I purchased some 18mm round by 2mm thick rare earth magnets from Amazon. I then took a forstner bit and drilled a centered hole in each foot and epoxied the magnets so they were just under the surface of the foot. Two magnets in each bridge are enough to actually be powerful enough to make the bridges magnet together through 3/4” stock. I simply put two bridges across the joint and I have both hands free to apply my clamps.
I think trying to get the polarity right would drive me nuts! LOL. But when doing a two or three boards, having them just stick together through the stock is not a bad idea. Thanks.
@@hansangb that was my thought as well. I put my magnets is pairs before assembly and marked the non connected faces with a Sharpie. This way during gluing I made sure to have either both unmarked or marked sides out so that opposite polarities were out. When doing a glue up the opposite magnets find themselves and make the connection correctly.
A little OCD? Jeff Woodpecker's entire sales strategy relies on it! 🤣 I'm a bit OCD and I make no apologies about it! 😎 That's probably why I keep buying Woodpecker tools. I just may have had a breakthrough. All the Best, Chuck!
I appreciate the video - you demonstrated that using joint bridges is as tricky as I've experienced. They get even trickier if you are attempting to glue a curved joint (as when adding inlay to a serving board.). My take is that the gaps needed to bridge the glue joint can be cut into the cauls - or just finish/wax the cauls and "keep it simple" as Gus suggests. If I need a bridge I'll make my own - adapted to the specific application.
It all takes time and effort. I think the Joint Bridges can save a bunch. Your example of through inlaid serving boards is a perfect example. Just drop a JB over every spot where the inlay has to be cleared, slap on a caul with some spray mount on it and go. To my mind that seems faster than laying out and marking the spots, setting up a dado blade and notching the cauls...which are now useless for anything else.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but instead of spending $70 on these joint bridges, couldn't you just cut some scrap squares of plywood, drill a hole in the center with a forstner bit, then split them in half? Do these red plastic ones have some magical properties I'm not aware of?
@@WoodpeckersLLC On the other hand, the shop made versions are more specific to the project (different sizes, multiple gaps on a single "bridge" (caul), etc.
What is the tightening of the clamp sequence? It appears you do a light tighten on the joint bridges then tighten the lateral clamps. Then do you tighten the joint bridge clamps some more?
You've got it. Tighten the Joint Bridges tight enough to align the sections, but still allow the edges to come together. Then tighten the lateral clamps. I only put more pressure on the Joint Bridges if the faces aren't perfectly flush.
used mine for the first time yesterday and they are a pain in the butt, you need about 10 hands. BUT they work GREAT! Because of their length if you are gluing up narrow boards like I was you need multiple rows to get all the joints bridged.
Two reasons. The Joint Bridge delivers a better alignment between the pieces because it contacts just the two boards it is trying to align, not the entire panel. And by bridging over the seam, they don't get glued to the project.
Looks loke they may be more trouble than what they are worth?? Knowing the pricing (HIGH) of Woodpecker products scares me away. Appears to be a clever idea but does not trip my trigger. Sorry.
This is the first tool from woodpeckers that does not make things easier/better/accurate. Way too much extra work to accomplish something we’ve all done for decades. Sorry guys, big fan of you but this tool is ridiculous.
I purchased some 18mm round by 2mm thick rare earth magnets from Amazon. I then took a forstner bit and drilled a centered hole in each foot and epoxied the magnets so they were just under the surface of the foot. Two magnets in each bridge are enough to actually be powerful enough to make the bridges magnet together through 3/4” stock. I simply put two bridges across the joint and I have both hands free to apply my clamps.
I think trying to get the polarity right would drive me nuts! LOL. But when doing a two or three boards, having them just stick together through the stock is not a bad idea. Thanks.
@@hansangb that was my thought as well. I put my magnets is pairs before assembly and marked the non connected faces with a Sharpie. This way during gluing I made sure to have either both unmarked or marked sides out so that opposite polarities were out. When doing a glue up the opposite magnets find themselves and make the connection correctly.
Justin a smart mofo.
Very nice idea indeed.
I love and own a lot of Woodpecker tools, but I'm going to pass on joint bridges thank you very much! I'm going to try to keep things simple!!
