After years of putting it off as a necessary thing to learn, I was building a project that I realized could benefit from mortise and tenon construction. No glue is required and, if done correctly, the joints are extremely strong. This was as good a time as any to learn how it was done because I needed 32 tenons to be cut.
After measuring carefully, I set my table saw to cut one third of the way through the piece of yellow pine, and cut through all four surfaces. I turned the wood vertically and cut the sides of the tenon leaving a narrow piece to become the piece that fits into a slot - the mortise - I would cut in another piece of pine.
The result was my very first tenon! The clean, precise cut, the pattern in the soft pine wood, and the littering of sawdust had made a satisfying memory of a well-done "first" in my carpentry adventure.
And the freshly-cut pine has a wonderful aroma!
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Will
