My Last Project.

John Hyatt

Little trick you can make your own conectors on the drill press with a holesaw,release them on the table saw. Couple hundred in an hour or so. Along with the $ saved the wood conectors can be glued in.

Dan,you drilled holes and used the conectors?? J.

Danno6102

No. The holes were drilled for the jig. Then I laid the jig on top of the rail, dropped the connectors in the holes in the jig, then screwed to the top of the rail.

master of none

very nice attention to detail...... there neighbors will be calling soon.

Danno6102

I almost cried yesterday. Showed up to finish a couple little things & install the step off the front & the HO must have got excited & started staining it already. Same color as the fence. That hideous red. Sometimes you just want to smack people, but he paid for it, so he can do what he wants to it I guess.

Anyway, final tally on hours was 36.5. I like doing the big customs, but at that rate I'd take a few more standard decks.

sorethumbs

Those aluminum ballisters can be cut very easily. I've use an abrasive chop-saw, a 4 1/2 angle grinder, and even an old Harbor Freight sliding miter saw to cut them.

Did you use the little clear plastic caps on the ends of the ballisters? They slide on before installation and provide a barrier between the aluminum and the PT wood. A very good idea and nessessary to prevent corrosion.

I used some oak kreg plugs on a cedar rail about 4 years ago. As far a I could find they did not make the cedar plugs then. Anyway, they have not shrunk, cracked, or rotted and still look great.