TESTING Bizarre Tools You Never Knew About
TL;DR
Wranglerstar tests an antique, unidentified tenon/dowel-cutting tool sent in by a viewer, working entirely from logic and trial-and-error since almost no documentation exists. He successfully sizes down a dowel and cuts a tenon, demonstrating the tool's practical value for furniture joinery. ---
Key Concepts
Tenon
tap to reveal ↩
The male half of a mortise-and-tenon joint — a round or square peg cut on the end of a piece of stock to fit into a mortise
Mortise
tap to reveal ↩
The female (receiving) hole in a mortise-and-tenon joint
Tenon/dowel cutter
tap to reveal ↩
A brace-mounted rotary cutting tool with adjustable blade and depth stop used to size round tenons or dowels to a precise diameter
Depth stop
tap to reveal ↩
A collar on the tool that halts cutting at a set depth, limiting tenon length
Dowel pointer
tap to reveal ↩
A companion tool used to chamfer/taper the end of square stock so it can enter the cutter's round opening to begin cutting
Notes
§Tool Overview
- Sent in by a viewer named Ken; previously shown on Instagram where followers debated whether it was a mortise cutter, tenon cutter, or dowel cutter
- Fits into a brace (hand drill) — not a standalone device
- Has a depth stop/gauge to control tenon length (limits cuts to ~2 inches max, ruling out long dowel production)
- Rotating base with marked sizes: common fractions (3/8", 7/16", 3/4", 7/8", 1", etc.)
- 6 adjustment screws on the blade assembly control: blade angle, left/right position, depth, and clamping
§Blade Setup & Sharpening
- Blade was original, hand-sharpened at an angle when received
- Wranglerstar flattened the back and honed a fine edge using a workshop sharpener (same process as a chisel)
- Blade must be set with its corner exactly inside the wall of the target hole diameter, raised ~1/16" above flush — discovered by trial and error over ~an hour
§Research & Historical Context
- Almost no online documentation found — one or two images, no usage video
- Dictionary of American Hand Tools (the "American Hand Tool Bible") shows a related dowel turning machine (standalone, crank-driven, not brace-mounted) and a tenon machine used for cutting wagon wheel spokes
- Tool is not catalogued in the book — attests to its rarity
§Practical Demonstration
- Test 1: Reduced a ~1/2" dowel to 7/16" — result was consistent and smooth once the brace was held very straight
- Test 2: Cut a 3/4" tenon from square oak stock (ripped 1"×1" on table saw, chamfered end on belt sander, then run through the 3/4" setting) — produced a usable tenon
- Key challenge: holding the brace perfectly straight — tolerances are tight and any angle deviation affects diameter
- A belt sander substituted for a proper dowel pointer to chamfer the stock end before insertion
§Tool Significance
- Old stool being restored shows a tenon made with a nearly identical process — joint still sound after 100+ years
- Contrasted with modern flat-pack furniture: handmade joinery dramatically outlasts contemporary alternatives
Actionable Takeaways
- When setting the blade, align the cutting corner exactly to the inside wall of the desired diameter hole and raise it ~1/16" above the base plane before tightening adjustment screws
- If no dowel pointer is available, chamfer square stock on a belt sander to create the lead-in needed for the cutter to engage
- For a quick shop-made tenon: rip square stock on the table saw, chamfer the end, then run through the tenon cutter — faster than hand-cutting
- When researching obscure antique tools, cross-reference a hand tool dictionary alongside online searches — online resources for rare tools are often nearly nonexistent
Quotes Worth Keeping
“
I wouldn't give for just five minutes of someone back in the day to show me how to set this up — but all we can do is just do trial and error.
“
Once you were proficient with it, once you understood how to set it up, that would be a great time-saver for cutting those round tenons.
“
Here's a little table that was probably built over a hundred years ago that we're still using today. Where will IKEA furniture be? I know it won't be around — that's the difference.