Pergola Tails

Jaketoo

Cutting 2x cedar pergola rafter tails. I figured I would buy a new jig saw (saber saw). Maybe cut a plywood jig to run saw against. Owner of a local woodworking shop suggested using a router, with a plywood jig. I hope to do a very intricate design, if homeowner approves. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

neolitic

Either bottom or top bearing
pattern bit.

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BuiltByMAC

6" blade in your jigsaw keeps the blade from wandering as you're cutting curves in 2x material...Bosch makes some.
Use the plywood template to draw the design on the 2x, then remove the template. Running your jigsaw blade against a plywood template is a sure way to rough up your template edges.

Lotta material to remove w/ only a router, maybe rough cut w/ jigsaw, then clean up edges w/ router and template.

Mac

neolitic

Ooops, thought that went
without saying.
Glad you said it!

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neolitic

The other thing I "didn't say,"
is don't design a pattern with a
radius smaller than the radius
of your pattern bit.
On something like a pergola,
which is viewed from a distance,
that shouldn't present a problem.

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redwood

As stated above, a good jigsaw (Bosch) and a sharp blade is the way to go. Don't rush the cut, let the saw do the work or your cut will not stay perpendicular.

Don't use too tight of radius's, if possible.

I draw the corbels in my cad program, plot them out at full size and carefully cut them out with a razor cutter. Then I transfer them to masonite or plywood for the template.

The thing about drawing them up in the cad program, allows you to scale the pattern to any size material.

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Mark
Los Gatos, CA
www.creative-redwood-designs.com

macatawacab

I use several patterns; pint, quarter, quart, and gallon for my pergola ends. The templates are always fresh and readily available.

John Hyatt

Little trick using a jig saw in material like that>> when your in a curve thats just a little radical, stop moving forward for a sec or two,this lets the blade get back solid in the pilot bearings. Then move forward slowley<< Cleaning up with the router defentley. J.

Greg Di

Yup. Works for me too. I have a PDF file of all sorts of tail designs I snagged from someplace that works great.

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BKFranks

Out here I can order them pre-cut from the lumber yard. They have a list of like 30 different styles. I just give it to the home owner to choose and then order it and get whatever material I want. I've mentioned this before on CT, but you may or may not be able to get this in your area from your local lumber yard.

If you're going to cut it yourself... Make a template out of plywood and use a router. That way you will get a nice clean, square cut.

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redwood

My lumber yard will also cut corbels, and I do have them cut them for 4x & 6X material. But, I can do them for much cheaper on the smaller stock and make money.

How do you cut out corbels on 2x stock with a router? How many passes would that take? I usually clean up the edges with a roundover bit.

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Mark
Los Gatos, CA
www.creative-redwood-designs.com

neolitic

Usually just one pass.
Make a plywood template,
and mark the piece.
Cut to within a ¼-1/8" of
the line withthe saber saw
(fast and dirty.)
Then fasten the template
and clean up the stock with
a pattern cutting bit.

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FowlOne

Once I have a pattern I like, I transfer the pattern/template to plexiglass, holds up better over time than plywood. Other than that, jigsaw/router combo

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neolitic

By the time I get a chance
to do the same thing twice....
no hope to find it anyway.

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OW! My thumb

Or a belt sander,(cause its gonna need sanded anyway,...usually)......Ive done that before.

neolitic

Good bit, good router(P-C)
shouldn't be much sanding.

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OW! My thumb

T'is true. It depends on the bit though.And how sharp it is.And how deep of a cut it is. (And how well the job will pay to do all that).
I usually just free hand it with a jig and clean it up with an 80 grit belt, if it needs it.

redwood

All of these corbels are up in the air. After 30+ years, I think that I can do a darn good job with just the jigsaw, occaisional sanding of arcs and router the edges. My lumber yards do it like I do, except that they use a bandsaw mounted on wheels.

Experienced deck and arbor carpenters should be able to cut on a line, without the need to clamp templates to the work.

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Mark
Los Gatos, CA
www.creative-redwood-designs.com

neolitic

Thought I was the resident luddite.

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redwood

Far from it. I'm certainly not against change for the better, especially efficiency. I own 4 routers, multiple lasers, and just about every cordless tool on the market. All time savers. I don't own a mini skid

Marking a board, cutting close to the line, then clamping a template on the board to clean the cut with a router, is not a time saving proposition. Perhaps it is a slightly cleaner look, but usually these cuts are up high, where perfection may not be needed.

You can keep the title.

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Mark
Los Gatos, CA
www.creative-redwood-designs.com