Bavarian style framing trestles

stef · 6 Sep 2013

At least, that's what i think they are refered to as.
it's been a while since i posted a project wip, so here is one.
started with 9m of 150x50mmm timber.
cut it to make 100x50mm, and glued the remaing pieces to complete.

planing generated a lot of shavings.

cross bar completed:

and legs compound mitred

dry assembly

screwed up, and finished in linseed oil

I can probably lay a ton on top of those.
they will be put through good use on my next project !

Final dimensions : 90cm long, and 70cm tall.

Togalosh · 9 Sep 2013

Hello \Steph,

They look great- very sturdy & well made.

Can you explain why you've made "I" beams instead of the usual single beam ? Are you planning to support a house on them or are normal ones too flimsy?

& how they are fixed/jointed to the legs?

I ask as I am planning on making some but now you've made me rethink the usual design.

Togs

stef · 13 Sep 2013

Togalosh":3p6bibub said:
Hello \Steph,

They look great- very sturdy & well made.

Can you explain why you've made "I" beams instead of the usual single beam ? Are you planning to support a house on them or are normal ones too flimsy?

& how they are fixed/jointed to the legs?

I ask as I am planning on making some but now you've made me rethink the usual design.

Togs

Hi,

Well, no particular reason for the I beam, just maybe because it is VERY strong ! it is also wide (10cm) so that they make narrow shelves on their own, if that makes sense. they are also heavy, which is good.
if you put a heavy beam on a normal trestle, it can "roll" if you push on the beam. With those, because of the flat top, you are steadier.

The I beam is so sturdy that all the weight really goes into the legs, and that's along the grain, like on a normal trestle. However, you can use a hammer on the thing, it will hardly bounce, unlike other trestles
The legs are "hooked" on the underside of the top bar, and i just have two screws going into the I. The trestle stands without the screws, as shown on one of the pictures, just the way the weigth presses things down.
the difficult part in making those is to get the mitres right. it's a compound cut, top and bottom, and funny enough, each leg is 100% the same as the others, just rotated or turned upside down.

plug · 14 Sep 2013

I have several pairs of these.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/16736

Jacob · 14 Sep 2013

Look good. Some heavy engineering projects in mind?
I'd have the top slightly shorter so that it falls within the footprint. This makes it inherently stable so even if you balance on the very end it won't tip over.

stef · 14 Sep 2013

It's an optical effect, because the top falls exactely on the bottom of the legs. not so obvious on the last picture, but better on the previous one.
the length of the top is exactely the length of the footprint. shorter, and you'd risk tripping on the legs, and longer, and you'd risk what you mentioned.