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Here in Tidewater Virginia, chippendale porch railing details are popular. On quiet evenings, you can hear them rot. I avoid taking on new chippendale jobs, but some loyal clients need repairs, and I feel an obligation to take care of them.
I know that shooting trim gun electro-galvanized nails is a joke, and that hand-nailed hot-dipped galvanized nails need to be used (pre-drilling if necessary… this IS high-end work).
What bugs me is cutting the acute (greater than 90-degree) angles on my slide compound miter saw. Does anyone have a trick for cutting those “sharp” angles? I’ve tried clamping a 45-degree angle block to my saw base, doing the necessary math and cutting the pieces more or less free-hand (without end support against the fence), but there may be a better way.
With appreciation, Steve
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Steve,
Check out the "how do you mitre acute angles" thread in the "construction techniques" folder of Breaktime
regards, jim
*Thanks, Jim... I'd missed the thread.Steve
*Steve, Do You find that the chippendale railings You build are less durable than other designs of similar material? Have built some with fir that have been up 15 years and are still souund. I think we built a chute for the saw similar to a wooden miter box when we did those older ones. Skip
*Skip, I believe the chippendale designs are less durable than any other railing design I've encountered. There are so many joints in the chippendale lattice, each connecting to a relatively small structural member (I use true 5/4"), that the assembly is not particularly strong to start out with.I think fir gives the best strength, and redwood the best life, depending more than anything upon homeowner maintenance. I prime, caulk and apply a minimum of two coats of paint, but two or three years later, the railings really need a fresh touch-up of caulk and a new coat of paint.The nature of chippendale designs leads to lots of hard-to-seal inside angles which trap and hold moisture (even dew) and leave the assembly vulnerable to water damage. Too many new installations are tacked together with 15 or 16 guage finishing nails which then rust away and weaken the structure, opening things up for more rot. I use 4d and 6d hot-dipped galvanized nails, and that alone, I believe, more than doubles the life of the structure.Anyhow, that's my opinions...Regards, Steve
*Steve:Admittedly, I have never done Chippendale rails, but you can get stainless nails for both 15ga angle finish nailers and framing nailers. I'd probably screw together whatever I could without having the screw heads readily showing.As far as the rot problem, if you don't mind me suggesting, it seems that if a paint brush was part of the carpentry process, rot would be significantly reduced.
*Matt, I've never checked on buying stainless nails, and that would be a good idea (and a real time-saver. Thanks!I DID mention prime/caulk/two coats, didn't I?Steve
*Steve:OK, I missed your third post - or actually, I think we may have been typing at the same time. The stainless nails are about $100 a box, so be ready for it.By the way, I lived in Tidewater (VA Beach) 20 some years ago. Nice area. Unfortunately employment didn't work out, so I didn't stay.