Joint options on just a bandsaw?

[peps1]

Hello guys,

I want to make up some screen printing screens (Just a sturdy box frame will a mesh on oneside), so need to join up some wood and only have a band saw at my disposal!

SO, being a total woodwork novice I would love to hear some thoughts on how I can get something close to this....but only using joints that can be cut on a Bandsaw????

 

[Elapid]

You can do finger joints and dovetails on a bandsaw. Probably loads more too.

 

[RogerP]

Is your picture of a single frame or a pile of six?

 

[Jelly]

Finger, Half-Lap, Bridle, Through Dovetail and Mitre joints can all.be cut on a bandsaw.

The bridle joint appears to be the one used in the frames you pictured

 

[Steve Maskery]

Assuming that that picture is a pile of 6 (you don'tneed much depth, do you?) then my suggestion would be bridle joints. You can cut both the tenon and the open mortice, leaving just the mortice waste to be chopped out bu hand.

If you want depth to the frames, then a simple dovetail joint is the answer.

Both can be cut manually, although using the right jigs will obviously speed things up and make them more consistent.

Whichever you use, you'll benefit from the right blade for the job. The bridle joints need a rip blade - say 3TPI skip - and the dovetails need the narrowest fine blade you can lay your hands on. Mine is 1/16" with lots of teeth (I forget how many, but it is like a fretsaw blade). The latter is not easy to get hold of, unfortunately.
S

 

[JakeS]

I've only done screen printing once, but I gather you generally want the frame to be as shallow as possible? I'd do bridle/finger joints - they should be more than strong enough for screen printing and they're dead easy to do on a bandsaw with nothing more than a straight fence.

I've got a pair of clamping squares I made with finger joints and they're strong enough for me to pull frames into square against them. They were made entirely with the bandsaw - a series of close cuts and a little sideways movement was enough to trim the waste out. Just be careful to leave them a bit loose before glue-up 'cause once you put glue down between them they suddenly become much tighter! Bridle joints are just finger joints with fewer fingers, and I would have thought would be perfectly strong enough.


(Steve Maskery neglects to mention that he's got some excellent jigs on his DVDs to get precision out of your bandsaw. ;-)

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thank you, Jake.

 

[peps1]

Is your picture of a single frame or a pile of six?

Sorry, yes that's a pile of 6

Finger, Half-Lap, Bridle, Through Dovetail and Mitre joints can all.be cut on a bandsaw.
The bridle joint appears to be the one used in the frames you pictured

Thank you, now to look those up! (I have a electronics workshop, so woodwork is all new to me!)

Assuming that that picture is a pile of 6 (you don'tneed much depth, do you?) then my suggestion would be bridle joints. You can cut both the tenon and the open mortice, leaving just the mortice waste to be chopped out bu hand.

Thanks Steve, as I don't have any hand tools, could I drill out the mortice waste on my drill press and then tidy it up with nibbling waste away with lateral movements back on the saw?

I've only done screen printing once, but I gather you generally want the frame to be as shallow as possible? I'd do bridle/finger joints - they should be more than strong enough for screen printing and they're dead easy to do on a bandsaw with nothing more than a straight fence.

Yes shallow is good, but most important is being able to stay square when under the tension from the stretched mesh that needs to be glued on, and sitting flush on the printed suffice for even pressure.

Seems like bridle joints with a couple of dowels is the best option.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Assuming that that picture is a pile of 6 (you don't need much depth, do you?) then my suggestion would be bridle joints. You can cut both the tenon and the open mortice, leaving just the mortice waste to be chopped out by hand.

Thanks Steve, as I don't have any hand tools, could I drill out the mortice waste on my drill press and then tidy it up with nibbling waste away with lateral movements back on the saw?

Well seeing as you ask so explicitly I'll risk the ire of the mods by giving you a very explicit answer

If you use my Ultimate Bandsaw Tenon Jig, the cuts are controlled in such a way that you cut to the left of the line or the right of the line, exactly. The difference between the two is exactly the width of the kerf, so the joints fit perfectly, there is no cleaning up to do, and that kerf setting is accounted for automatically. As regards removing the centre of the bridle, yes you could drill it out, but it would be easier and quicker to use a chisel.

If you didn't want to make the jig for just that job, you could just cut freehand using the rip fence and a very well set up machine, but obviously it would require more skill to do that. Perfectly possible, though.

Cheers
Steve

 

[peps1]

awwwww.....but here is the rub, what other tools would I need to build your Rig?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Fair point! Router and drill, I would say. Planer thicknesser. Drum sander. Vernier gauges. Drill and tap. Spanner. Bench.
Allen keys.....
Yep, fair point
S

 

[peps1]

Just cut some test Bridle joints and they worked a charm, just a little loses.

Is there a trick for a tighter fit other then moving the fence by a fraction?

 

[JakeS]

Just cut some test Bridle joints and they worked a charm, just a little loses.

Is there a trick for a tighter fit other then moving the fence by a fraction?

If you're cutting the 'same' cut on both pieces of the joint without moving the fence, that wil lead to a loose joint because of the width of the blade (and thus the kerf it leaves behind). Moving the fence is one option; another is finding a bit of card which you can just about fit into the kerf you've cut on the outside of the bridle joint, and using it to shim the workpiece against the fence when you make the cuts for the inside part of the joint.

This ensures that the cuts are moved over by around the width of the kerf, meaning the inside faces of the joint are closer to each other for a tighter fit, but since the card still fits inside the kerf it's probably not quite the same width and thus leaves a little slop to make it easier to assemble the joint.

Also bear in mind that if your bridle joint is only a fraction too loose you can sometimes get away with simply closing it up with a clamp while the glue dries.

 

[Tony Spear]

Why not simple, accurately cut mitres?

Cut, glue, assemble and clamp then stretch the mesh over whilst the frame is still in the clamp!

If you want reinforcement, drill through the joints from the side and tap in a small dowel - that's basically what picture framers do (although they tend to use pins).

 

[JakeS]

Why not simple, accurately cut mitres?

Finger/bridle joints are stronger than mitres, though - and they're a lot easier to cut than perfect 45-degree angles! Mitres are useful when you care about the appearance of the joint, but I doubt that's the case for screen frames.




(Out of curiosity, peps1 - are you planning on screen printing resist for PCBs here, or are you doing some art? ;-)

 

[peps1]

Why not simple, accurately cut mitres?

Just worried about strength with a miter, toyed with Splined miter joints......but don't have a table saw, so thought I would go with a bridal.

(Out of curiosity, peps1 - are you planning on screen printing resist for PCBs here, or are you doing some art? ;-)

Planing on screen printing the aluminium encloses I use on my guitar effects pedals I build, as at the moment I use a cut vinyl with adhesive backing (the sign vinyl you find on the side of vans)......but this method, despite having a nice finish and being very flexible is time consuming!