I am getting ready to build an arbor gate for our back yard. Coincidently,
my daughter and her husband have a similar project going. They have
half-jokingly challenged my to do an arch as opposed to flat overhead so
they could copy me - or just let me build theirs too. I was already giving
it some thought.
Question - The material will be rough cedar and I have the material (4x6).
the arch would involve cutting a set of 'keystone' shaped pieces, gluing
them together and then bandsawing the glued assembly to a arch shape. I
have done this with smaller hardwood projects (ex: schoolhouse clock faces).
The inside of the arch will have about a 25" radius to align with arbor
posts spaced at 50". However, I was not sure about cedar's ability to hold
the joints over the long run. I am already assuming use of a waterproof
glue and use of fairly large wooden keys to align and strengthen the joints.
Instinct tells me that the cedar will absorb the adhesive at least as well
as hardwood - just not sure.
Any experinece with this? Favorite glues, techniques, etc.? I would hate
to have this fall on my head - even worse, my wife's head.
Thanks
RonB
You are well on your way there with your knowledge.
The missing part: make 2 arches each 1/2 the desired
thickness of the final arch. You will be glueing these 2
together. Stagger the end grain joints so each segment
of arch "A" overlaps arch "B"s segments by 50%. Now
when you glue them together you will have plenty of
face grain for the glue to adhere to. Polyurethane
would be my 1st choice for glue.
Art
"RonB" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:_EFng.20352$FR1.9420@dukeread05...
> I am getting ready to build an arbor gate for our back yard. Coincidently,
> my daughter and her husband have a similar project going. They have
> half-jokingly challenged my to do an arch as opposed to flat overhead so
> they could copy me - or just let me build theirs too. I was already giving
> it some thought.
>
> Question - The material will be rough cedar and I have the material (4x6).
> the arch would involve cutting a set of 'keystone' shaped pieces, gluing
> them together and then bandsawing the glued assembly to a arch shape. I
> have done this with smaller hardwood projects (ex: schoolhouse clock faces).
> The inside of the arch will have about a 25" radius to align with arbor
> posts spaced at 50". However, I was not sure about cedar's ability to hold
> the joints over the long run. I am already assuming use of a waterproof
> glue and use of fairly large wooden keys to align and strengthen the joints.
> Instinct tells me that the cedar will absorb the adhesive at least as well
> as hardwood - just not sure.
>
> Any experinece with this? Favorite glues, techniques, etc.? I would hate
> to have this fall on my head - even worse, my wife's head.
>
> Thanks
> RonB
>
>
<http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=115>
Then, if: some require a hex driver on the bolt end, others the bolt is
fixed, and the nut is on a cam, used with a x or - driver. Brass, Al....
but you know this.
btw, if u need filler, the "Bondo" goop w/ hardener is nice stuff. They
also sell a pre-mixed pin hole and scratch product. Apparently, you can
slough off a semi-hard fill with a sharp chisel.
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On Sun, 25 Jun 2006 19:13:51 -0500, "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I am getting ready to build an arbor gate for our back yard. Coincidently,
>my daughter and her husband have a similar project going. They have
>half-jokingly challenged my to do an arch as opposed to flat overhead so
>they could copy me - or just let me build theirs too. I was already giving
>it some thought.
>
>Question - The material will be rough cedar and I have the material (4x6).
>the arch would involve cutting a set of 'keystone' shaped pieces, gluing
>them together and then bandsawing the glued assembly to a arch shape. I
>have done this with smaller hardwood projects (ex: schoolhouse clock faces).
>The inside of the arch will have about a 25" radius to align with arbor
>posts spaced at 50". However, I was not sure about cedar's ability to hold
>the joints over the long run. I am already assuming use of a waterproof
>glue and use of fairly large wooden keys to align and strengthen the joints.
>Instinct tells me that the cedar will absorb the adhesive at least as well
>as hardwood - just not sure.
>
>Any experinece with this? Favorite glues, techniques, etc.? I would hate
>to have this fall on my head - even worse, my wife's head.
>
>Thanks
>RonB
>
There are several ways to do this. Recently I made a garden gate with
an arched top. I mortised the top rail just as a regular gate/door,
edge glued another 2x4 to the top, drew an arc on the top and bottom,
then cut the arch using a jig saw (it was too heavy to do on my
bandsaw). I used waterproof Elmer's woodworkers glue. This method
is strong because of the large gluing area and no end-to-end glue ups.
Another method. I made a large trellis with a fancy curved top. I
drew the design on my shop concrete floor, then cut pieces to fit. The
trick I used was to make two layers and to stagger the joints. This
made a very strong, yet delicate looking top. It has been weathering
since 1995 and still holding well. I used waterproof yellow
woodworkers glue. It gets a fresh coat of CWF every two years.
I like Art's "dual arch glued together approach" and would probably choose
this method if I was building this myself, but you might also consider going
your original way with the full thickness keystones, but spline joint the
ends of the keystones to get the side grain that is needed for a solid
joint. A properly cut large spline at each joint will provide significant
strength without the need to go the double thickness approach. I too would
choose polyurethane glue for this project.
--
Charley
"Wood Butcher" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You are well on your way there with your knowledge.
> The missing part: make 2 arches each 1/2 the desired
> thickness of the final arch. You will be glueing these 2
> together. Stagger the end grain joints so each segment
> of arch "A" overlaps arch "B"s segments by 50%. Now
> when you glue them together you will have plenty of
> face grain for the glue to adhere to. Polyurethane
> would be my 1st choice for glue.
>
> Art
>
> "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:_EFng.20352$FR1.9420@dukeread05...
> > I am getting ready to build an arbor gate for our back yard.
Coincidently,
> > my daughter and her husband have a similar project going. They have
> > half-jokingly challenged my to do an arch as opposed to flat overhead so
> > they could copy me - or just let me build theirs too. I was already
giving
> > it some thought.
> >
> > Question - The material will be rough cedar and I have the material
(4x6).
> > the arch would involve cutting a set of 'keystone' shaped pieces, gluing
> > them together and then bandsawing the glued assembly to a arch shape. I
> > have done this with smaller hardwood projects (ex: schoolhouse clock
faces).
> > The inside of the arch will have about a 25" radius to align with arbor
> > posts spaced at 50". However, I was not sure about cedar's ability to
hold
> > the joints over the long run. I am already assuming use of a waterproof
> > glue and use of fairly large wooden keys to align and strengthen the
joints.
> > Instinct tells me that the cedar will absorb the adhesive at least as
well
> > as hardwood - just not sure.
> >
> > Any experinece with this? Favorite glues, techniques, etc.? I would
hate
> > to have this fall on my head - even worse, my wife's head.
> >
> > Thanks
> > RonB
> >
> >
>
>