Cutting notches accurately

Keith wrote:

> I'm building a pergola. I plan on using 16 foot cross pieces that will
> lay across two by tens sistered to a six by six post.

Big chunky hand-held circular saw, with the right sort of blade for
cross-cutting
One of those big Stanley adjustable triangular squares (or similar) as
a guide.
A honking big wide chisel and something lumpy to hit it with.

Saw the edges of the housing, paying attention to which side the kerf
goes. Then freehand cut more cuts between this until you have a load of
short-grain wafers left behind. Bonk them out sideways with the chisel
and crudely pare the bottom of the housing clean. Use a cheap #78 to
clean up if they're wide enough.

Remember to rot-treat the exposed endgrain before asembly.

I really wouldn't want to rout this. Long router bits are horrible
things and it would take much longer anyway.

Hi Andy,

I hear you in regards to the large router bits. The circular saw and
chisel technique is one that is tried and true and used a lot by the
pros.

I think most helpful was the size of the wood chisel. I know for
example, that Stanley tool makes carpentry chisels and I have several
hammers. I think there is a chisel like this with a guard on top so I
don't smash my hands.

Thanks for the quick reply. I just cannot get 16 foot boards into the
baseent shop or I'd do it on the table saw.

Keith :)

Andy Dingley <[email protected]> wrote:
> Keith wrote:
>
> > I'm building a pergola. I plan on using 16 foot cross pieces that will
> > lay across two by tens sistered to a six by six post.
>
> Big chunky hand-held circular saw, with the right sort of blade for
> cross-cutting
> One of those big Stanley adjustable triangular squares (or similar) as
> a guide.
> A honking big wide chisel and something lumpy to hit it with.
>
> Saw the edges of the housing, paying attention to which side the kerf
> goes. Then freehand cut more cuts between this until you have a load of
> short-grain wafers left behind. Bonk them out sideways with the chisel
> and crudely pare the bottom of the housing clean. Use a cheap #78 to
> clean up if they're wide enough.
>
> Remember to rot-treat the exposed endgrain before asembly.
>
> I really wouldn't want to rout this. Long router bits are horrible
> things and it would take much longer anyway.

Keith wrote:

> The circular saw and
> chisel technique is one that is tried and true and used a lot by the
> pros.

Pros do all sorts of stuff, some of which you really shouldn't emulate!

> I think most helpful was the size of the wood chisel.

Best thing for this job is a timber framer's slick. However they're
hard to find and often expensive.

A slick is a couple of feet long and is just by hand. If you cut the
wafers thin enough, you can pop them apart with the bevel of the chisel
as a wedge, or even your fingers. A slick then gives you enough
leverage to get it up into your armpit and pare the surface smooth by
leaning on it.

For a softwood pergola, just buy the widest "affordable" chisel you can
that's still narrow enough to fit down the housing.

> I know for example, that Stanley tool makes carpentry chisels

I wasn't aware of that. I thought they made paint can openers, because
that's all the one's I've seen lately have been fit for. Personally I
barely own any English chisels under 50 years old -- I would much
rather resurrect some junkyard dog than buy a modern one, and I get a
better result. Where I do buy new ones, they're the weird stuff that
someone is hand-making in small batches.


> Thanks for the quick reply. I just cannot get 16 foot boards into the
> baseent shop or I'd do it on the table saw.

I can, but I wouldn't. If I can't lift the timber one-handed, I'd
rather bring the saw to it than try to feed it through the saw.

PS - You'll find two or three simple trestles a great boon for working
at this scale. Even more useful than a workbench.

> I think most helpful was the size of the wood chisel. I know for
> example, that Stanley tool makes carpentry chisels and I have several
> hammers. I think there is a chisel like this with a guard on top so I
> don't smash my hands.

No hand-smashing reqired.

Once you snap off all of the "wafers" you will make a paring cut with the
chisel. That is, you will be cutting in the same plane as the wood fibers,
not (chopping) across it.

Paring cuts are made with your hands guiding the chisel, not a mallet.

DAGS "scary sharp" to learn how to get your chisel ready for this. As for
Stanley, it's not the quality of the chisel, It's the edge that *you* put on
it.

-Steve



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Mon, Jan 15, 2007, 9:47am (EST-3) [email protected] (Keith) doth sayeth:
<snip> I've drawn the shape on my PC and I plan to use a printed 1:1
scale of the template. <snip>

Drawn what on your PC? A template for a notch? Ever think about a
framing square, and a pencil? Some of you guys carry this plans think
waaay too far.



JOAT
I do not have the huge amount of faith needed to be an Atheist.

Keith wrote:
> I'm building a pergola. I plan on using 16 foot cross pieces that will
> lay across two by tens sistered to a six by six post.
>
> I've got to cut 48 total notches. I was thinking of using my 2 HP
> router with a template to cut the notches so that I get the location
> and depth accurate.


Back in my days of working construction, we'd just cut the notches with a
circular saw set to cut to the desired depth of the notch. Then you'd just
smack the wood between the defining cuts with a hammer. If done smartly enough,
the waste wood would break off cleanly leaving you with the notch. You could
always clean up the notch to be prettier with a chisel if you needed to but it
usually was good enough for our needs framing.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com