On Sat 21 May 2005 10:54:29p, wrote in
ups.com:


Hmmm. What gives you the idea that floating tenons are any weaker than
integral tenons?

I recall an article in a wood mag that I can't remember, that ran tests on
three different styles; mortise & tenon, loose tenon, and - I think - half
lap joints.

It was a while ago and I can't remember the tests they used. But I *do*
remember their conclusion that the loose tenons took the most abuse, and
they couldn't really give a good explanation why.

The half laps failed first, and their final word was that although the
loose tenons got the highest marks, they had to put so much stress on both
the other styles to make them fail that in their minds there was no
realworld difference.

And as others have said, there's other good reasons. You can cut the wood
to length without worrying about the tenons. You can set up a nice jig to
batch cut mortises in everything. You can make the tenons out of whatever
you've got laying around, and you can crank out tenon stock that will
ALWAYS fit nice and snug.

And when you've got a three thousand dollar mortise maker, well jeez. The
only reason I can think of to use standard tenons is when you want to make
a nice-looking through tenon.