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#@*&!%?!happens! … loose joints

Let’s face it, these are a fact of life; it doesn’t always go well. Still it’s only wood, so there has to be a simple answer… 

Close-up of wooden dovetail joint detail
This is a bit exaggerated for effect, but joints that aren’t a good fit won’t make for sturdy reliable pieces of work. Legs and other critical joints will fail if the joints are loose. There are a few gap filling adhesives, but we shouldn’t rely on glue to do the job, it should just be the finishing touch only. Mortise and tenons are a case in point
Glueing wood pieces with clamp.
If the gapping is narrow you can use pieces of veneer glued along the faces of the tenon. Larger gaps need to be cut to fit, but can be overthickness. Don’t try putting the extra slips into the mortise as you push the tenon home, as they will probably get misplaced and glue spilling out everywhere. Instead clamp them to the tenon faces and allow the glue to dry
Chiselling wood block with precision and care.
Anything thicker than a veneer will almost certainly need trimming until the tenon fits nicely in the mortise. Use a very sharp chisel for this, or if you are lucky enough to own a cabinetmaker’s rebate plane you can use that instead. Make sure the end and edges of the tenon are trimmed smooth and ready to fit. Use a piece of wood with similar grain with a through tenon so it looks correct on the outer face
Woodworking tools on a workshop bench
The join lines and grain break is only slightly visible, and the joint has full working strength even though the additional pieces aren’t part of original tenon

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