How to pre-fab cedar ridge and hip caps in the shop
I am a roofing contractor out on Martha’s Vineyard and have bought pre-made cedar shingle ridge and hip woven caps over the years and would love to know how to make them in my shop. Does anyone know hw to do this? I have tried on a table saw and failed miserably.
Replies
I'm not a roofer, but I've
I'm not a roofer, but I've done some cedar roofing and made hip/ridge a couple of times in the shop, out of necessity. In both cases it was possible to use the shingles I was roofing with to make the caps. In one case they were for a 12:12 and it was not necessary to do any ripping, they were simply butted at 90 degrees. In the other the pitch was 4:12 and I had to rip the edges by tilting the blade and running the shingles vertically against the fence. In both cases I tapered the shingles a little at the thin end to avoid the "tailing out" that is common (and ugly) with factory caps, and I used stainless staples to fasten them together, rather than the galv staples that will always bleed after a few months.
Thanks alot for replying...I once was told about stacking two shingles, one with the thicker(butt end) facing forward,and the second reversed (with the thin end facing forward. Then you rip them at a compound angle relating to the pitch of the roof.I tried this but somehow It didn't work.Ever heard about this method?
I've never bought pre-made
I've never bought pre-made ridge. I always cull the "bedsheets" and rip them on the table saw and assemble them as David mentioned above.
Rip to width first and then bevel.
If I have a lot to make, I build a jig to hold them at the proper pitch while I nail/staple them together.
Thank you for getting back to me. I have tried the following method before, but always end up frustrated. "stack two shingles, one with the thicker(butt end) facing forward,and the second reversed (with the thin end facing forward. Then you rip them at a compound angle relating to the pitch of the roof.I tried this but somehow It didn't work. Ever heard about this method? Any suggestions?
I should mention that the ones I have bought from a supplier (who has a sub who specializes in making these caps to order) arrive perfectly cut and pinned at the butt for the pitch I ordered. When I place the order they want the Pitch of the roof, the exposure I want, and the under-side width. Once I give them these measurements they cut perfect caps. I feel really stupid not being able to figure out how they do it. I have even tried using a "table-leg" ajustable-angle
fence on my table saw, but no luck. Somehow the width of every other cap changes after I pin them together. Thanks again for your input.