Mortise and tenon

The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon comprises two components: the mortise hole and the tenon tongue. The tenon, formed on the end of a member generally referred to as a rail, is inserted into a square or rectangular hole cut into the corresponding member. The tenon is cut to fit the mortise hole exactly and usually has shoulders that seat when the joint fully enters the mortise hole. The joint may be glued, pinned, or wedged to lock it in place.

This joint is also used with other materials. For example, it is a traditional method for stonemasons and blacksmiths.

A mortise is a cavity cut into a timber to receive a tenon. There are several kinds of mortise:

A tenon is a projection on the end of a timber for insertion into a mortise. Usually the tenon is taller than it is wide. There are several kinds of tenon:

Generally the size of the mortise and tenon is related to the thickness of the timbers. It is considered good practice to proportion the tenon as one third the thickness of the rail, or as close to this as is practical. The haunch, the cut-away part of a sash corner joint that prevents the tenon coming loose, is one third the length of the tenon and one sixth of the width of the tenon in its depth. The remaining two-thirds of the rail, the tenon shoulders, help to counteract lateral forces that might tweak the tenon from the mortise, contributing to its strength. These also serve to hide imperfections in the opening of the mortise.

A traditional through, wedged, mortise and tenon joint

A stub tenon corner joint

A haunched stub tenon corner joint

A foxtail wedged tenon joint

A pinned corner tenon joint

A modern feather tenon joint (primarily called a loose tenon)

This is an ancient joint dating back 7,000 years. The first examples, tusked joints, were found in a well near Leipzig - the world's oldest intact wooden architecture. It has also been found joining the wooden planks of the "Khufu ship", a 43.6 m long vessel sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex of the Fourth Dynasty around 2500 BC. The oldest known use dates from the Early Neolithic Linear Pottery culture, where it was used in the constructing of the wooden lining of water wells.

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