I’d love to see deep dive videos of UA-cam creators building different things and only using all of your woodpecker products.
Spam
Great tip Jeff. Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like it is very simple and extremely worthwhile the time to set up.
A little OCD? Jeff Woodpecker's entire sales strategy relies on it! 🤣
I'm a bit OCD and I make no apologies about it! 😎 That's probably why I keep buying Woodpecker tools.
I just may have had a breakthrough.
All the Best, Chuck!
I appreciate the video - you demonstrated that using joint bridges is as tricky as I've experienced. They get even trickier if you are attempting to glue a curved joint (as when adding inlay to a serving board.). My take is that the gaps needed to bridge the glue joint can be cut into the cauls - or just finish/wax the cauls and "keep it simple" as Gus suggests. If I need a bridge I'll make my own - adapted to the specific application.
It all takes time and effort. I think the Joint Bridges can save a bunch. Your example of through inlaid serving boards is a perfect example. Just drop a JB over every spot where the inlay has to be cleared, slap on a caul with some spray mount on it and go. To my mind that seems faster than laying out and marking the spots, setting up a dado blade and notching the cauls...which are now useless for anything else.
Jeff, I got my thin rip guide today. I haven't used it yet but the way it was packaged it would have survived Hiroshima
Great video, very useful.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but instead of spending $70 on these joint bridges, couldn't you just cut some scrap squares of plywood, drill a hole in the center with a forstner bit, then split them in half? Do these red plastic ones have some magical properties I'm not aware of?
At $3 a piece, no magical properties except they're done and you're working on projects instead of working on shop aids.
@@WoodpeckersLLC On the other hand, the shop made versions are more specific to the project (different sizes, multiple gaps on a single "bridge" (caul), etc.
What is the tightening of the clamp sequence? It appears you do a light tighten on the joint bridges then tighten the lateral clamps. Then do you tighten the joint bridge clamps some more?
You've got it. Tighten the Joint Bridges tight enough to align the sections, but still allow the edges to come together. Then tighten the lateral clamps. I only put more pressure on the Joint Bridges if the faces aren't perfectly flush.
I like woodpecker tools but these things look like a PITA
Biscuits solve the problem also and are much faster and easier to use.
used mine for the first time yesterday and they are a pain in the butt, you need about 10 hands. BUT they work GREAT! Because of their length if you are gluing up narrow boards like I was you need multiple rows to get all the joints bridged.
Did you try using double-faced tape or spray mount to stick them to a caul --- or the pad of a clamp? It helps speed things up.
@@WoodpeckersLLC I thought about it but didn't have anything on-hand, would make it a lot easier for sure
Thanks Jeff.
I don't understand why the 3 flanges are not glued side by side?
There is a gap between 2 and 3 ???
It all depends on the width of the sections of the glue-up. They're all spotted so the joint line is roughly in the middle of the bridge.
did you guys winn a DeWalt table saw ?
I missed it - did you apply glue to both sides of each joint?
Yes, I did.
Can you use them with Clampzilla's?
Yes, you can. As long as your material is less than 2" thick. I've found double-faced tape a better option with ClampZilla than the spray mount.
Why not use the wood as a cawl?
Two reasons. The Joint Bridge delivers a better alignment between the pieces because it contacts just the two boards it is trying to align, not the entire panel. And by bridging over the seam, they don't get glued to the project.
I've got a few WP tools but this has got to be one of the most over thought unnecessary things that I've ever seen.
Love Woodpeckers…but these are a swing and a miss. I’m sure I’ll dust them off once in awhile.
Looks loke they may be more trouble than what they are worth?? Knowing the pricing (HIGH) of Woodpecker products scares me away. Appears to be a clever idea but does not trip my trigger. Sorry.
Looks really simple 🙄
Far to much hassle! Easier, cheaper methods out there. Sorry, but in this instance Woodpecker has failed to make a case for these bridges.
This is the first tool from woodpeckers that does not make things easier/better/accurate. Way too much extra work to accomplish something we’ve all done for decades. Sorry guys, big fan of you but this tool is ridiculous.
You already have a product that would do this same thing with the Clampzilla.