How to Cut Tenons on a Table Saw

How to Cut Tenons on a Table Saw

Mortise-and-tenon joints are some of the most versatile options for furniture projects. In this video, Chris Marshall explains the basics of this joint, and shows how you can cut tenons easily and efficiently using a portable table saw and either a standard blade or dado set.

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44 Comments

  1. Michael Smith on January 31, 2023 at 4:22 am

    Love this style of teaching. Thanks for the video!



  2. toOnybrain on January 31, 2023 at 4:23 am

    Thanks for the dado installation demonstration. I appreciate it.



  3. gmrrnracr on January 31, 2023 at 4:23 am

    Thanks!
    Where’s part 2 for the mortise? Please leave a link in the description next time!
    Thanks again



  4. Sean O on January 31, 2023 at 4:24 am

    Great video, anyone know the name of the pro jig he showed, thanks



  5. Fred Donez on January 31, 2023 at 4:24 am

    I thank you for this video. I just started doing woodworking and your video was so informative. Really enjoyed it.



  6. taskbar enhancer on January 31, 2023 at 4:25 am

    very clean and nice place to work at. even table saw is unusually quiet.



  7. ghostdog662 on January 31, 2023 at 4:25 am

    Those dado blades are pretty dull to leave grooves like that.



  8. Matthew Sullivan on January 31, 2023 at 4:29 am

    Great video, however, I would never cross cut against a fence like this. You’re begging for a
    nasty kick-back. Instead, I use a sacrificial fence on my crosscut sled. Very simple and safe.



  9. Gino Asci on January 31, 2023 at 4:29 am

    That works, but it’s much easier to use a dado.



  10. Tyler Smith on January 31, 2023 at 4:30 am

    This guy is so delicate



  11. Gloris Noris on January 31, 2023 at 4:33 am

    Very nice explanation great video I love the jig. – I have a question I need to make some tenons and mortises. The only machine I have is a jigsaw -and a drill–any tips. Can I used the jigsaw for that job?.



  12. Backyard Woodworking on January 31, 2023 at 4:35 am

    Good info I use both methods.



  13. Paul Tudor on January 31, 2023 at 4:35 am

    I wish I had found your video 3 days ago. Would have saved me a lot of effort.



  14. Papi Chulo on January 31, 2023 at 4:38 am

    Great video quality and awesome tutorial from a fellow Carpenter to another, greetings from Houston, TX



  15. pablo24scotland on January 31, 2023 at 4:40 am

    very nice and clear thank you 😉



  16. Richard Markham on January 31, 2023 at 4:40 am

    I was cringing the whole time… I’m amazed he still has any fingers… have a look at what happens to your thumb, even with a saw stop…



  17. Alyria Tutoring on January 31, 2023 at 4:41 am

    Very nice. Seems like the first method gives a cleaner finish yes?



  18. Jennifer W on January 31, 2023 at 4:42 am

    5:00 I don’t understand. I’ve been watching table saw safety videos and they all say never to use fence along with the miter. Are you getting away with this since you aren’t making a through cut? If I were to do this I’d clamp a stop block to the fence and by the time the blade hits the wood, it’s no longer rubbing against the fence, only the miter is holding it.



  19. Ricardo Moreno on January 31, 2023 at 4:42 am

    Excelente métodos de hacer la espiga. ahora para hacer la caja?…  saludos



  20. BlackSwan912 on January 31, 2023 at 4:42 am

    Despite the comments from the many master woodworkers below, I learned much from this video. I’m off to make a jig like that one now.



  21. Woodshop Addict on January 31, 2023 at 4:45 am

    Excellent! I built one very similar to this jig tonight. Thanks for sharing and the inspiration. I have to cut 36 tenons for a baby bed and I did not have a great way to do that. Now I do.



  22. Axnfell on January 31, 2023 at 4:46 am

    Out of curiosity what would you do if your wood was say 6ft in length, I live in the U.K. and cannot get hold of a Dado blade set or a saw that has a large enough spindle to accommodate one.



  23. scottatutube1 on January 31, 2023 at 4:47 am

    some good features, but I would put the toggle clamps on the USER side of the jig, SAFER, not reaching out your hand close to the blade to open and close while the saw is stopping, or, with the toggle safely on user side, can keep the blade going. Much faster operation.



  24. Belle van 't Hoff on January 31, 2023 at 4:49 am

    Great video, could you tell me what kind of toggle clamp you are using , that would be very nice thank you.



