Our tapered tenon cutters will put tapered tenons on the tips of turnings, dowels or rustic furniture components to fit into tapered holes – for example, legs and spindles on a Windsor chair. Use the cutter like a hand-held pencil sharpener; you either rotate the workpiece while pressing it into the cutter body or you can rotate the tool on the workpiece. Works equally well in soft, green or hard woods.
Although the body design is similar to our Veritas dowel and tenon cutters, the cut is quite different. When a tenon is fed through the body, the straight-edged blade tapers the ends, whereas the curved blade on our dowel cutters cuts cylindrical tenons with a radiused shoulder. (If you have already purchased our dowel cutters, buying a straight replacement blade will allow you to cut tapered tenons.) Please note, the curved blade (for dowel making) should be used with only the three smallest sizes of tenon cutters.
The size given for each cutter is the minimum tenon diameter it will cut – the maximum is 1/2" greater, over a total tenon length of 2 1/2". A starter kit of the 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" sizes will cover most tenoning requirements for typical chairmaking. Some longer tenons may require cutting the major diameter with a larger cutter, and then finishing with a smaller cutter; if you have all five sizes you will be able to cut any diameter tenon up to 1 1/8" in diameter and as long as 2" in a single operation.
Made in Canada. Patented.