X Mas frames take 1 - for mom

[Garasaki]

Here are 3 picture frames I whipped up out of quartersawn sycamore and cherry for a xmas present for my mom (celebrating this evening).

They are what I believe are called "lap joints" and while the joinery is less then perfect, I like to say "it has character"

[Wandere]

Heh, I may be in the minority but I really like the lap joint look, especially on stained wood of contrasting species.

I'll be planning a pergola soon with similar joints for most of it, supposedly very strong and simple.

Drill a hole, add a dowel and you've got an Amish barn starting.

looks sharp to me, my neophite eyes don't see anything wrong!

-Rob

[ChrisD]

Nice work, John. I'm sure mom would love 'em.

It's actually called a bridle joint, and is a very attractive alternative to a traditional M&T or lap joint.

[mater]

Nice work. They look very good.

[footprintsinconc]

really nice. i love the joints, this is one of my favorite, but am scared to try them out of fear of what they may look like once i am done.

[Wandere]

Gotta love Wikipedia, Thanks for the link Chris.

-Rob

[Duff]

I love open mortise & tenon!!! Those are nice!

Wifes got me making these for her.....I'm slow!

[John Hunter]

Very nice.

[Pappy]

John, the frames and joints look great. Mom shoiuld love them!

Duff - Good luck. I see a lot of palces/ways to screw up on that frame. BTE, I saved the picture for future reference.

[lrogers]

Excellent work! You did good on the joints.

[nickg]

I like the frame joinery! The contrasting woods set the frames apart from the 45 degree miters that we first think of when doing frames of any sort. I have some left over walnut and maple hanging around, so I might try some similar to yours!!

[nickg]

Duff,

I can see why making frames like that might take a while - a lot of milling involved. I'm sure the first one took a lot longer to make than succeeding versions. I don't think I've ever seen a frame quite like that. Very nice indeed!!

Nick

[Garasaki]

Thanks for the kind words guys - of course I didn't post any pictures of the joints that didn't turn out so well!!

really nice. i love the joints, this is one of my favorite, but am scared to try them out of fear of what they may look like once i am done.

They weren't really too hard. If you've ever done mortise and tenon, these are easier (less shoulders to deal with). The open ends do show off any screwups though. Tip if you do this, make all your joints longer then need be (so the tennons etc stick thru and past the corner), glue up, then run the whole thing over a saw to make a really clean looking joint (you only have to cut a kerf width or less). I also ran mine over a jointer when I was done, mostly cause my ROS broke last week and I wasn't going to hand sand all the saw marks off.

I love open mortise & tenon!!! Those are nice!

Wifes got me making these for her.....

ha I wouldn't get anywhere near those. They look harder 'n heck.