Hand made Bridal Joints??

[steven c newman]

Recently, I have been working to get better at Bridle type joints. PITA! Trying to get a few legs to sit straight....er. SDC14481.jpg Must be an easier way to cut these dang thingsSDC14480.jpg Yes it is at an angle, The rails were to be a crossing sort of thing. Thought MAYBE i could just 45 across the top of the legs. Ran into a mismatch between the rail's shoulder, and the corner of the leg. After the first two tries I backed up, and then just made it squared where the two metSDC14485.jpgthe one not clamped up is the second try. Still not quite what i wanted, but a little closer. There is also an angled half-lap in the mix. Sawn to the lines on one half, then try to match up the other to it. At least the part of that joint that shows, looks goodSDC14494.jpg maybe i won't try to be so "Fancy" about the joinery, next time. After all, it is just a tray for Breakfast in Bed..SDC14492.jpgJust Oak scraps that i reclaimed. The "field" of the tray is reclaimed from an old floor joist, and is Black Cherry. Maybe next time I will keep things a little more simple???

[Charlie Stanford]

Recently, I have been working to get better at Bridal type joints. PITA! Trying to get a few legs to sit straight....er. SDC14481.jpg Must be an easier way to cut these dang thingsSDC14480.jpg Yes it is at an angle, The rails were to be a crossing sort of thing. Thought MAYBE i could just 45 across the top of the legs. Ran into a mismatch between the rail's shoulder, and the corner of the leg. After the first two tries I backed up, and then just made it squared where the two metSDC14485.jpgthe one not clamped up is the second try. Still not quite what i wanted, but a little closer. There is also an angled half-lap in the mix. Sawn to the lines on one half, then try to match up the other to it. At least the part of that joint that shows, looks goodSDC14494.jpg maybe i won't try to be so "Fancy" about the joinery, next time. After all, it is just a tray for Breakfast in Bed..SDC14492.jpgJust Oak scraps that i reclaimed. The "field" of the tray is reclaimed from an old floor joist, and is Black Cherry. Maybe next time I will keep things a little more simple???

Bridle, not bridal.

[steven c newman]

By the time I got done with them, I felt more like Bridal....

[Bill Houghton]

Layout and practice is the key. Good layout gives you a line to work to; practice helps you work to it.

Easy to say, only time will help you execute.

[Chuck Nickerson]

A bridal joint makes a much bigger mess when it fails...

[Terry Beadle]

I used bridle dove tailed joints on my work bench. They've been working great for over a decade and show no looseness. They are in 4 X 6 stock so that helps.

Just a comment.

[Zach Dillinger]

A bridal joint makes a much bigger mess when it fails...

I hear they fail easily too... something like 50% of them in the first couple of years.

[David Weaver]

I hear they fail easily too... something like 50% of them in the first couple of years.

And the ones that don't are sometimes more trouble than they're worth

[steven c newman]

I think I'll stick with Mortise and tenon joints for legs. The bridle joint would work IF the apron were to be running through a leg, like on a pembroke style. Maybe by the time i am ready to try one of those, I MIGHT have a better selection of handsaws than what I have right nowSDC14488.jpgBottom one wasn't used much. The middle one was used a little too much, and now needs to be sharpened back up. #3 is just a little Atkins Panel saw. Actually work pretty good in this old oak. Even used one of them as a "Mitersaw"SDC14388.jpg At least it worked better than my very DULL miterbox sawsSDC14489.jpg These will need a LOT of file work....

[Kees Heiden]

In my opinion bridal joints, or halflaps are difficult to make nice with tight seams. More difficult then M&T I guess! Every little shake in sawing or chiseling shows up in the end result.

[Jim Koepke]

In my opinion bridal joints, or halflaps are difficult to make nice with tight seams.

It must be all my practice. Laps, half laps and bridal joints are some of my most used joints.

Light Stand detail.jpg

This is one done today to hold some grow lights over SWMBO's African Violet leaf cuttings.

Maybe it comes from making all those saw horses that seem to be multiplying around here.

jtk

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Bridle joints bug me sometimes - half laps I can handle; bridle joints never look as clean when I'm done as I want. I guess I need more practice. Drawboring/pegging can save some questionable joints, but with something like a door, all of a sudden you've two more show surfaces you don't have with a M&T.

I always feel like I'm getting pretty good as a sawyer until I cut a bridle joint. I guess I can chisel straighter than I can saw. Maybe I should just try a different saw - I feel like my long rips with my handsaws are coming out straighter than my bridles with a backsaw. Not the saws fault, but maybe it's just not the fit for me that I needed.

(I think I just justified a new tool purchase! Woo hoo!)

Jim, your project sounds closely similar to one my wife had me work on. I like those types of little projects; I get to plan something, try out some different techniques and knock down the scrap pile, and since she's not concerned about it looking perfect, it's a nice opportunity to try out some new techniques.

[Jim Matthews]

I can't understand why this joint would be chosen for joining legs.

Since you turned the legs square to the diagonal line (corner to corner)
a Mortice and tenon would be manageable.

It's how I connected the legs to diagonal stretchers on my dining table...

P1030552.jpg

[george wilson]

And,Jim,the angles of your legs are all the same.

[daniel lane]

SDC14494.jpg ... After all, it is just a tray for Breakfast in Bed.

That explains the electric stove burn mark on the front left (bottom).

I respect you for trying the odd angles, Steven - I'd probably do the same, as well, but I'm not smart enough to know I shouldn't. Still, it looks good - nice job!


daniel