You may recall that some months ago I posted about these 6” by 6” oak beams I inherited. I’ve decided to make a bed out of them.
So I needed to cut one beam down to 4”x4” for the posts. No way my tablesaw would do it. I didn’t want to spend money at a sawmill, and I really didn’t want to haul a 12′, 6”x6” beam down to be sawn up. What to do?
I’ve got this book on “How To Build A Wooden Boat” by some nautical old geezer. In it he suggests cutting down a big beam by using a circular saw and cutting as deep as it will go, then flipping the beam over and cutting opposite that first kerf. Any remaining material can then be removed with a handsaw. Seemed simple enough.
I made the two opposite kerfs on the 12′ beam with my circular saw; that left about an inch worth of material to be removed. Then I got out my beautiful old ripsaw that I inherited, whose like is never seen anymore. And I started a-sawin’.
A littl over an hour later I was done. Don’t think that was all “sawing” time. A lot was “resting and catching my breath” time. I was wearing a wool sweater over a synthetic long-sleeve undershirt that wicks moisture away from the body (my shop is unheated). When I was done my undershirt was slightly damp – but my wool sweater was soaked! lol
I was left with a new admiration for those guys who worked like this day in and day out, before there were power tools available. The good news is the bypasses held, my arm is only slightly sore today, and I’m really glad to have had the experience.
Now, where did I put the phone number for that sawmill?…
P.S. Aw, I put this in the wrong section. Can some nice moderator move it to General Discussion?
Edited 12/13/2004 9:37 pm ET by Chad
Edited 12/13/2004 10:10 pm ET by Chad
Replies
Bud McIntosh's book is GREAT. Great sense of humor, great writer (He was an English major IIRC.).
What a great post, Chad! Way more interesting than the sandpaper thread I anticipated seeing, LOL!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Chad,
There are a couple of guys over in the "chisel" discussion that want to die with their craftsman planes in their hands...maybe you should have them over to flatten those cuts...???...lol
nice job
"There are a couple of guys over in the "chisel" discussion that want to die with their craftsman planes in their hands...maybe you should have them over to flatten those cuts...???...lol"
Hee, hee! I already did it with mine...what there was to do, only a couple of high spots where the kerfs didn't quite meet...I'm a MASTER CRAFTSMAN!!!
There is a wonderful book titled The Villiage Carpenter. The author explains how, about 100 years ago, his father's construction business had full time sawyers whose job was to rip planks out of logs by hand -- all day, every day.
"...about 100 years ago, his father's construction business had full time sawyers whose job was to rip planks out of logs by hand -- all day, every day."
That's what I mean - those guys were MEN. I am but a sissy, a nancy-boy, a girly-man by comparison...
And yes, the nautical old geezer in question is Bud McIntosh, whose book is a wonder of clear, down-to-earth, practical explanations of every phase of building a wooden boat. Unfortunately it was only after I'd bought the book that I discovered I don't even have room to lay down the lines for, let alone build, the boat he describes...
Ain't nothing like a nautical old geazer!!!
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled