Specific Finishing Equipment » Tenoning Machines

Tenoning machines use cutter heads and/or saw blades to form projections (tenons) on pieces of stock. Each tenon can be inserted into a cavity (mortise) on another piece of wood to form a mortise and tenon joint. The figure to the right shows a single-end tenoning machine.

Single-end tenoning machine with labeled parts such as wood clamp, safety shields, stock table and fence
Fig 1 - Single-end tenoning machine

Potential Hazards

  • Point of operation - Contact with cutter head or saw blade may occur.

  • In-running nip points - Clothing, hair, or hands may be caught by and pulled into the in-running rolls of the automatic feed.

  • Flying chips - Wood splinters and chips may be thrown by the cutting action.

  • Kickbacks - Stock may be thrown back at the operator after being caught by the cutter head or saw blade.

Possible Solutions

Engineering Controls

  • Enclose feed chains and sprockets of double end machines, except for the portion of the chain conveying stock [29 CFR 1910.213(k)(1)].

  • The cutting head and saws must be guarded with metal guards. Cover the unused part of the periphery of the cutting head. If an exhaust system is used, the guard must form part of the exhaust system [29 CFR 1910.213(k)(3)].