This went much faster than I was expecting!
I started off in the morning heading to Houston Hardwoods. The prices there are much cheaper than at Home Depot for that sorta thing. I guess Home Depot is probably price competitive on pine 2x4s, but then it makes up margin on hardwood products.
I bought 5 milled planks: 3 1x6s and 2 1x4s. I used stock that was already cut to different lengths, most around 8 foot. The 9.5 foot board just fit into my Mazda SUV by going all the way to the bottom of the windshield. All told it was $68 and change.
After heading up to the shop, I laid out the cuts with pencil, just to get a rough idea of the pieces. I then cut everything on the chop saw to a slightly longer length… half an inch or so, just to make sure. This was probably an unnecessary step, but it went fast enough that it wasn’t a problem.
I then ran the planks to width on the table saw. I cut the wider pieces first and found that I could still use the leftover strips for some of the smaller support pieces. After making all the rough cuts, I ended the day with an extra 1×4 plank, which I suppose I could return.
I cut everything to the true length next. I used a stop on the chopsaw which made it quick work. When that was finished, I laid out all the square pieces to see how it would all fit together.
From there, I started making the decorative cuts. I tapered the legs using a taper jig for the table saw. It’s a little hard to estimate the exact angle, but I left a little straight edge at the bottom of the taper to be conservative. I think it looks pretty good like that, so I decided to keep it.
Next up, we used some scraps of veneer to trace an arc on the support pieces. It’s a three handed job that way, so it helps to have a friend. Then I began cutting them out on the bandsaw when the bottom bandsaw tire came loose. It looks like it either wore out in the heat or was a faulty one, because it should have lasted longer than it did. We tried to fix it, but it was just too loose on the wheel, and the slightest knock on the blade would send it spinning.
So that brought the day to a halt. My dad is buying a new tire. Hopefully it’ll get to the Woodlands soon, so I can keep going.