Pinwheel Vs. Bevel

osborn

Whats your opinion on exterior trim. Be it capitols, bases or post wraps whatever. Pinwheel or bevel.
I like pinwheel. I think it stays together better and doesnt have a tendancy to rot as much. Yet I see guys bevel all the time.

curapa

For me it depends on the customer, if I'm on a low budget job then I pinwheel, if its a high dollar job then I bevel.

If its being painted you usually cant tell its been pinwheeled until you get up close.

If its left natural or being stained I will usually bevel unless its PT. The PT warps to bad to bevel without being properly sealed.

To pinwheel is easier for me.

troubleseeker

Is that some regional terminolgy? What is "pinwheel?

Tom R

I don't know either, - - never heard of it, - - maybe like a shiplap with a round-over??, - - or, come to think of it, - - maybe even just a round-the-clock butt-joint??

troubleseeker

[quote=Tom R;- - or maybe even just a round-the-clock butt-joint??[/quote]

Is that anything like plumbers' butt joint, it seems to be round the clock

Dustball

I'm assuming pinwheel means to butt four pieces together, each at 90 degrees from the last one?

Tom R

Yah, - - and I think that visual is how they coined the term 'plumb-line' . . .

curapa

I've heard the term pinwheel maybe once or twice, I call them but joints personally.

karma_carpentry

Is there anyone here who lock-miters boxes?

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kklick

I can tell you that the majority of builders in central ohio use pinwheel posts. In the past 8 years of running a shop I'd say we've probably built close to 8,000 or so pinwheel posts.

We've also had a pretty good run on some craftsman style tapered posts in the past few years. We pinwheel the trim on those as well. It just seems that miters are hard to keep tight when the weather starts changing.

neolitic

Sometimes, and before they brought out those nifty router bits they were just splined miters. Even did keyed miters on some oak basement post wraps once just for the heck of it.
What the Buckeye guy was calling pinwheels, Ive heard called lap-box or just lap.

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wink

karma, are you talking about the ones you cut with a router and when you snap them together they look mitered? i saw those joints in a book i was reading and wondering how that would work out. have you used them to wrap a 4x4 or 6x6 post? is it worth the cost of the cutter. thanks wink

karma_carpentry

Yes, I'm talking about this bit. No, I haven't used them myself to wrap posts. On jobs where I've wrapped posts, money and time was more of a concern than longevity and perfect looks, but there will come a time, even if it's when I have a house of my own.

I guess I think it's overkill if you're boxing a post with pine, but if you're working stain grade in mahog or cedar / spanish cedar, then I think it's worth the effort.

By the way, to the original poster -- consider spanish cedar as a wood. It's fairly durable outdoors, fairly soft for milling, and great as a stain grade wood, with little or no checking. It's a fast-growing central american wood that is not endangered or rare.

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troubleseeker

I like them for column wraps, but these longer pieces are best cut in the shop on a shaper with accurate in and out feed tables. Since any deviaiton between the table/bit will result in the joint being off, it just takes too long to set up a long feed table for a router on a job, which usually gives you less than desired results. Shorter pieces, such as for a box newell are job manageable. Expect to pay about $100 for a quality bit like Whiteside, etc. This is not a bit for bargain price catalogues, as they remove a lot of wood and generate plenty heat.