I have a question about the Amana Tool Shaker rail-and-stile bit set and the corresponding raised panel bit:
Can the bit set be used to create a long tenon?
Also, on what piece or Shaker region did you model these bits after? I always thought Shaker would be flat panel.
Great Barrington, MA
-Ben
Our Expert
One of the pleasures of reproducing furniture of a specific style is researching the historic pieces to gather design ideas. When featured in woodworking magazines, Shaker furniture is very plain to the point of being bleak. Hwever, although surviving Shaker furniture is somewhat simple, Shaker craftsmen did use attractive lines and sound proportion to add visual appeal to their furniture. One good example is doors on furniture and built-in cabinets. While the Shakers often used flat panels in doors, they also constructed a surprising number of raised panel doors with a simple "thumbnail" sticking. In fact, furniture examples from Enfield, Canterbury, Mt. Lebanon, Sabbathday Lake and Union village all feature raised panel doors.
The short, steep bevel on the Amana Tool no. 54133 is a good example of the typical panel edge on Shaker doors. The Amana Tool no. 55426 Stile-and-Rail bit set creates a simple 3/8" radius "thumbnail" sticking profile.
If you prefer a longer tenon and a true mortise I recommend using the Amana no.49514 3/8" radius corner rounding bit to shape the sticking and cutting a miter in the corners where the sticking intersects. Here is the link to the mitered sticking article on the Amana website:
