Woodworker's Journal 2004 Summer, страница 22

Rail and Post Joint Detail

Figure 3: Before you cut the tenons on the trellis rails, notch each rail end with a 1'V Forstner bit chucked in your drill press.

the mortises for the decorative wedges with 1/2" and 1" chisels. The decorative wedges are cut from scrap redwood. Taper the wedges on your disc sander (see Half-scale Patterns, previous page).

The final shaping of the trellis rails as well as the shaping of the stretchers (pieces 8) is done on the band saw. Use the Half-scale Patterns to create a template (I made mine from some scrap 1/2" plywood). Trace the outline of the template onto the rails and stretchers and cut them out on the band saw. An oscillating spindle sander does a great job of easily removing the band saw marks. I also rounded over all the edges with 100-grit sandpaper.

Making Stretchers and Bridle Joints

The stretchers are attached to the posts with full lap joints. In other words, dadoes must be cut in the posts (see the Rail and Post Joint Detail, at right, and the Elevation Drawings on page 24 for the dado sizes and locations), but none are needed in the stretchers.

I used the same dado setup in my radial arm saw, this time adjusting the depth of cut for a IV2'¹ deep dado. I cut the dadoes in two matching posts at the same time. I know I've said this before, but be extremely careful during this process. Clamp your workpieces securely to the saw's table and operate the saw with both hands. Watch out for knots in the wood. A dado set in a radial arm saw tends to grab and climb a knot if the saw is pulled forward too fast. This could easily stall the saw, overload the motor, or even cause an injury if you lose control of the dado.

I thought about using the radial arm saw to cut the bridle joints in the tops of the posts (see the Rail and Post Joint Detail, this page), but it seemed like an awfully cumbersome setup. You could use a circular saw and slowly nibble away at each dado, but I think the easiest and safest method is to chop out the dadoes with a Forstner bit and chisels (see Figure 4). After the open bridle mortises are cut, use a miter saw to put a 27° chamfer on the top of each post, as shown on the Rail and Post Joint Detail.