# What joint is this? (Shelf to support)



## keith204 (Nov 24, 2009)

I made this shelf a few years ago and would like to write about it. But I can’t seem to pinpoint the name of this joint. 

Maybe cobbed half lap, or some variation of a bridle (different grain orientation)?











The supports have a dado on 3 sides. 










The shelves have a simple notch. 

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated!


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## AwesomeOpossum74 (Jan 27, 2017)

Can't answer your question. By my understanding, typical interlocking shelves are bad design, because they can lack support at the front and back of the shelves. In your case that may still exist, but may be lessened by the inset dados in the support. How has it held up for you?


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## keith204 (Nov 24, 2009)

It has held up perfect for the past few years. 

I think the trick is the inset dadoes as you mentioned and that the fit is tight enough. Without weight on the shelves you can wiggle them out. With weight, they don’t budge. 

Weight on the front of the shelves causes the back to want to raise, which can’t happen.

*Also, the rails need to go pretty far forward into the shelves. In my case it’s about halfway, so weight on the front makes it like a teeter totter with the back end clamped down.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

I did some work on an old motel and when we removed the bed,
the frame was interlocking boards just like those in the vertical position
and the joints look almost identical.
so that profile may not be limited to just shelves.

.

.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Could it be called a bridle joint?


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## keith204 (Nov 24, 2009)

BernieL said:


> Could it be called a bridle joint?




That’s what it looks like to me but with a different grain orientation on the shelf. 

The people (or whatever) of Reddit think it’s a “housed half lap” but when I google that I don’t see anything similar.


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

***************x


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

If the boards crossed like that when they are horizontal, it would be a lap joint, so I dunno.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

According to this they fall under the half lap category:

http://sawdustmaking.com/woodjoints/halflap.htm

Looking at your post again I see the dados on the supports, that is an interesting twist.


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

A lap joint is when the two pieces completely cross eachother, such as in a cross. A half lap is when the 2 pieces are joined at an end such as a picture frame corner or a cabinet face frame corner.
The same exact principle, just a hatter of where the junction takes place.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

FrankC said:


> According to this they fall under the half lap category:
> 
> http://sawdustmaking.com/woodjoints/halflap.htm
> 
> Looking at your post again I see the dados on the supports, that is an interesting twist.


The diagrams on the sawdustmaking website looked familiar, and they did cite the source too. Sure enough, they came from a very good woodworking book that is in the public domain:

Woodwork Joints: How They Are Set Out, How Made and Where Used, by William Fairham. 

I found it I was looking for woodworking books on the Gutenberg Project. It would not seem out of place today. We still use the same woodworking joinery. Here is a link to the book: 
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21531

The Gutenberg Project is a website with many books and other writings, all of them in the public domain, free for anyone to read, download, reprint, and use. Here is a search for free woodworking books on Project Gutenberg. See if you find anything you like:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=woodworking


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

By definition, a bridle joint has lap joint features along with mortise features. I'm not a professional woodworker as I have never nor will I ever sell any of my work, so take my humble opinion as that of a serious amature. I was a self taught hacker until my retirement in 2009 - I now consider myself to be a self taught craftsman!


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Bridal Joints:
http://sawdustmaking.com/woodjoints/bridal.htm


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Frank has made two different suggestions, based on diagrams from the same book, the one I recommended above. I will recommend it again. Here is an excellent FREE book about woodworking joints:

Woodwork Joints: How They Are Set Out, How Made and Where Used, by William Fairham. 
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21531


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