Jeezus! I don't want to whinge but this is the third attempt at posting this as I have lost the entire post 2 times now!
Anyway... At the back of my yard I have a DIY pergola they I DO NOT use to shade the pond with as I perfer lots of warm sun, but is used to hang baskets of plants on. Last week I was looking at the vertical support and saw it was badly affected by wood rot. This is not surprising as it is othing more than pressure treated pine that has been in the ground for over 10 years.
So I went shopping for some new wood and came across a bargain for some 10' long, 3"x3" Yellow Balau (Bangkari) hardwood. This will last alot longer that the pressure treated wood but still, it wasn't cheap. It was such nice wood that I felt guilty at the thought of just tossing it together with a few long screws. So I decided to set myself a challange and make the horizontal cross suports with a tongue and pin joint. Armed with only elementy tools I spent all day Saturday doing the 4 verticals and 4 horizontal cross pieces.
I spent most of Sunday just making the dowels to pin it together with.
Here is the first vertical support finished and in the ground
Believe it or not, the hardest job was making those damn dowels! If I had owned a lathe it would have been done in a few second. All I had was a wood chisel,some sandpaper and block of wood with a hole drilled in it to check the fit with. The trouble is that the dowel need to taper so that it fits snugly of the whole thing falls apart.
One other reason for putting myself through this challange is the fact that I plan to be building a bit more in the near future and wish to test not only my skills but the speed I work at in order to get some Idea how log I will need on the new project. This drawing does not represent the exact size as i will be ajusting to fit my situation
vippymini wrote:hey Scotty, would hae been quicker to drill the holes square
Absolutely Jane! I sent the boy out to the hardware store for a square hole drill and a box of 12mm bolt holes and he still hasn't returned. I guess he is having trouble deciding which colour bolt hole to buy. Black would have been fine!
What I also forgot to mention was the pergola is being moved at the wife's request. She is a restless old tart and changes the furnture about every two weeks or there abouts. I am sure that it is a thorn in her side that she hasn't been able to shift the pond about the yard in some way though I am sure she has tried when my back is turned Well when it came to redoing the pergola she saw her chance and insisted that it be moved to a different spot. She has since come to regret it as her party tent (which I hate) no longer fits due to the pergola. too bad... too late!
For the time being I am planning on using the top of the old pergola on the new verticals as it is fine for now. all it needs is a new coat of wood preservitive and it will be fine for a few years and can be replaced in due course.
In the mean time another view of the gate I plan to build this summer.
Eye, there in lays the rub Glenn. In this type of construction the pen needs to be as tight as possible. My dowels go from snug to 1.5mm oversize. A dowel the same size would eventually crimp and become loose. Also it is not easy to find hardwood dowels that are compatible. The same wood is always the best.
If you'd have sent me the size you needed & number you required.
In could have made them for you. In the workshop my lathes fitted
with taper turning hardwear (I,ve only used the hardwear once or
twicesince I've had this lathe). I'll proobaly sell it.
Thanks so much Herbie, As the saying goes " The right tools are 3/4 of the work". But being the impatiant SOB that I am, I just hunckerd down and made em myself. Although who knows, when I start the gate in about 6 weeks time I am going to be needing another 10 of em. That would save me a day's work... Can you get ahold of a bit of yellow balau (bangkarai). I have lots of scrapes laying about but am not sure if it is economical to send them to the UK.
At work Wednesday I was having a short wait so I started making a list of the lumber i will need for the gate. The Site supervisor walks up to the car and looks at the sketch and says "I suppose this mean you need a bunch of wood" and as it was nearing the end of the job and they were cleaning up he gave me a whole bunch of wood. Enough to make the curved roof trusses and the planking on top. So today I started cutting and sawing and I am quite chuffed with the result up to now. Pictures tomorrow...
Ok here is a picture of the finished pergola. Took a while to get things cleaned up so I could take a picture, but it is here at last. Note there are NO SHADES for the pond (and never will be)!
Well when it came to redoing the pergola she saw her chance and insisted that it be moved to a different spot. She has since come to regret it as her party tent (which I hate) no longer fits due to the pergola. too bad... too late!
