The Brace factory

This is going to be tricky for a left handed guy like myself. As explained in the earlier post I have to build the gazebo upside down. The braces marked left and right will be reversed in the final assembly. Keep in mind there is an inside and outside to each brace. 

Cutting the basic 45 degree angle was done on the miter saw.

The basic process is pretty straight forward. In most cases the rim joist and the post are at 90 degree angles to each other. That makes the cuts to the brace 45 degrees. Calculating the hypotenuse of the right triangle and laying out this length for where the tenon joins the frame. However I chose to make my structure a hexagon. This adds a 60 degree included angle (6 X 60 = 360) to the project. Laying out and cutting these compound angles will be a challenge.

Needless to say it is going to be a “process” and you have to be thinking a few steps ahead if you want it all to fit together. This is the part of the process that is lost on the casual observer and gives special meaning to the ol’ saying, “they don’t make things like they used to!”

After laying out the tenons the next step is to cut them and gage the thickness of each.

The tenon must be clean and smooth. An added problem is that all the cuts need to be marked before cutting and some of the lines will be cut off with the scrap this has to be planned for with “tick” marks.

Hand sawing the tenon end that goes into the rim joist is straight and simple

The finished results will look like this. 

The tenon end that joins into the post is a real animal.

And requires you to keep the angles in mind and how they intersect. This was something I learned during the model building I did in the early stages of the process.

The piece removed looks like the one on the left. The one on the right is the piece from the normal 90 degree tenon going into the rim joist. 

Another twist to the cut is the relief angle that has to be cut where the tenon meets the vertical post to allow for the 30 degree angle as the brace folds inward. Again another thing that only the builder has to contend with and appreciates.

One final look at the surface planes of the end that will mate up with the 6 by 6 vertical post.

And here’s what it is all about. If only you could go to the local lumber yard and buy a finished brace like you can for a stair stringer.

Next “The mating game” cutting the mortise.
 

 

40 for 40 project begins

 

The small model in the right corner is the finished gazebo with the reciprocating rafter system made out of 5” by 8’ round fence posts. The first step was to layout the hexagon and level up the construction site. With that done I could place the 3” by 6”  six foot long rim joists on the concrete blocks. This formed the 12’ diameter hexagon. The tricky part about this is that I plan to build the structure UPSIDE DOWN! This will allow for stability and bracing of the 6 main posts during construction.

The plan is to cut the parts and make some assembly in my shed. The Amish sawmill guys did a nice job of cutting the 6 logs into the necessary sizes. Now the next step is to layout and cut the tops of the 8’ tall 6” by 6” posts. Here is the layout and a finished post. 

Most of the cutting can be done with the 7” skill saw. With a maximum 2 and 1/2” depth. The final cuts needed to be hand sawn.

One down and 5 more to go.

Keeping the untreated pine timber posts up from the ground will be accomplished by a 1/2” rebar system that will be attached on the bottom end of each post. This requires a 1 and 1/2” diameter hole 10” deep to be drilled.

To keep the hole straight I used a drill guide made out of some scrap PVC pipe.

Using the two sawhorses I made with my new Alaskan sawmill I built a jig that would hold the 6” by 6” at the right height to allow the rim joists to be held and drilled for the 3/4” diameter wooden pegs that will be used. 

Another jig was used to guide the drilling of the 3/4” holes. 1/2” diameter threaded rod will be used to assemble the parts for trial assembly.

OK here is the first post and rim joist set up. Lost in the picture is the tricky part of this process. The rim joists need to be set up and drilled in pairs. So the next post had one new rim piece and one drilled placed in the setup. Keep in mind that each assembled piece was unique and needed to be orientated to match holes with the original post it was set up with. Very confusing. 

Anyway it worked. Each post had a number and each side of the joint and had an “A” on one and “B” on the other side. Then the ends of each rim joist was marked with the matching post number and A or B side on it’s end.

Next will be setting up the “BRACE” factory. Stay tuned…