Loose Tenon
Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:22 pm
So with my poor man's workshop and really only hand tools to work with (nothing beyond a cordless drill) I find myself with a loose fitting tenon
I bought a replacement tenon from Pimo because I was also buying a couple other things from them, otherwise I would have just got another one from Tinsky, who made the kit I am working on and whose stem would have fit much nicer I am sure. I was assured that the stems from Pimo come with a tenon already in place but I had no idea that the "tenon" was really little more than a notch at the end of the stem from which you could turn the tenon down to make it fit yourself. This seems crazy to me because if I had the ability to do so easily why would I be needing a pre-cut tenon in the first place? Anyway the story is long but it shortens up like this:
Tinksy kit
busted Lucite tenon
attempted fix/glue failed
Pimo replacement
jimmy-rigged lathe-like setup on hand drill
tenon still too big but I forced it and cracked the shank (CRAP!)
cut away cracked shank section
drill mortise deeper
adjusting/sanding/swearing trying to make junction meet up
more sanding
anger/despair
junction starting to look ok but now loose tenon
So I know a loose Lucite tenon isn't the end of the world. I wanted to give a little background so that no one will just hop in here and say something like "just pop it on your lathe and...", but I also wanted to maybe get a suggestion or two before I go trying one of the most likely stupid ideas in my head.
Also, I've sworn off Lucite tenons. I don't really have the tools to do delrin or steel inserts or anything like that with any ease but I will certainly be exploring other options next time I'm not using a vulcanite stem
I bought a replacement tenon from Pimo because I was also buying a couple other things from them, otherwise I would have just got another one from Tinsky, who made the kit I am working on and whose stem would have fit much nicer I am sure. I was assured that the stems from Pimo come with a tenon already in place but I had no idea that the "tenon" was really little more than a notch at the end of the stem from which you could turn the tenon down to make it fit yourself. This seems crazy to me because if I had the ability to do so easily why would I be needing a pre-cut tenon in the first place? Anyway the story is long but it shortens up like this:
Tinksy kit
busted Lucite tenon
attempted fix/glue failed
Pimo replacement
jimmy-rigged lathe-like setup on hand drill
tenon still too big but I forced it and cracked the shank (CRAP!)
cut away cracked shank section
drill mortise deeper
adjusting/sanding/swearing trying to make junction meet up
more sanding
anger/despair
junction starting to look ok but now loose tenon
So I know a loose Lucite tenon isn't the end of the world. I wanted to give a little background so that no one will just hop in here and say something like "just pop it on your lathe and...", but I also wanted to maybe get a suggestion or two before I go trying one of the most likely stupid ideas in my head.
Also, I've sworn off Lucite tenons. I don't really have the tools to do delrin or steel inserts or anything like that with any ease but I will certainly be exploring other options next time I'm not using a vulcanite stem