Settings for stretcher joints - lock tenon using screws

[Gene Davis]

I'd like to get to a standard (for me) in doing this joint, which comes into play on just about every base cabinet I do.

Stretchers each have a pair of tenons and the sides they join have 1/8" pilot holes thru-cut at the fastener location between tenons. Stretcher width is 4.5 inches. I'd like less width but this seems to be ok with the one fastener at center.

See the image attached. Tenon offset is 5/8" and the setting for the fastener between is 5/8" each way thus 1.25 tenon-to-tenon. I show the pilot hole location.

I had a similar spec for the stretchers at 4" width but the mortise overcuts took out almost all the center and left no purchase for the screws if overdriven.

So do these look like good dimensions for setting up this stretcher joint given a width of 4.5"?

[Clint Buechlein]

Gene,

In the little I've done those look like good numbers to me. I wouldn't go any less on tenon inset from edge, once you get towards the 1/2" amount the overshoot for the mortise tends to blow out the edge.

The measurements of course are dependent on tooling as the overshoot is a calculated amount from the tool doing the mortise and the outline tool.

-Clint-