  25. Lomex_141 on January 31, 2023 at 4:51 am

    *❣Easy to set up **MyBest.Tools** Cuts like a dream😴😴. Love the portability of the saw.💫*



  26. Tom O'Brien on January 31, 2023 at 4:55 am

    Thanks for the video. Nice job! I realize in your video you don’t have any piece fall off during cutting, however I think it’s a bad habit to teach to someone to have your fall off piece able to pinch against the fence. Instead clamp a stop piece to the fence and start your piece against the stop block. As you move the wood into the blade it will clear the stop block and fence area, more safely allowing any fall off to fall free and not be pinched.



  27. Peeters Wouter on January 31, 2023 at 4:56 am

    Nice and clear explanation.  One remark though.  Your knuckles end up getting dangerously close to the spinning sawblade when reclamping the workpiece.



  28. Glynis Giddings on January 31, 2023 at 4:57 am

    Thank you for making an excellent, very clear, video. As beginner woodworker I really appreciate the time and effort you put into helping others! 🙂

    As we don’t have dado blades in the UK it’s great to see methods for table saws without them.



  29. José Francisco Rojas Luna on January 31, 2023 at 4:57 am

    good explanation and very clear. thanks



  30. John Valle on January 31, 2023 at 4:58 am

    You came so close to that spinning blade to lock that jig lock, were you testing the stopsaw blade stop?



  31. Monica Olaru on January 31, 2023 at 4:59 am

    I’m mildly upset how easy and smooth this looks in your hands. Sigh. I will try. I will at least try.



  32. MsSomeonenew on January 31, 2023 at 5:02 am

    Having that clamp handle hang over the saw blade is a terrible design, one small  slip and fingers go flying.
    Otherwise very good video.



  33. bobbg on January 31, 2023 at 5:02 am

    There is a third way to do it,
    Just using you outside dado blades a spacer and no inside chippers a table incert made of wood and your tenon jig.
    You make both cheek cuts in one pass.
    Using 2 blades on the arbor at the same time. You could also use 3 and make a through tenon adding a spline to lock it in the mortise.



  34. ekimusman2 on January 31, 2023 at 5:05 am

    love the video and how you deliver the info. super relaxing to watch you work!



  35. Dolanan Kayu on January 31, 2023 at 5:09 am

    Hi… thanks for your information how to make tenan with table saw. I am from Indonesia, and hobbies woodworking…



  36. Judge Crow on January 31, 2023 at 5:15 am

    Omg. Never ever use rip fence to hold workpiece when doing cross cuts. Do you want to get hit by a piece of wood at 200+ mph? This 1st method is inviting for kickback



  37. Eduardo Camargo on January 31, 2023 at 5:16 am

    Great work.



  38. A Tre on January 31, 2023 at 5:18 am

    subscribed instantly!! Would love to be your neighbor. Just getting into Woodworking for a kitchen project. By far the best video I’ve seen! Thanks! And what a nice gentleman you are!



  39. Troy Thorpe on January 31, 2023 at 5:19 am

    This is one of the better table saw tenon videos I have seen. You even showed that the table was unplugged while changing to the dado blade. Well done Chris. I’m just getting into the craft and this is a well produced and informative video. Cheers!



  40. james Scott on January 31, 2023 at 5:20 am

    Tell me why state the obvious just get on with it or do you think your teaching the blind



  41. Sawta on January 31, 2023 at 5:20 am

    Thank you so much for this video! I’m still very new to woodworking and I’ve been struggling to find some safe-ish methods to perform tenon cuts on a table saw. I realize there are a few safety concerns with some of the things you did in this video (rip fence + miter gauge used together, clamp close to the blade, etc.) but overall, this video has made the concept of how to cut a tenon joint much clearer for me, and how to do so accurately.

    I hope to see more of your work soon. We need more videos like this one! 🙂



  42. Markie Linhart on January 31, 2023 at 5:21 am

    Great video thanks 🙏 if you don’t have a toggle clamp, I’ve seen elsewhere that a small sliding clamp can fed through a 40mm hole in the main board… 🌹🇦🇺✌️



  43. David Barnard on January 31, 2023 at 5:21 am

    All the latest gear. Festool this and festool that, what are you making to sell in your shop??



  44. Sidney Motley on January 31, 2023 at 5:21 am

    Good video, well done.