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I was careful to keep the wedges short enough to prevent bottoming
out as they were tapped in and thick enough to wedge the tenon
flush with the mortise. I trimmed the first wedge to the precise
width of the mortise, rather than to the width of the tenon,
so there wouldn't be gaps when the other wedge expanded the
tenon. The second (perpendicular) wedge was cut in two pieces
and then trimmed so it would fit around the first wedge.
When inserting the wedges, I used just a bit of glue and alternated
tapping the first and second wedges, so that the tenon expanded
roughly equally in both directions. However, I struck the
wedges that were oriented parallel to the grain of the arm
more gently to prevent splitting that piece during the wedging
action. I have used wedge layouts in both an "x"
shape and a "+" shape. I found it easier to use
wedges that go from corner-to-corner (x-shaped), rather than
edge-to-edge, as it's not as noticeable if these wedges are
a little bit too wide. (They'll protrude into the corners
of the mortise, rather than into a flat edge). However, either
arrangement will expand the tenon in both directions to fit
tightly in the mortise.
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| Rough
arm tenon showing "+"-shaped wedges |
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Finished
rocker arm detail showing "x"-shaped wedges |
Once
the wedges were inserted, I used a flush-cut saw to cut the
tenon and wedges flush with the top of the arm. I smoothed
the end grain using a low-angle plane and sandpaper. If there
had been any gaps around the edges of the mortise (not that
I have any experience with that), they could have been filled
with tiny wedges made of the same wood as the tenon piece
and they'd practically disappear (hypothetically, of course).
The exposed end grain of these tenons obviously soaked up
a lot more finish than the surrounding face grain, so I kept
them soaked for a while longer while applying the finish,
especially during the first couple of coats.
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