LEARN TO MAKE MORTISE AND TENON JOINTS
THE WORD ‘MORTISE’ originates from the 13th century French word mortaise – a hole or groove into which another part is fitted to form a joint. ‘Tenon’ has been in English usage since the late 14th century. It describes a projection that’s inserted to make a joint. It’s derived from the French tenir, which means ‘to hold’ or ‘hold on’.
The applications of mortise and tenon joints vary enormously. They’re used on items as small and delicate as jewellery- or trinket boxes, or projects as large as the construction of wooden ships and cathedral arches.
The first-known artefactual evidence of mortise and tenon joinery is from a wood-lined well discovered in Altscherbitz near Leipzig in eastern Germany. It’s been dated at around 7 000 years old and is regarded as the world’s oldest intact wooden architecture. Mortise and tenon joinery has been found in
