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Utopia Talk / Politics / Anyone good at carpentry?
Seb
Member
Tue Sep 07 12:31:40
I'm trying to fix a piece of garden furniture where the leg (4x4) has got rotten.

I want to make an l shape cut half way up the leg and I'll slot in a fresh bit of 4x4; but I'll need to make sure they are precisely square.

But I can't dismantle the leg from the whole piece - so I need to do this in situ with the bench on its side.

So I can't use an electric mitre saw, a circular saw is too aggressive, and I can't find a mitre box that will take 4x4.

What's the best way to do this? Any thoughts?
Habebe
Member
Tue Sep 07 13:18:05
It would be easier if you had a picture ( www.postimages.com )

So you want to cut off the bottom half of a wooden bench leg and replace it?

Not sure why a circular saw would be too much but, I guess you could start with a hand saw to get a groove (to keep it more steady) and use a sawzall.

They can be wobbly to use on wood , should be fine though.
Habebe
Member
Tue Sep 07 13:19:07
But if you have a circular saw, that's a better tool for the job.
Habebe
Member
Tue Sep 07 13:20:16
Or are you trying to carve out that shape out of the side? Which sounds wierd.
Cloud Strife
Member
Tue Sep 07 13:22:09
Use a keyhole saw like a man
jergul
large member
Tue Sep 07 15:56:55
Youtube.
nhill
Member
Tue Sep 07 16:40:29
^Rude.
Sam Adams
Member
Tue Sep 07 17:10:36
Theres no such thing as too aggressive... just poor aim on your part.
Seb
Member
Tue Sep 07 17:16:48
Trying to slice a 2 inch perpendicular cut into a 4 inch piece of wood a couple of feet off the ground on an inherently unstable surface and itself at a slight angle would be courageous.

To do that right you'd need to build some kind of jig.

High case you screw up the benches leg irreparably.

Worst case you screw up your own leg.


On reflection I'm going to go for a full tenon and mortice. It'll be more forgiving of any slightly off 90degree cuts and I can approach a good fit rather than rely on perfect the first time.
Seb
Member
Tue Sep 07 17:22:51
Jergul:

Most of the stuff on YouTube won't work for this scenario. It assumes an absolutely huge work bench you can fit the entire piece you are working on to.

This things 2m long, 60cm wide, 80 cm high. The legs are 4x4, the rest of the frame 2*4, and the top 1.5 inch thick planking.

The dining table might work but I suspect it would damage that.

So it's all got to be done in situ, which is a massive pain.


Sam Adams
Member
Tue Sep 07 18:50:23
"Trying to slice a 2 inch perpendicular cut into a 4 inch piece of wood a couple of feet off the ground on an inherently unstable surface and itself at a slight angle would be courageous."

Gee, how did england lose its empire again?
Habebe
Member
Tue Sep 07 19:28:16
So the slot is just to secure the stump leg to the leg, is how it sounds.

Wood chisel and a mallet.
jergul
large member
Tue Sep 07 23:56:42
Seb
Most things on youtube would not work for sure. You need one thing on youtube that works.

But I was suggesting you would have much better luck there than here. I am frankly stunned no one suggested using a 3d printer yet.

Wood hardener to solidify rotting bits, then artificial wood paste (or equivalent)to resculpt lost wood is probably your best bet without tools and know-how.
Seb
Member
Wed Sep 08 01:47:53
Sam:

How did we build an empire in the first place! Rigorous engineering and top-notch craftsmanship. And by not being Florida man and slicing our legs off doing something half-cocked.


Habebe:

Yup, that's what I'm going with. I've got lazy using power tools - I had visions of taking a couple of minutes to quickly slice precision clean cuts.

Jergul:

YouTube was the first route - found nothing appropriate.

Wood hardner and filler is fine for superficial stuff (and I've used that on a bit of the top), not for a load bearing leg.
Habebe
Member
Wed Sep 08 02:17:02
Seb, Good luck, I kind of want to check out my woodworking tools again, I got two lawn chairs I should fix up.I almost never use chisel, but they are fun.
Nimatzo
iChihuaha
Wed Sep 08 04:26:49
According to legend, Jesus was a carpenter. Have you tried praying to him to fix the furniture? I mean if youtube couldn't help you, what other alternatives do you really have?
Habebe
Member
Wed Sep 08 04:31:04
Nimatzo, You should know better to never trust a man with no shirt on.
Sam Adams
Member
Wed Sep 08 10:51:39
"Rigorous engineering and top-notch craftsmanship."

Your ancestors hacked together 80 foot carracks with hand forged iron tools sharpened with a rock on the beach. And then they sailed them through the north atlantic.

