Mortiser

The bit clears out most of the material to be removed, and the chisel ensures the edges are straight and clean.

As electric power became easily available, the auger developed as a drill bit and became the main means of removing waste timber from the mortise.

A more recent innovation is the horizontal mortiser, which incorporates a router mounted statically on its side with the workpiece clamped to a multi-axis sliding table.

However, due to the precision of fit required for a mortise and tenon joint, this can be a difficult and time-consuming task.

Alternatively, the tenon can be rounded with a rasp to achieve an equally strong joint.