Hi All,
Making a custom patio cover an want to give it a Greene and Greene sorta look with a cloud lift detail on the ends. I guess a band saw would be great or even a jigsaw but I’ve not seen 6″ jig saw blades which leaves..tada! Sawzall!
I don’t see the details being as crisp as with the other options and am wondering how you all would do it with limited resouces and time. There may be a tight radius involved.
Oh yea there will be about 20 .
Thanks,
N
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Replies
Try an old fashioned hand operated bow saw if there are only a few cuts.
Clean up your over sized cut with a belt sander.
and for a tight inside radius, you might try drilling it..jat
Good suggestions,
Ever see anyone cutting details on large beams by mounting a bandsaw on wheels and rolling it around as the beam is stationary?
Pretty trick I tell ya!
Only "good" way I can think of.
N
Yes, I saw Norm and company do the bandsaw-on-wheels thing a number of years ago. If the stock is more than 4 inches thick, that is probably the only way to go. Note that all four wheels will need to be free-rotating casters, and I still think that this will be very awkward.
But for your 4X6, you might want to use a router and a pattern-following bit. I forget whether it is Rockler or Woodcraft that has a flush-trim bit with a 2" depth of cut.
That is how I cut the rafter-ends for the pergola that I did a few weeks ago. Although mine used 2X6, the same method could be used for 4X material.
Cut a pattern from 1/4 inch ply. Use the drills, the bowsaw, and the sawzall to get close to the line. Then attach the pattern, and use the flush trim bit to make perfect copies of the pattern. For the 4X material, you will need to route one side, then flip the material over. Attach the pattern to the second side, and route that side.
Another option that I've heard of, is to pattern-cut (or route) enough 2X material that you can double them up to look like 4X stock. IMO, this requires that you also rip the material to get rid of the rounded edges.
Best luck, and post some pictures when you're done.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
If you have a chainsaw, gas or electric, make up 2 pairs of thin blocks of UHMW, or hardwood, cut a relief in one edge of each to clear the chain. Bolt them to the bar so the edge of the blocks lays just proud of the cutting edge of the chain and far enough apart that, between the sets of blocks, you have just enough cutting edge to handle your beam. (drilling the bolt holes through the bar is easy as the hard surface of chainsaw bars is limited to the area of the chain slot).
Make up a matched pair of templates for the design you want to cut and clamp, nail or screw the templates to each side of the beam.
The templates will act as a stop for the blocks on your bar. Make a series of parallel cuts and clean them out, then guide the blocks over the template to finish your shape. Sand if necessary. (Scoring your cutline along the template with a sharp knife before sawing will eliminate slivering).
This method is fast, simple, and accurate and is a common technique of log and timber builders for the kind of thing you want to do.
Notrix
Get a portable bandsaw, rent one if you dont want to buy it. You can cut them out by hand with one very easy.
Or as someone else suggested, a router.
Doug
Porta Band. Then the belt sander.
bosch does make some pretty long jigsaw blades- i have some around here from them that will cut 4x (3.5-4") stock with length to spare. check with them.
m
I have used the Bosch Jig saw from both sides of a blank and sanded the ridge left when the cuts met. This only works well in even grained woods. The blade follows the grain in harder woods.
I did use the router template and guide bearing with success on a highly repetitive project this winter. I removed most of the stock with the jigsaw then made the final cut with the router template and guide bearing, it worked slick.
Garett
I recall seeing tip in some book (maybe even the FH books) about cutting curves in a beam or post in place, where a bandsaw wouldn't be possible. Involved two workers using sawzall and the cut line marked both sides. One would guide the sawzall, other would guide the end of the blade using a crescent wrench.
Don't know how well it'd work, like I said I only saw it in the book.
If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
Search web for Lennox blades. They make blades up to 6" long for a sabersaw.They have them in bayonet, universal and T shanks. I believe there are two blades in each pack. Excellent quality blades.
Mike
Notchman's, way is good.
Here is how I did it.
I had 50 korbels to make from 8x10 stock.
The material was 10 feet long, each korbel 5 feet.
I made a pattern of 1/4 ply. Using an electric plane I smoothed all surfaces( the stock was from a sawmill, rough sawn). Then I laid out the design on both faces of the stock. Using a chainsaw I cut them out, working to both scribed(knifed) lines. Then we smoothed up the curves with a 6inch grinder with 80grit discs.
We made mortices in one surface to accept the tenons on the supporting posts. I started out cutting them with a chain saw (pretty dramatic kickback) but then thought of my router.
I made an acrylic template guide and used a 2in straight bit in multiple passes to cut the mortice.
Was pretty easy once I got going. I made two at a time (10ft stock). Only took a couple years.Ha.
stef
You could line up all your tails, probably upside down. Draw the profile on one end and perpendicular lines for reference on the up side. Set your depth on your skill-saw and make a series of cuts to the depth needed. Knock off the scrap wood and belt sand to perfection.
Or you could do it the easy way.........
Glendo.
Use a drill press to cut out as much of the waste as you can.
Then you don't have to put much pressure on the jigsaw. And the jigsaw blade will tend to wander less. Just kind of let it chew out the wood on it's own, along with some gentle guidance from you.
Use a sanding disk to clean it up.
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