mortising

Making rectangular holes

Mortising is the process of cutting a mortise—a rectangular slot or cavity in wood designed to receive a matching projection (a tenon) from another piece.

The technique is fundamental to joinery, creating strong joints for furniture, doors, and timber framing: He spent the afternoon mortising the table legs.

Mortising can be done by hand with a chisel or with specialized machines.

woodworking

tenon

Projecting joint piece

chiselEdged carving implement
dovetailJoin by interlocking parts
joineryFitting wood pieces together

cabinetmaking · woodworker · joiner · furniture · groove · rebate · stiles · rail · haunch · miter

technique

chisel

Edged carving implement

routerPacket-forwarding network device
plungeSudden steep descent
drillHole-boring device

bit · mortiser · cutting · square · hole · gauge · alignment · measurement · tolerance · depth

letterform

counter

Flat service surface

stemPlant's central axis
strokeSudden brain blood blockage
serifLetter terminal flourish

typeface · punch · matrix · font · engraving · letterpress · typography · cut · incision · carving

Categories

woodworkingwoodworking, wood, saw, hammer, drill
shipbuildingshipyards, shipyard, dockyards, dockyard, hull
fasteningattaching, fastening, tying, clamping, screwing
Power Tool Actionsdrilling, sanding, sawing, cutting, grinding
workshop skillssawing, sanding, planing, chiseling, carving
wood cutscrosscut, rip cut, miter cut, bevel cut, dado

Opposites

joinery role

mortisingtenoning

Cutting protruding wood tabs

hole-making method

mortisingdrilling

Hole-making by rotation

boring · augering · core drilling

joinery approach

mortisingnailing

Securing with driven fasteners

screwing · gluing · doweling

Family

mortise, mortice, mortised, mortises, mortices

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G