Their ghosts are laughing and crying at you at the same time.
Seb
Member
Wed Sep 08 11:09:40
Sam Adams:

"Your ancestors hacked together 80 foot carracks with hand forged iron tools sharpened with a rock on the beach. And then they sailed them through the north atlantic."

Hacked.... sure, go ahead then, make a seaworthy 80 foot carrack. After all, your ancestors did too.

They would recognise that hacking away at a piece of wood without preparation and appropriate tooling is a dumb idea.

Your point appears to be that everyone should possess the sum total of all skills of their ancestors, which seems a bit dumb really.
Sam Adams
Member
Wed Sep 08 11:19:54
You have a power saw and cant cut a 4 by 4 without help.
Seb
Member
Wed Sep 08 12:53:01
"You have an axe and you can't make a tenon and mortise" - said no master shipwright to his apprentice ever.

Right tool for the job.
Sam Adams
Member
Wed Sep 08 13:56:14
Google chainsaw carving.
Seb
Member
Wed Sep 08 13:59:09
Starting assumption: wood is stuck at a position where wielding a chainsaw is next to impossible, rather than on a stand at an appropriate height and stable base.

Sam-fail.
Sam Adams
Member
Wed Sep 08 14:02:41
"wood is stuck at a position where wielding a chainsaw is next to impossible"

Ive seen little mexican dudes weild chainsaws bigger than you while hanging 150 feet in the air on a rope.
Seb
Member
Wed Sep 08 14:34:38
Ah yes Sam, you are manly man or something. Run along now.
Sam Adams
Member
Wed Sep 08 16:11:21
Rofl. Empire=lost.
Habebe
Member
Wed Sep 08 16:23:08
Tree work can be a bitch, but its not bad money. Ive never climbed with a rope, but Ive been in a bucket ladder.
Habebe
Member
Wed Sep 08 16:24:22
Those mexicans climbing can clear $400 a day though.
Sam Adams
Member
Wed Sep 08 17:02:23
Oh ya, those mexican treeclimbers have skills. Theyll hang with a nuclear grade chainsaw and cut off 2000 pounds of old growth cascade monster at a time above their head in about 10 seconds AND drop it within about a foot of where they want far below. Shakes the entire neighboorhood like a small quake. Hit the tether with the saw and you might die(maybe its reinforced?). Drop the log the wrong way, definitely dead. They deserve 400 a day.
Habebe
Member
Tue Sep 14 18:51:46
So, how did the bench come out?
Seb
Member
Wed Sep 15 06:08:25
Pretty good - got a nice good tennon and mortice joint in with a good fit. Unfortunately I couldn't get hold of a piece of wood that exactly fit the stump in terms of cross section. I think whoever built it must have used fence posts or something fairly non standard. I will need to do a bit of work with plane and wood filler to smooth it out.

I was surprised how easy it was in the end, partly because I realised my tenon saw was totally shit and bought a good one. It was quite fun actually, it's been a long time since I've done substantive woodwork like that; normally just mending chairs.

Annoyingly the rot on the counter top was much worse than it looked, pulled the worst of it out but had to stop or it would have been beyond what can be done with even the ton of heavy duty filler I used to patch it up.

Suspect the top is unsalvageable in the long term, the rot will continue to spread. Can't believe the previous owners just didn't ever use wood protector on it. Muppets.

I'll replace the top next year or just build a new bench from scratch depending on how I feel - I'm planning on a garden office / workshop area that makes this sort of project viable.

But patching it up is the best option for now - this is a bench for my kamado so it needs a round hole in it, and cutting a neat round hole (about 55inch in diameter) in the counter top with anything but router is not going to happen in under a week.

A bit of a bodge job all in all, but it looks good enough to the eye and works fine for now.

Habebe
Member
Wed Sep 15 12:49:52
Cool, woodworking can be more fun than one would think.My uncle repairs antique furniture and builds his own for fun.

Now he also owns a millrite company so he has a sweet workshop to use.He built his grandughters entire bedroom set of furniture.Im not anywhere that talented comparably but it is fun, wood chisel are always fun, I got a set from my grandpop when I was young.
smart dude
Member
Fri Sep 17 03:04:15
Why don't you ask your wife's boyfriend to do it for you?
Seb
Member
Fri Sep 17 03:38:28
*tumbleweed*
patom
Member
Fri Sep 17 04:16:38
I have about 6 weeks of therapy to get through since my knee replacement and hopefully I'll be able to get back into my shop and work with wood projects again. Doing great so far 1 month after surgery.
murder
Member
Fri Sep 17 07:18:40

"Anyone good at carpentry?"

Carpenters


I'll show myself out. :o)

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