Inconspicuously fastening cedar 4x4's at a corner?

[Pirate]

I've been tasked to build a chuppah (a wedding archway). The client wants dark 4x4's, similar to the provided picture, which will then be draped with fabric. This would be a simple project but they don't want to see any exposed hardware. I was going to use some standard 4x4 post caps, but now I'm looking for a more hidden and/or subtle alternative. Any ideas?

 

[derekleffew]

Half-lap joint s? Mortise and tenon s? I don't think I understand the problem. What do 4x4 post caps have to do with anything?

Is the issue structural, aesthetic, neither, or both?
.

 

[sk8rsdad]

My first question would be visible from what angle.

Since it's unlikely the top is visible to anybody my first inclination would be to use blind mortise and tenon then pin it together with dowels or 3.5" wood screws from the top.

 

[Pirate]

Well, there's a couple issues. Firstly is that we don't have a wood shop, or anything other than a few rudimentary tools lying around. God what I wouldn't give for a real shop. But that's the main reason why I was hoping to use hardware, as it would be a quick screw-together at the site, unscrew for the tear-down.

Additionally it has to be a free-standing 4-post frame with crossbars between each post, as 3 separate 4x4's need to be attached at each corner. Do you think mortise and tenon or half-laps would work in this case?

Apologies for not mentioning the lack of resources for this project. Thanks for the quick reply though! If you have any ideas as to what I can do with some simple tools I do have, i'm definitely open to suggestions!

 

[Van]

I would say that whole project would be a lesson in Joinery. You could blind or full tennon the 90 degree beams and the 45 degree cross braces < I'm assuming that's what you mean by saying ..."3 beam's at each post..."> could be done with a birds mouth tennon or a shouldered joint. The area where the cross beams cross each other is going to have to be half-lapped. All of this joinery could be accomplished with a back-saw 3 chisels a hamers and a 1" auger.
No shop needed.

 

[seanandkate]

Mortise and tenon would be the way to go. If you have a hand saw to cut the tenons, a drill to clear most of the material from the mortises and a chisel to clean up the edges, you should be good to go (although if you know somebody with a router, it's totally worth buying them a beer to rout the mortises for you). And to pick up on sk8rsdad's point, it just needs to look good from the front (and maybe the side), plus if you hang the fabric strategically you can also cover a great many sins. If you are worried about stability, you might think about bases at the bottom of the 4x4s--a better option the larger the chuppah. I would use a tall thin mortise for the front cross piece, then a smaller mortise for the side cross pieces that would go through the tenon of the front cross piece, adding to the stability. Keep the joints tight and bring a mallet for assembly. If you moisten the tenons just before you mallet them in, the tenons will expand a bit and tighten them.