On Sun, 4 Apr 2010 03:07:37 -0400, the infamous "Bill"
scrawled the following:
"Bill" wrote in message
...
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...-of-a-lifetime
I'm not really sure how
to saw a semicircular-arc on the front and rear of the feet:
I was thinking it would be easier if I drilled a small hole/dimple at the
"center" of the circe having the semicircular-arc on its
circumference--then I could build a jig that would allow me to rotate the
piece on my BS.
Okay, assume the problem is to "cut a 3.5" radius arc off the end of a 4 by
4 with a BS (note that 4 by 4s are actually about 3.5" by 3.5"). Assume 1/4"
blade--so the blade is a non-issue.
It'll be extremely dicey with an 8' tubafore and nigh onta impossible
with a 20' length. What's your length, Bill?
That kind of move is typically done with either a sabre saw or recip
saw. Occasionally it's done with a portable bandsaw. (HINT: This is a
_perfect_ time to go buy a new portable bandsaw, Bill.
I tried using my noggin for about 20 minutes and here's what I came up with:
1) Hammer a 3+" nail though a suitably large piece of plywood and clamp that
to the BS table
You misspelled "bolt that to the BS table"
with the nail vertical and about 3.5" to the right of the cutting edge of
the blade.
2) Hammer 1 or 2 small nails into the side vertically aligned, , and about
3.5" from the end of the 4 by 4.
(the hole left by these nails will not be visible in the project).
3) Now the 4 by 4 can be held and rotated with the meeting point of the
short nails and the workpiece
held flush against the long nail (and the supporting plywood underneath)
through the cut.
Please critique, if you will, my solution to the problem. This fixture/jig
surely represents some of the most out-of-the-box
thinking I have ever done in my brief experience in woodworking (I've a long
way to go, huh? : ) ).
It could work, and that is the ideal saw for smaller work of this
nature, but moving long sticks into a blade can get wonky in a hurry.
I ran 8' tubasixes through the bandsaw to build curves into my bridge
base. That was fun, but I had set up infeed and outfeed tables for
it. You'll need a similar suport for the fourbafour if you do it that
way. You didn't say how many of these you're doing.
No matter how you cut them, you'll have to sand the cut ends afterward
anyway. If you don't have short (3' or less) pieces to cut, it might
be safer to hand/sabre/recip saw the cuts and use a belt sandah on the
thing to do final shaping.
G'luck!
--
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.
-- Charles Darwin