tenon into some 2x2s. The lumberjack tenon cutters are too expensive and more importantly don't cut a square shoulder and only go at most 2 inches deep.
If you go to handtoolfinder.com I have a list of trusted antique dealers. Most of them have a few in stock.
Are cone shaped tenons and mortises any better or worse? Right angled shoulders aren't proper for legs with any rake and splay, are they?
they are no better or no worse. just another style. normally you would then pair down so you would not have a hard shoulder to make it fit other applications.
@@WoodByWright But you can "pair down" only the high part of the shoulder. You still get some space between the bottom of a chair and the low part of the shoulder. You need to cut a skewed shoulder keeping the tenon round and of the same diameter. Seems hard to me. How to do it.
James, I have a followup to my last message. I have recently bought 2 tenon cutters, one of which is identical to yours except for the iron's micro adjustment. Mine doesn't have it. And I also bought a cone cutter from my "tool guy". That always sounds like a drug dealer, but I suppose it kind of is. Anyhow, the cone cutter was basically free because the iron on it has a crack that goes from the top hole, to the edge. The iron seems strong and so far doesn't seem to affect it, but do you know of anyone who currently makes irons for these old cone cutters? Veritas shows their own cone cutters and replacement irons, but nothing that seems to be the same as what I have. Thanks
Unfortunately, I doubt anyone is making new ones of those. You can go on Amazon or McMaster car and get a piece of 01 tool steel that is of the same dimension or bigger and then cut it to shape and harden it. Though for that much work it might be better to go and get a different cone cutter.
@@WoodByWright Yeah, I've seen one or two out there in my travels, and apparently a couple companies also make new cone cutters. I may have to rethink that one or try the 01 tool steel idea. Oh Im sure my girlfriend will love me learning metal working!
Where can I get a set and will they deliver to Australia? For that matter, where can I buy these hand tools from and will they deliver to Australia? As they are hard to find here in Australia.
I have a list of people who sell online and will ship around the world on my website handtoolfinder.com
@@WoodByWright Thank you.
@@WoodByWright I went to the pin site in Australia and they replied to me that they will give a list of Australian online sites where I can get hand tools. Thank you greatly for this.
@@jodiepalmer2404 that is cool. Can you send me the list when you get it. I would love to add it
Where can I get a tennon cutter with flat shoulder ?
Most of them will create a flat shoulder. Those tend to be more common in the older ones. If you're looking for an antique version is then look on the hand tool sellers on handToolfinder.com I'm actually not aware of where to buy a new one that creates a flat shoulder. Most of the new ones have a coned shoulder or a rounded shoulder.
Do you have any idea where i can get these tools? The old ones like yours
Mwtca or local antique shops thats were i get most of my stuff. He has a map of places to buy antique tools all over the world. He has a link in the description of this video for it
thanks man
what @truly Greg said. the site I have for finding antique tools is handToolFinder.com these are fairly common wherever you look for antique tools. I saw 2 of them the other day in an antique shop. and I usualy see several of them at every MWTCA meet.
That was quite riveting, wood riveting that is. LOL
LOL nice. there is a good video in that some ware!
Where can one buy t he cutter?
I would go down the list of online sellers on HandToolFinder.com and see who has parts for the one I have. but more often then not it is easer to just make one out of a scrap of tool steel. you can actually buy O1 or A2 on amazon and shape it to fit. Unfortunately no one makes those and every maker of these used a slightly different shape so they can be difficult to find an original. Hope that helps.
1:44 - why don't you use the adjustment screws 😂
it would be nice if it had those.
@@WoodByWright doesnt it though? What are those two screws for?
And the price of these on Ebay just tripled. Lol.
Lol. That is why I buy from individual sellers. I have a list that I know on my site HandToolFinder.com
amazing tool , looks pricey
Surprisingly they are relatively cheap. You can usually pick them up for 20 to $40
I think I want.
It's not a tenon joint it cuts though is it. It's a dowel A saw will do the trick.
A dowel maker let's it go out the other end. The reason it is called a tenon cutter is because it cuts round tenons.
Not really tools for green wood.
They were used for some greenwood application. But generally your tenons on Windsor chairs and such are dried out so that they expand a little bit from the joint to tighten up. Often they were put in a heating box just before shaping them so they fit really tightly.