Klein Tools Fox Wedge, Stainless Steel, 4-Inch 7FWSS10025

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Notice how much the wedges compressed at the wide end of the wedges within the saw kerfs and then not in the short distance near the uncompressed ends. You must look at your wood and make the decision for the best position to make your saw kerf, but, that said, I would say that almost any position will do except going too close to the edge. I know from past experience that these shackles are made from harder wearing steel than ordinary galvanised shackles. In furniture work, we generally keep stopped or non-through mortise and tenons to a reasonable length. Adding a draw-bore pin increases the pullability strength and structure of the joint three-fold and more.

There are advocates for using small holes at the end of the saw kerf to work as stops to stop the wood from splitting.I’ve always been wary of draw bore pinning quarter sawn oak tenons because I’ve always been afraid that the area between the pin and the tip of the tenon would split along the grain. For this instructional we will have two bare-faced edges to the tenons, so shoulders to two wider sides.

I started off making 6 wedges, two for myself and two for two other fitters on the day team, then I made 4 more for two of the shift fitters. Some people drill a small hole at the bottom of the sawn kerf to stop it splitting as the wedges are forced in. This is the reason I make sure to increase the wall at the ends of the mortise hole as a ‘retainer wall’ of resistance to prevent any splitting.If you need to position or move the wheels on the shaft you loosen the screw in the split collar but then you need to create a gap in the split collar before you can move the wheel (there is a split collar at each side of the wheel with a stainless pin going right through the wheel). I decided on it for a specific reason I will reveal in the video we film in the first week of the new year. This will stop the wood from splitting as the wedges tighten when the tenon aspect of the joint seats fully against the mortise piece.

Another common use for steel wedges is to raise and position steel columns, a wedge will lift it as required and also hold it in position whilst fixing down and packing.Inside the mortise, after you’ve chopped out the main mortise, pare down the end walls at an angle to gradually widen to the bottom of the mortise, giving room for the wedges to spread into the vacant space and so give it the dovetailed effect that the joint depends on. George, my then mentoring craftsman in my apprenticing days, cut the two saw kerfs and said, “ Watch this! Used for splitting mating surfaces, flanges and wedging split fasteners, fox wedges are ideal for packing machinery and structures before fixing.