Illustrated Architecture Dictionary .................. Illustrated FURNITURE Glossary.
Mortise-and-tenon construction
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Technique for joining two pieces of wood; the mortise is a cavity, usually rectangular, and the tenon, a protruding end shaped to fit the cavity
A hole, usually square or rectangular, is chiseled into one member and a tongue shaped to fit this hole is chiseled into the other. A peg is then placed through both pieces to secure them together, forming the joint.
- Illustration above at right: Handhold, Queen Anne Side chair - Winterthur Museum
- Chippendale Federal tilt-top piecrust table - Dana Tillou Fine Arts
- Federal candlestand - American Antique Furniture, Orchard Park, NY