I tuned a 3/4 in haunched tenon to the gauge — pared cheeks to within 0.05 mm with a 1 in shoulder plane, shoulders dead to the knife line — dry fit flawless, then on glue-up at 68°F it seized halfway and squealed like a dull dado stack. Either the mortise shrank out of professional jealousy or I’ve invented the squeal-fit joint; anyone else have precision joins that behave on dry runs and go feral the moment the hide glue shows?
Happened to me on white oak and it was hydro-lock, not hubris. A shallow saw-kerf glue gutter down one tenon cheek plus a tiny lead chamfer made the “squeal-fit joint” stop singing; if you’d rather not kerf, chill the tenon for 10 minutes or use liquid hide glue for a calmer glue-up.
I had that “squeal” with cherry until I switched to liquid hide glue — it’s a touch slicker than PVA, like WD‑40 for joinery. I also make the mortise a hair deeper and ease the inside arrises with two file strokes so glue and air can escape; @s_perry34’s kerf works too, I just prefer not to cut the cheek.
I started tossing the tenon in the freezer for 10 minutes right before glue-up; on hard maple it slid home without the “squeal-fit” drama. The tiny contraction buys just enough time, but bag it so you don’t get condensation and only chill the tenon, not the mortise.
At “68°F,” I warm the PVA bottle in hot tap water; slides easier without drama. Just don’t overheat it.
Been there — the only thing that stopped the mid-drive squeal for me was cutting a tiny relief kerf down each tenon cheek with a fine saw so the glue has an escape route. @a_reed49 is right about making it slide; just don’t run the groove into the shoulder or you’ll telegraph a line.