Cut Tenons on Your Table Saw (Quick & Easy Guide)

Mortise and tenon joints are one of the classic ways to join wood together. They’re strong, reliable, and useful in all kinds of furniture and frame construction.

There are several ways to cut tenons, but one practical method is to use the table saw with a simple shop-made tenoning jig. The jig doesn’t have to be complicated. Mine is made from scrap plywood and took about 15 minutes to put together.

Making a Simple Tenoning Jig

The jig is basically a saddle that fits over the table saw fence. It needs to fit snugly enough that it doesn’t wobble, but not so tight that it binds while sliding.

There are two critical parts of the jig. The vertical face that holds the workpiece must be square, and the saddle that rides over the fence must also be square. If those two parts are accurate and the jig fits the fence well, the workpiece can be clamped in place and passed over the blade to cut a straight tenon cheek.

Setting the Blade Height and Cut Position

Once the jig is ready, the table saw needs to be set up carefully. Two measurements matter most: the height of the blade and the distance from the blade to the backboard of the jig.

The blade height determines how deep the cheek cut will be. I set mine with a digital height gauge. First, I zero the gauge on the table saw surface, then raise the blade until it reaches the depth I want. In this case, I set it to 1/2 inch.

The second measurement is the distance between the blade and the backboard of the jig. I set that with a steel ruler instead of relying on the scale on my table saw. My saw’s scale is about 1/32 inch off, and with mortise and tenon joinery, the fit needs to be snug.

The goal here is to cut away the outside waste and leave the tenon sized correctly.

Cutting the Tenon Cheeks

With the saw set, I clamp the workpiece to the jig. I marked the waste areas on the board, although that isn’t strictly necessary. The important part is that the board is held vertical and cannot shift during the cut.

I make the first cheek cut, then flip the board around and cut the opposite cheek.

After those two cuts, the board has two slots defining the tenon cheeks, but the tenon is not finished yet. The shoulders still need to be cut.

Cutting the Shoulders

To cut the shoulders, I use the table saw’s miter gauge. If I didn’t have that setup, I’d use a crosscut sled or miter sled instead.

For this step, I reset the blade height to 1/4 inch, which is the amount I need to remove from the shoulders. Then I make the crosscuts to free the waste from both sides of the tenon.

At this point, the main tenon is formed, with the cheeks and shoulders cut. The only remaining shoulders are the small side cuts.

Cleaning Up the Side Shoulders by Hand

The side shoulders could be cut on the table saw too, but I find it easier to do them by hand.

I clamp the piece in my vise and use a small L-shaped block as a guide for the first cut. For this, I like using a Japanese dovetail saw because it cuts on the pull stroke and gives me a clean, controlled cut.

After the first side shoulder is cut, I can use the existing table saw shoulder as a guide for the other cut.

Once those side cuts are made, the tenon is complete.

A simple tenoning jig like this makes it much easier to cut accurate tenons on the table saw. The jig keeps the board vertical, the saw handles the cheek cuts, and a few careful hand cuts finish the joint cleanly.