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Covering 4x4 post with log slabs,..

Started by Hbarker, November 12, 2006, 09:49:13 PM

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Hbarker

I have a deck on back of house thats suported buy 4x4 post, the same poles go thru the deck and suport the roof,, i want to replace with logs to get the log rail look,., but rather leave them intact and cover being as they are cemented in and suport the structure..

how hard would it be to take large log and cut 3 1/2 X 3 1/2 inch post out of the middle ,, and use the outsides to tack arounf the existing 4x4 ?? any one dont this where it dont loog like the log was cut 4 times???? 8)

Sprucegum

I've never done it but it sounds interesting. You would want a thin kerf - bandsaw?

To you the saw marks will stick out like a sore thumb but most people will never see them.

Furby

Cut it in half and run a chainsaw down the middle several times.
You will have less joints. ;)

Hbarker

thought about that,, but be alot of wood waist.

Oh this is red cedar i will be working with,,

also wanted to take the rest  of my slabs and make sideing fer the porch area

JimBuis

Get somebody with a swinger to do it for you.  Bigger kerf, but you'll be able to get some lumber out of them and still get what you want.

Jim
Jim Buis                             Peterson 10" WPF swingmill

mike_van

I did this for a customer with barn beams. They wanted to cover steel beams, so they bought old beams for about 6.00 a ft, I sawed 3 faces off each one, and the builder boxed these ceiling joists [steel beams] in with them. These were inside, the beams were dry, so once put together right, they should stay that way.  They were happy with it.  The outside post will be a little trickier, weather will play havoc with your joints, and always the chance of bugs moving into the cracks. I've seen ant farms in every species of wood including ceder, even cca wood if theres a crack or check to start out.
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

solodan

I have been asked to do this several times, but I usually try to talk the customer into replacing the square posts with log posts, my feeling is if you want a  log, use a real log. However you sometimes can not accomplish the task without tearing everything else apart, and you don't have much choice. :-\ It is very easy on a swinger  to hollow out a 1/2 log, same idea as what furby had, but way quicker and accurate.  If you split the log with an Alaskan mill and no starting guide, you can roll the log a bit through the cut and give the kerf a more random path, so now it just looks like a check in the log. A beam saw works good too, for taking the middle out, just take two passes at 45 degrees in opposite directions and remove the triangle, which leaves you a v notch. put the two pieces back together and the two v notches make one square notch.  :) I actually had one customer ask me to put cedar bark around his 4x6 deck posts ::) ??? I said no, and got in my truck and left. :D

jpgreen

Clever idea turnin' the log Dan.

Can you come over and install some bark siding?...  :D
-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

mike_van

Come on Dan - that all weather hot melt glue will hold anything  :D
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

Fla._Deadheader


Couldn't ya just round 'em off kinda, with one-o-dem Log Wizzes.   ::)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

solodan

Quote from: jpgreen on November 13, 2006, 12:28:04 PM

Can you come over and install some bark siding?... :D



Don't laugh, that cedar bark siding was real popular in the 40's here. Lots of cabins that were built around that time still have the siding on. ::) I'm actually suprised that I have never seen anybody try to paint it. :D

Hbarker

use a swing saw to cut triangle out of each half,,, wow,, great way to go,,, there is a mill not far from me, will ask if theyu offer this service,,if not,,

Any of yall near longview or tyler texas with a swing saw 8)??   

florida

I was in our new Bass pro store yesterday and couldn't help but notice that they have covered 3 or 4 vertical steel I beams with tree trunks. One cypress that has to be 40 feet tall and the rest cedars. I walked around the cypress 3 times looking for kerfs and never did find where they split the tree. Whoever did it was real good!
General contractor and carpenter for 50 years.
Retired now!

Furby

Are ya sure it was a real tree trunk in Bass Pro?
They are known for making the fake look real.

Cedarman

I would experiment first with bandsawing four sides and see if putting them together is going to leave much of a visible mark.  The larger the log the less likely you will see the seams.  If the experiment works, then you have an easy way to cover your posts.  When I set posts i usually use pea gravel.  Water will drain, it packs tight and the post can be replaced fairly easily if needed.  I will dig a hole and put down a conrete pad if I need a bigger footprint to give more support in softer ground.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

florida

Yeah, they are real trees all right. The Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone is built the same way. Even though the trees have been drying for over 100 years the joints are still hard to find.
General contractor and carpenter for 50 years.
Retired now!

Furby

I know the lodge at Glacier NP was built with solid logs and was pretty sure that Yellowstone was also. ???

solodan

Are you sure they are wrapped around steel posts? maybe they are just full logs. ???

Hbarker

OOOOhhhhh old Faithfull lodge !!!!  8)
that is my most fav place ive ever been,..
could hang ME on the wall there when i die... i would be tickled to death   ;D

rebocardo

I would get a swinger to cut a quarter out of the log. Then cut your 4x4 out of that quarter, then put the quarter back into the log with the seams facing outwards and the smooth 3/4 of the log facing inwards to the room.

You can drill 1/4 holes through the 4x4 and use lags through the 4x4 to hold the log to the 4x4. Then on the 1/4 piece use construction adhesive to attach and mix sawdust into a clear glue to apply to the edges before squishing it together.

logwalker

Split with a bandmill then hog out each half with a dado set on a table saw. Glu back together with Titebond 3. Crack a cold one and admire your work. Remember what Red says: "If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy" LW
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

Hbarker

some great ideas here,, dont stop  8)

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