How to make tenons on round chair rungs

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How to make
Simple Tenons
on round
Chair Rungs

Got a dog? Chair rungs look like this? There's an easy way to make perfect tenons on round stock!

Use your disk sander! Mine is a 12" model, but you can get the same results from a smaller model. All you need are a couple of clamps and some scrap stock for fences.

Use the good end of your chewed chair rung to setup the fences.
One fence, (the lower one in the pic at left) is set behind the disk. I set mine at a slight angle, like two degrees, so the tenon will wedge itself in nice and tight.
The other fence sets the length of the tennon. Make sure it doesn't rub on the sanding disk.

Ok, now grab a dowel, the same diameter as the rung and make a test cut. While the machine is running, gently lay the dowel against both fences. Now rotate the dowel being careful to keep it snug against both fences.

When your done, it should look something like this!

Now run over to your chair and see how well it fits. It should be tight! It's good if you have to drive it home with a mallet! Of course you have to take it out again to cut the other side, so don't go nuts!

Now determine the overall length of the chair rung and cut to size. I replaced four rungs so I cut them all at this point, then made the rest of the tenons.

Now it's just a matter of putting things back together in the right places, and clamping them down. I like to use a web clamp.

Now more then likely your chair was getting a little rickety, So take as much of your chair apart as you can, and clean off the old dried up glue. This chair had wood screws holding the leg tenons into the bottom of the chair's seat, and those tenons were in tough shape too. I wasn't about to replace the legs, so I cleaned off what I could, and used a construction adhesive in those joints This type of glue takes 24 hours for max cure, but it's a good void filler and sticks to everything (even your fingers...wear gloves!)

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