FAQ's

Home, Pro, Commercial & Industrial Series Tenon Cutters

General
How To’s
Tools

General

WHERE ARE THE TOOLS MADE?

  • All Lumberjack Tenon Cutters are proudly Made in the USA (Shipped from Chippewa Falls, WI). We farm out the manufacturing to other small Wisconsin family owned businesses. The raw materials, packaging and supplies are also purchased locally or through Midwest distributors. http://lumberjacktools.com/about-us

WHY THE BIG PRICE DIFFERENCE?

  • The Home and Commercial Series are cast aluminum.  While these series are lower in cost, they are still high quality tools. The prices are based on the fact that they are easier to manufacture.
  • The Pro & Industrial Series are CNC Machined Aircraft grade aluminum. Due to the manufacturing process, these are higher in cost than the Home and Commercial Series.
    • Why is the Industrial Series more expensive than the Pro Series?
      • 65% more raw material weight
      • Much larger tool
      • Significantly more CNC machining time

WHERE CAN I FIND THE LOGS?

  • Local land owners
  • Tree service people – LOOK IN YELLOW PAGES
  • Contact your local county DNR or Forestry department (Typically free or small usage fee)
  • Home improvement/hardware stores. Ask for landscape timbers.

DO YOU HAVE PLANS? 

How To’s

HOW TO ATTACH THE HEADBOARD & FOOTBOARD

  • The most popular method we recommend is to use a metal frame with the proper “L” brackets for attaching head and footboards.
    • Use lag bolt to bolt the frame to the log head and footboard
  • You can do an all log frame or use wooden slats.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE RUSTIC FURNITURE TIPS

  • Assembling  mortise and tenon joint is “just like tinker toys”
  • Sand all logs prior to glue up – much easier and faster
  • If your logs bind up
    • Twist or spin the log to find the natural unstressed centered position
  • Make sure your drill holes and tenon joints are straight in line
  • When assembling railings, bed rails, spindles or other repetitive pieces, alternate flipping  the “butt and tip ends” of the logs so you do not create a “parallelogram”
  • Dry fit the project prior to glue up to ensure it is square, plumb and correct
  • Headboard/footboard glue up
  • Use a ratchet strap to go all the way around the frame and cinch tight
  • Lay flat on the floor to dry and stay square
  • Glue and or screws
    • Indoor project
      • Use Pro Bond, Tight Bond, Gorilla wood glue – no screws needed
    • Exterior Projects
      • Use waterproof wood glue or construction adhesive  and use a deck/lag screw diagonally through the joint

Tools

About

WHAT ARE THE TOOLS MADE OF?

  • BODIES
      • Home Series and Commercial Series
        • Die Cast A380 Aluminum
      • Pro and Industrial Series
        • T651 - 6061 Solid Billet Aircraft Grade Aluminum
  • BLADES                         MODELS: TB0500, TB0750, TB1250 & TB2500
        • High Carbon Tool Steel
        • Heat treated to a Rockwell Hardness of 55-60 C-Scale
        • Precision Ground 30 degree angle

 

  • SHANKS
      • Shanks are threaded into the tool and are replaceable if broken or bent.
      • 4142 or 1144 Pre Hardened Alloy Steel
      • Thread Size
        • Home & Pro Series Tools PART NUMBER:  SH0750
          • ¾-16 UNF (Fine Thread)
          • ¾” diameter, 16 threads/inch
        • Industrial Series PART NUMBER: SH1000 & SH1750
          • 1-12 UNF (Fine Thread)
          • 1” diameter, 12 threads/inch

 

SHOULDER  STYLES

  • Home & Pro Series
    • Radius shoulder
      • 3/4” radius – blunt shoulder / not flared back
      • ½” radius – (Pro Series Models TTR0500 & TTR0625 – ½” & 5/8” cutters)
  • Commercial & Industrial Series
    • 60 degree shoulder
      • flared back like a tip of a pencil

WHAT IS THE “IN-SIGHT” MEASUREMENT SYSTEM?

  • The slots and rings milled into the body of the Pro and Industrial Series tools allow the user to measure the tenon length while cutting. You can “view” the tenon inside the tool while the tool is spinning. This saves the step of measuring each joint prior to cutting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9aVdF7TPsI&list=UUAnQ2y1n6Y-RnNtIskE6UFQ&index=14

MOST POPULAR TOOLS SIZES

  • 1”, 1 ½” & 2” tools
  • 1 ½” tools is the best “ALL AROUND” size

DRILL  REQUIREMENTS

  • Home & Pro Series
    • HIGHLY RECOMMEND ONLY MILWAUKEE BRAND DRILLS
    • Occasional User/builder – Variable Speed ½” Drill (0-750 rpm’s)
    • Frequent User/builder – Heavy Duty Single Speed  ½” Drill (250-350 rpm’s)
      • Contractor Grade - Pipe Handle Drill
  • Commercial & Industrial Series
    • HIGHLY RECOMMEND ONLY MILWAUKEE BRAND DRILLS
    • Heavy Duty Single Speed ½” or ¾” Drill
      • Contractor Grade – Pipe Handle (Hole Hawg)
      • Right Angle Drill

