bridle joints on a table saw

[barryvabeach]

Cooler,  yes, once you get the shim thickness worked out, it will be perfect cut every time with your tenoning jig.   It doesn't matter if all the pieces are not exactly the same thicknesses, the face sides will match so long as you orient them all the same direction.  

I don't know if I explained it correctly, but go to here, look at their description up through photo A, when he does the first cut on the inside of right side of the slot.     https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/t...idle-joint   I do that first  cut for one side of the slot for all the pieces that will have slots.  Then, leave the jig exactly where it is, put the shim on the jig, mine has a  half dovetail tab at the top so that it stays on the jig, and when you line up your stock for the tenons, so long as you stock faces the same way, the cheek cut will be in  exactly the right place, because it is exactly the same distance from the face of the jig, except that you have offset for the width of the kerf.  ( I have to stop and think it through when I haven't done it in a while. )    Then when you finish all those cuts, you move your tenoning jig so that you will cut the other side of the cheek cut for the tenon, take the shim off the jig.  When you have finished all the check cuts, you then put on the shim, and run the stock that needs the slot cut, and the outside of that slot will be in exactly the right place so that it will line up with the cheek cut, because you offset the two cuts by the width of the kerf.  Then I nibble away the waste in between.  I normally cut them for stretchers for painting, so the exact dimension of the tenon isn't critical, but the fit and getting the faces lined up exactly right are important.  If the exact thickness of the tenon is important, you can dial that in as well when setting the tenoning jig for the second set of cuts.   I spent some time getting the shim exactly the right thickness through trial and error, and don't forget if you plane it a little too thin, you can always add tape to build it back, but once you get it going, you can knock out bridle joints pretty quick, and every cut line will match exactly, so long as you mark the face of each piece of stock, and which pieces need cheek cuts, and which ones need slot cuts.

[GNP]

Freud glue line rip blades are ftg and bevel tooth.

[Edwin Hackleman]

I used to make bridle joints years ago for face frames, but then I read in Wood Magazine that the bridle joint is actually weaker than a well-made half-lap joint. Sounds goofy, but their test results supported it. The half-lap seems also easier for me to make. So I abandoned the bridle.

[museumguy]

Ok, am I the only one that the pics don't show up ?  Using Internet Explorer, also tried Google Chrome. No go on either.

Sorry to derail the topic.

[Ray Newman]

Musemguy: no pictures here....

[Edwin Hackleman]

Musemguy: no pictures here....

Same here. No Pics. But, I think most of us here know what a bridle joint is -- cut full through mortise and tenon.

   
By just looking at it you would expect it to be stronger than the half-lap, but it is actually a tad weaker

[museumguy]

Yep, know what it is, I just like pictures,


Thanks for the drawing.

[MstrCarpenter]

Quite a few years ago I read about a tip for cutting accurate tenons even with slightly different stock thickness, and I think I read about it here first. I have a list of shims and spacers that when combined with the outside blades from my dado set exactly match my mortise bits. I reference off the face side on the tenon jig and cut both sides of the tenon at the same time. The next step is obviously to cut the cheeks. THIS IS IMPORTANT; If you don't change the blades you must put a piece of Lexan (not breakable plexiglass) on top of your cross-cut fence for a guard. The little piece(s) cut between the two blades WILL leave a mark! I use a zero clearance insert so they almost always stay below the table, but when one did ricochet off a 4' fluorescent bulb right over my head it was loud enough to get my attention.

I happen to have the privilege of using a separate machine to cut the mortises, but I'm thinking that if you use Barry's tip about the shim when you cut the tenon you could keep your tenon jig, and blade height at the same settings. You'll have to remove the chippers (if any) and increase the space between the two blades, but once you know the combinations that fit each other, the set-up will be quick, easy, and accurate.