To cope, or to miter?

[DevinL'Ecu]

Okay, this has been bothering me for a good long time- why is it that almost universally tube to tube joints are called miters, when the more appropriate term is a cope? We're not cutting two tubes at complimentary angles; we're wrapping one tube around the other.

Any finish carpenter worth the term would laugh you out of earshot if you called a coped transition a miter.

So what gives?

[Eric Estlund]

Jig:fixture
Brass: bronze

It's short hand, and we know what we mean. Call it what you want- people will follow along.

Copes and miters are also both clothing, but we let that slide.

[EricKeller]

you will find the word cope occasionally, but if you want to search for something about coping tubes, you should probably look for miter. I don't think the framebuilding world made up that terminology. Just a simple google battle shows that mitering tubes wins with a 4700000 hits over 1060000 hits. I'm going to make a wild assertion that many of those are not cycling related.

OTOH, maybe the information you find with a search for "coping tubes" is better, and not just more pedantic

[DevinL'Ecu]

Eric Estlund- very true, just spelled "mitre."

Eric Keller- I feel like it just gained traction as a term because people cope fewer joints (it being the more difficult method and all (speaking for carpentry, not framebuilding)) and it somehow infiltrated the vernacular as a catch-all.

Anyone here consistently refer to their joints as copes?

[suzyj]

Well given that all my frames get little fish decals, I'm gonna have to admit to calling them fishmouths.

[Eric Estlund]

just spelled "mitre."

Also spelled "mitre".

That's the cool thing about English. We're both right!

[DevinL'Ecu]

Wow, I actually did not know that "the" hat could be spelled "miter." Learn something new everyday!

[Jonathan]

Also spelled "mitre".

That's the cool thing about English. We're both right!

Is miter English or Murican?