FORSTNER BIT vs. SELF FEED BIT

  • Forstner bit has a brad point tip (diamond shaped point – ¼” long)
    • Use in Hand Drill or Drill Press
      • Hard to start with hand drill – Drill Press is Best
  • Self Feed bit has a Auger Screw (1” long) to pull itself into the wood
    • Use in Hand Drill Only – must be reversed out

COUNTERSINK BITS

  • Used only with the Industrial Series cutters
  • Can only be used in a Drill Press, not a hand drill. High of torque application.
  • Tool cuts a 60 degree taper in the mortise hole to match the 60 degree tenon shoulder
  • Makes a blind joint to hide the flared shoulder
  • Cut starts at 1 ¼”- 1 ½” into the mortise hole

Usage

HOW DO THE TOOLS WORK?

WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO GET STARTED?

  • Vice/clamp system
  • Draw knife
  • Heavy duty  ½” drill
  • Forstner bit
  • Lumberjack tenon Cutter

CAN I PUT A DEAD STOP IN THE TOOL?

  • YES. Our Quick Stop Pin fits into the “In-Sight” slot on the tools

CAN THE TOOL CUT MULTIPLE SIZES?

  • NO – Each tool cuts a specific size. Example a 1” tenon cutter cuts a 1” joint
    • Each tool size is slightly adjustable. The size can be changed between .020” - .075”

LOG CUTTING CAPACITY

  • See Catalog, or Cutting Capacity Sheet

WILL THEY WORK ON BOTH GREEN AND DRY WOOD?

  • YES

CAN I USE THE TOOLS ON SOFT OR HARDWOODS?

  • YES
    • Hardwoods are heavy, denser and require more drill power. The blades may dull sooner

CAN I USE THE TOOLS IN A DRILL PRESS?

  • NO – It requires the log to be clamped vertically which is dangerous and difficult to do

CAN I USE THEM IN A CORDLESS DRILL?

  • Only the ½” and 5/8” Size Cutters
  • All other tools in the Home, Pro or Industrial Series require a corded drill

HOW DEEP DO I DRILL THE HOLE?

  • 1/3 – ½ the diameter of the log

TOOL USAGE

  • How long do I cut a tenon?
    • ¼” less than the depth of the hole. You want the tenon to “float” in the hole and not to “bottom out” or hit the bottom of your drilled hole
  • Taper log end
    • If the log is larger than what the tool will accept, slightly taper (like a pencil)  the end of the log with a drawknife to get the tool started
  • Drill
    • Power is important. The tool will not cut properly with a underpowered drill
  • Tenon size adjustment. About .030” - .075” from the nominal size of the tenon
    • Sliding the blade in makes it slightly smaller, retracting back makes it slightly larger
  • Blade angle / tenon size impact – COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL SERIES ONLY
    • If your tenon size is under or oversized, the blade is slightly out of position. Change the tilt or slant of the blade slightly at the back end of the blade “towards the shank”  because there is .030” of slop in the slot
  • Industrial Series tenon in “rough” not smooth
    • This is normal and preferred. Makes for a stronger glue joint because the glue will seep into the wood fibers and not “sit on top” of the tenon joint

Maintenance

HOW LONG DO THE BLADES STAY SHARP?

  • Between 500 – 1000 tenon cuts.
    • This depends on the type of wood, green or dry, clean or dirty, etc

CAN I RE-SHARPEN THE BLADES?

  • Yes. Our Blade Boss System works in a drill press and has multiple grit sanding sleeves that allow you to redress the blades in the drill press

ARE THE BLADES REPLACEABLE?

Troubleshooting

TOOL SKIPS OFF TO ONE SIDE OR BOUNCES AROUND

  • Log is larger than what the tool will accept
  • Not enough body pressure is being applied
  • Drill running prior to positioning to the log. You must have the drill positioned against the log, apply body pressure, then start the drill

NOT CUTTING

  • Blades are slid back too far – not grabbing
  • Not applying enough body pressure
  • Blades are dull

TAKES TOO MUCH OF A “BITE”

  • Remove one blade or “shim” up no more than .020”

DRILL STOPS OR CUTS ON SMALL DIAMETER LOGS BUT NOT LARGER ONES

  • This is caused by using a variable speed drill
  • Too high of RPM
  • This may also be caused by using a non Milwaukee brand drill.
    • DeWalt, Makita, Rigid, etc have less torque than Milwaukee

CROOKED JOINT

  • This is from holding the drill crocked to the log

SPIRAL GROOVES ON THE TENON JOINT

  • This is caused by wobbling the drill side to side while cutting

OR

  • Removing the cutter from the log while the drill is still spinning

BLADES SLIPPING (HOME SERIES TOOLS)

  • This is typically caused by the paint surface being too smooth to hold the blades in place. Rough up the paint under where the blade sits with sandpaper for a stronger surface for the blade to grip.
  • You can also try wiping the oil off of the surface of the blades for additional friction