Log furnature tool build

[cathead]

This was a fun project that took about four or five hours to complete. Having tried a friend's log tenoning tool, I thought I would
make an attempt at building one for myself. How difficult could that be? To make the body in one piece would require a huge
chunk of metal so I decided to make a welded two piece body out of some material I had laying around. The hard part was to
freehand the mounting spots for the cutters as work holding was a bit challenging. Having taken a look at my friend's tenoning
log tool was quite helpful. I plan to power this unit with a large Milwaukee drill using a generator for power. I have a lot of poplar
and also access to some fir poles so will be able to make bed frames and chairs and whatever else I can think of. All in all, a fun
project using an old piece of band saw blade for cutters. If I make more of these, I will likely make some rough aluminum castings
as a starting point since it would be a one piece body and also lighter than steel. Here's a few photos for you to ponder.
The raw materials...........




The business end of the tenon tool....







This was my first test using the home made tenon tool...... I was using a Milwaukee M-18
lithium ion drill and although it worked OK, a better choice would be a large 1/2 inch drill using AC power.




This is looking down the gullet. At the bottom, you can see in the center the depth adjustment
screw(also functions as the driver for the tool) to control tenon length. This one makes 1.25 inch diameter tenons using up to three
inch diameter poles.

 

[T Bredehoft]

I see a need for a stout vice/device to secure the bit of limb while wrastling with the tennon maker.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

very cool!
nice work

 

[cathead]

I see a need for a stout vice/device to secure the bit of limb while wrastling with the tennon maker.

A standard vise works fine or a pipe vise using a chain would be good too, not a huge torque as you might think.

 

[cathead]

After a little use, I found that the band saw blade material wasn't the best stuff for a cutter. I found some hard mower blade
and some sickle blades at the scrappers and machined them to size using a carbide cutter. I had to drill the holes in
the cutters using a cobalt bit and machine the holes oval with an 1/8 inch carbide. The blades were dull so sharpened them
on the disc grinder and finish sharpened them with a 1000 grit diamond hone. It makes nice ribbony shavings now and holds
sharpness better too.

 

[kev74]

Nice work! I like it.

 

[coherent]

I've looked at those in the past but balked at the high prices. Very nice job!

 

[cathead]

I've looked at those in the past but balked at the high prices. Very nice job!

Yes, the high prices is what drove me to make my own out of steel. I need to make a wood pattern for a bigger one
and make several out of aluminum in sand castings. I have all the equipment for casting so will have to make the
effort to follow through. For the larger tenon makers, one would need a heavy duty slow running drill with handles...

 

[Boswell]

I shutter to think what happens if you are hand holding the drill and hit a knot or something hard that catches the blade

 

[Superburban]

Dirty jobs had an episode that was at a wood shop making log furniture.

Most of the tools were base mounted, and you held the logs. I think that is a better approach, and faster then using hand tools. But then again, thinking a bit more, I could see a stack of logs cut to length, and strapped down, then zip--zip--zip--on one end, then walk around to the other. HMMM.