Trestles

A trestle is composed of a cap about 15 feet by 9 inches by 9 inches, of four legs, of two upper and two lower traverses, and of four braces. The cap is notched 18 inches from the end, to receive the legs; the notch is 5 inches wide and 1 deep. The legs should be from 5 to 6 inches square; a shoulder is made to tit the notch in the cap; the spread is quarter the height. The inclination in the other direction about one-sixteenth. The leg is spiked, pinned, or bolted to the cap. The lower traverse is 5 inches by 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches, and is dovetailed into the legs at about one-quarter their height from the ground. The upper traverse, which is nailed on the outside of the legs and against the cap, is 6 inches wide and 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches thick. The braces are 4 inches wide by 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches thick, and are spiked to the cap and legs. When trestles are to be placed on a soft bottom, a flat sill may be spiked under the legs of each side.