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Rich,
This is the third time I clicked on this message, and I have yet to see any followup information about this “Free Beer”.
Please, I’m asking you nicely, let me know where this free beer is available.
For now I’m going back to the “Promise Keepers” web site.
Craig
Replies
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Craig,
the free beer is for the person(s) who can read between the lines and come out and do the job for him....the beer will be waiting at the tavern...
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Cyber beer??
*Virtual beer. . . still probably better than i americade!!!-pm
*I'm just back from Stockholm...only one carry-on bag, but I shipped back 10 cases of various Swedish beers. Some good, some so-so, some yet to be tried.If you can find me, the beer is free. Bring your toolbelt...
*...are you still workin' on that roof with a view? - jb
*Good memory, jb...and you gave me a good laugh! I'll set a few beers aside for you...Mongo
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One of the summer projects is to build a garden arbor over an existing patio. I plan on using 8 x 8 x 24' beams laid across the top of joists supported on columns. Don't try to talk me out of it.
What I want to know is how to cut a nice looking profile--something like an extended ogee, or flattened french curve--on each end of a beam this size.
*Chainsaw man. Or band saw with alot of support on the off end. Maybe a sawzall with a long blade. Think I saw an article with a sissy router kind of approach to this problem.Dont be put off Rich. There's a way to do this with the tools at hand. I can almost see the roses growing over it now.JonC
*My gosh Rich, who has gotten you into such a project :-) Anyway, during an episode of New Yankee Workshop, old Norm built a pergola and put a nice detail I think similiar to what you are wanting. Of course he had an $800 band saw, etc. So, he used the band saw to rough cut a pattern onto the end of each overhead beam. Then he screwed the pattern to the piece and used a long (4" ?) top bearing router bit to rout the final profile repeating on the other side. Since your beams are so dern big, maybe,b maybe you could use a jig saw if you could find a long enough blade to rough-cut the beam. Worst comes to worst, take a reciprocating saw and very neatly rough cut the end. Hope this helps scottps why such a big beam? just curious
*RichTake a look at some of the stuff the Greene brothers (Greene & Greene- craftsman era American architects/designers)did with exposed beam ends, pergolas and such. . . they use a nice detail called a 'cloud lift' (Japanese) which to my eye is not i tackylike ogees, or florid like French curves, and lends itself to the massing of timbers.FHB has featured their stuff many times over the years. Look to articles on the 'Gamble House' in Pasadena, in particular for the detail I mention above. FHB also has a book that collects all their articles on Craftsman era design.The way to cut this detail in large timbers was also illustrated in FHB some years ago. . . it involves laying it out in profile, acurately saw kerfing this profile with a circular saw, and multiple depth settings, and then i cleaningit up with a chisel/slick.have fun!!-pm
*Craftsman style...a man after my own heart. - jb
*Use the band saw, and if you really want to be classy about it find some quarter sawn reclaimed stock. Put the band saw on casters(you can rent a platform from a moving company), and lift the timbers to an acceptable height...scaffold or whatever. If you see any profiles you like on my site let me know (email) and I'll send you a paper template of it. Make sure you tell me the actual size of the beams you are using...I'll size it to fit.
*Largest I've done was true 7 by 7's and 6 by 8's, milled for me by a local gent. I went to the local rent-all and rented one of those hand-held (marginally!) bandsaws. They had them with up to a 10" throat. The weight made it fairly stable and it was fairly easy to maneuver. They do come with a small stand, you could mount that on casters if you're unable to use the saw in your hands. It may be a bit more maneuverable than a full-sized bandsaw.Cut plenty or relief cuts to minimize binding. Worked like a charm...after a few tries.
*Patrick, so I have a choice of tacky or florid. Cool.I am quite familiar with G & G, the Gamble house and other projects of the arts and crafts style. To replicate that style is the reason for the size of the beams. Design and arch, that's the name of this game.I have a fairly solid idea of what detail I want, just want to be safe to me and the wood in cutting it. I have considered most of the methods and tools mentioned. A "walking bandsaw" as mentioned by Lawrence is innovative. Mongo's suggestion of a portable bandsaw is appealing, just didn't know they made these for wood.I think I'll use the chain saw (sorry, wood) to rough out and a belt sander to finish. Where I have a step, I'll use my super sharp 2" mortise chisel. This method allows me to secure the beam. I just don't like the idea of moving around that kind of weight and length when involved in making a cut that calls for precision.Thank you all for your outstanding responses. Of course, feel free to post additional comments.
*Rich. . .never short of opinions. . . never to shy to voice them. . . it's the b sizeof those beams that led me to my comments. .. . cutesy decorative details look out of place, to me, on massive beams.-pm
*My rent-all establishment has fabricated a series of wood bandsaw blades to use with these devices. Not quite what they were originally designed for, but they are effective.I also tried using a sawzall with a long blade. Tough to negotiate around tight curves, but quite able on fair curves. I found I had to be careful not toput side pressure on the blade as it would result in a beveled cut.Bandsaw was far and above the easiest and also provided the cleanest cut. I also used a belt sander to dress the final edge.Best of luck.
*Rich,Hope this doesn't come too late.We use a Prazi chain saw attachment on a worm drive Milwaukee saw to cut the profiles. Works great and cuts almost square to the face. Then we clean that up with a belt sander. You have to work the saw to get tight inside radius cuts, but it's the best "in the field" method we've found.Ed. Williams
*Rough out the shape in any way you can, finish up the profile with belt sander. I put just this sort of ends on 7x6 oak headers. In that case I ran kerfs in close to the profile using a circular saw, knocked out the waste, cleaned up with a chisel and finished with the belt sander.
*Rich,This is the third time I clicked on this message, and I have yet to see any followup information about this "Free Beer". Please, I'm asking you nicely, let me know where this free beer is available. For now I'm going back to the "Promise Keepers" web site.Craig