Straightening Warped Deck Boards
Two common tools work together to make easy work of pulling deck boards straight before fastening them down.
If you build decks, sooner or later you’ll have to develop a method for straightening stubborn deck boards. After struggling with a number of techniques with varying degrees of success, I discovered one afternoon that I could combine two tools that I always have on site to coax any board into place. As shown in the drawing, I placed the short end of a pry bar in the gap between two boards that had already been installed. The long end of the pry bar points toward the board you’re installing. Then I placed the tail stop of the pipe clamp over the pry bar and the clamp’s head on the workpiece. With a couple of turns of the crank, the deck board is ready to nail off. Too easy.
—Brian Simmons, Oakland, CA
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #85
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