*
The Mrs. said she wants the deck I’m building to look “chunky.” In English, that means I’m using 8×8 possibly larger timbers for the posts, etc. However, as I do my planning, I’m wondering what I’m going to use to cut these monsters. My 7 1/2-inch Skilsaw won’t make it all the way through, even if I cut all four sides. A chainsaw will be too rough, and I’m not sure how to make sure the cut is square.
Do any of you timberjacks out there have any suggestions? I’d appreciate the help!
Making mitered head casings is a breeze with this simple system.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
*
cut right round with your skil saw and finish the wee bit with a hand saw, works for me.
*If you are a tool junkie you should have no problem going out and buying a larger power saw, but, gee ........................... I wonder what kind of saw might be used if you were doing this before the advent of powered circular saws?????? OR!!! What could you use to complete the cut made by your circular saw??? Huh?? Got your thinking cap on??
*skilsaw all four sides and finish the cut with a hand saw or sawzall, or get one of those makita 14" circular saws. Have never used the Prazi beam cutter or the bigfoot skilsaw converter to 12", but those could also be options. my 2 centavos. I am not a timberjack, but I've cut a few beams....sami
*holy cow, I think the three of us were typing simultaneously!!
*The Prazi attachment to a power saw seems to be one of the more common ways to cut larger beams. The Prazi PR-7000 is advertised to fit most worm drive saws while the PR-2000 is for "sidewinders". I will probably purchase one of these as neither my 8.25 Skil or my 12" sidewinder will make it very far through a 12" beam. The unit for the worm drive saw is shown at http://www.tools-plus.com/toolsplus/przpr-7000.htmlI think the above advice is good, my problem, however, when switching saws is that I can never get the saw widths to match exactly and it is always evident where one changed the cutting instrument. If the end is exposed and you want a "perfect" cut, then you need to additionally dress the end of the beam - and for me, this is another chance to screw things up at least slightly. I suppose I could cut the beams completely with a hand saw, but I have yet to make a straight cut by hand...
*Stop messing around and goet a real saw to do this.http://www.mafell.com/fsg240.html
*WAAAAHOOOOO!! Now i thatsa saw!
*You can get a bow saw or a buck saw for roughly what it would cost to buy a decent blade for your 7.5" and it will do a terrific job on your timbers. Probably with not much more effort than all the messing around of trying to cut a large timber with a small saw.
*Phill, As I mentioned above, there is no way I can get a square cut using a buck saw or a bow saw. But that is probably just me and a craftsman such as yourself would probably have no problem. If I want to go to hand power, I would probably go with a good, old fashioned crosscut saw (although I doubt that I will come close to the records held using these - lumberjack records. However, a new one ain't that cheap and an antique one costs more than a Skil Mag 77 and a Prazi combined. For anyone into crosscut saws, some of the following might be of modest interest:http://www.cof.orst.edu/cof/clubs/forestry/bucksaw.htmhttp://www.vannattabros.com/tools.htmlhttp://www.vannattabros.com/saw7.htmlhttp://www.benmeadows.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/c-AFEB.html?L+scstore+gzmo0120+994134972http://www.frontieramericatrading.com/C0941one_man_crosscut_saw.htmhttp://www.frontieramericatrading.com/dpttool.htm (price list)The following model might save a little sweat over the above:http://mainssaw.com/flash/sawbuck.html
*Have you considerd capping your posts with copper or somthing else. It will also help Keep the water off you lumber. DGB
*If you have trouble making square cuts with a hand-saw (and a LOT of people do) clamp some two-by around 3 sides of the timber as a guide. The old-timers used to have a yolk with wooden pieces on 3 sides joined by hinges and a threaded rod on the 4th side to tighten it onto a timber. I used to love helping my grandfather on the 2-man saws and trying to use the hand-saws with blades that were 4' long and 1' deep.
*Someone above said the mafell was a real saw. Hah! I know an airplane propeller when I see one. Must of come off a big plane too.......
*>We used to do a lot of deck building and some helping out with post and beam. The best and fastest is a chain saw. Draw a thick line with a marker and cut away. Practice a few times on the cut off end to get a square cut line but after two or three you should be able to make a skilsaw quality cut.
*b WBA At Your ServiceBuying a Mafell circular saw to cut timbers for one deck is like buying a Boeing 747 for one trip to L.A.
*Where is the building site with 3 phase power to plug one of those Mafell saw in? They have a portable bandsaw too that is 3 phase. What good is a saw that can't be plugged into anything but an industrial site? Do you need a generator to haul around with your portable saw? I've got one of those big old handsaws, teeth an inch and a half long. It really cuts once you get it going. Joe H
*Do you have a "starter saw" ? We used to have a 6tpi cross-cut saw that was also about 4' long and had longish teeth with an exaggerated set; it's only job was to create a kerf to start a dagger-tooth hand-saw in.
*Phill, that would definitely make things easier. Getting the first inch going is usually kinda messy, hate to get my knuckle too close to the action. It's a Disston, about 4' long. Nobody thinks it's actually a tool, but it sure cuts. Sure is a bunch of work tooooooooooo. Joe H
*I get good results using a sawzall with a long blade.I mark my line all the way around using a square. Then saw diagonally from a corner watching both lines. After reaching the other corner, go around the other side and the existing cut will act as a blade guide for the remainder.Learned this technique from an old timer who did it with a hand saw.
*If you use a sawzall make sure to use a thicker blade. Milwaukee's blades are about the best money can buy. Cheaper thinner blades tend to flop around and make it difficult to control the direction of cut.
*I use a Prazi on a mag 77. I find this works well in the situations where I have needed to make cuts on large timbers as mentioned.(rafters plates etc.)
*My solution was Makita's 16 incher. (it's a cheaper version of the Mafell) It cost about $600.00 new and when I'm done I'll sell it on Ebay for whatever I can get. If I get $300.00 back my net cost for accurite cuts will be $300 If I could make all my cuts in a week or or so I'd be tempted to rent it. Many of the better equiped rental yards rent them out. But that's just me. My skill with hand tools is not at the stage of some craftsmen who've been doing this for a few decades. In addition the speed of of power tools make this do-able while hand tools simply would take too much time. Yeh, there are some contractors out there who still hand nail , don't use a forklift, and pretend that their slow pace somehow is the same as craftsmanship. Their bid is always high and they fool themselves into thinking that you have to be slow to be good.
*Us macho timber framers use the 16" Makita (few of US can justify the Mafell..). If you rent one- or buy one- be sure to spring for the carbide blade. The steel one is good on really big sticks of butter, but not much else.The Makita 16 gets you through 6 5/16" in a pass. I usually leave the saw running and follow the kerf around the timber on two more sides to finish the cut. This machine can split the line with glee once you get used to it. Kinda like a big gyroscope the first time you fire it up though..
*Mark I do A LOT of timber framing on old and new structures and the fastest and easiest is a small chain saw. I prefer a small electric , the noise is less and if you have to cut inside you don't have the exhaust fumes. And as the guy above said try a couple of practise cut on some scrap. Good Luck Bill D. Quality Wood Chips.
*
The Mrs. said she wants the deck I'm building to look "chunky." In English, that means I'm using 8x8 possibly larger timbers for the posts, etc. However, as I do my planning, I'm wondering what I'm going to use to cut these monsters. My 7 1/2-inch Skilsaw won't make it all the way through, even if I cut all four sides. A chainsaw will be too rough, and I'm not sure how to make sure the cut is square.
Do any of you timberjacks out there have any suggestions? I'd appreciate the help!