Mortising the Legs
2012.10.23
The next step was to inspect each leg and decide which faces would go to the outside and which ends would be at the top. Then I decided which four legs would go together, in what order, for each table. I marked the outside front faces of the front legs and similarly the back legs.
At this stage, I decided to focus on just one of the tables for a while. I started with a mortise for one of the back aprons. I made this mortise 3/8″ wide, and ran it up to the top of the leg. But even as I was chopping the mortise, I was having second thoughts (happens a lot).
I had little choice but to finish that mortise as-is, and the corresponding tenon later. But from the second mortise on, I made them 1/4″ wide, and held down 1/2″ from the top of the leg. They are 3/8″ deep.
Shrinking Legs