Trre OnIGINAL HONAE WOOOWORKING RruN ... - Wood Tools

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Position each slat in the gooved screen cap, hold it firmly in place, and drive a screw to anchor the assembly. CUT THE ARCHED TOP RAII]S One of the most distinguishing fea- tures ofthis fence is the arched top rail. It was also the most fun to fab- ricate - especially after cutting all those slats. Laying out the curve requires a flexible wood strip that boatbuilders call a batten (see the Skill-Builder).1 creared mine by ripping a l/a"-thick piece off the edge of a 1O-ft.-long cedar 2x4. Once I had the curve marked, I clamped the arched rail blanks together and gang-cut them with a jig saw (nIG. 7).This gave me two perfectly matched rails. Attach the arched rails to the slats just as you did the screen rails and infill boards. Screw through the slats into one arched rail (rIc. 8), then nail the opposing arched rail to that assembly (FIG. 9). Be sure to allow Glamp the top cap to the top section assembly and nail it in place. Drive 6d galvanized casing nails thtougft the cap and irto the arched rails. the slat ends to protrude 1/a" beyond the rails' top edges. ComPlete the top section by aligning the grooved top cap over the slats and nailing it in place (FIG. 10). COMBINE T}IE SECTIONS With the screen and top sections built, it's time to bring them together to complete a fence section.At first, I tried positioning the top section with the screen standing upright, but it was pretry awkward. It worked better if I laid the screen down flat and clamped the top section in posirion. Nail Push batten to deslred are SKITL.BUILDER Use a Batten for Long, Graceful Gurues Laying out a long curye' like the one on the arched rail, is simple if you know how to use a batien. This thin flexible strip of wood bends uniformly as you flex it betueen two end points. For this proiect' tem' porarily drive a finish nail in the Lay the scrcen section on a flat sur' face, fit the infill boards in the gfooved screen cap' then clamP and nail the top section in place. stock at each end, 5%" from the top edge. Place the batten below the nails and push it along the cen' ter line of the board urtil You get the desired curve. Clamps can helP hold the baften in place while You marlt out the curue on the stock. through the screen cap and into an upper rail about every 6" (FIG. 11). Then flip the assembly over and drive nails along the other side of the screen cap. The addition of the mounting plates further ties the top and screen sections together (FIG. 12). If your fence site is level, go ahead and install the mounting plates now. If your site slopes, see Building a "Level" Fence on Uneuen Tbrrain on page 30 to learn how the mounting plates are used to compensate for changes in elevation. For installations on level gound, fas ten the mounting plates wherc the caps and rails meet the plates. Drive two #8 x 3" deck scrcws at each ioint. WORKBENCH ! MAY I IUNE 1999 29
Use the 345 rule to establish a square corner. With two sides fixed at 3-ft. and &ft., move the string line until the dis tance betrveen points B & G is 5-ft. ESTABLISHING THE FENCE.TINE With all the Gnce sections built, I was anxious to get thern installed so I could show off all my hard work (and be able to once again park the car in the garage). But installing a fence that's both straight and level isn't a job you want to rush. Start laying out the fence-line at a corner location or another fixed point. In my case this was the side of the garage. After establishing the location for the first post next to the garage wall, I laid out a string line at 90o to the building, then drove stakes at each post location (FIG. 13). I'd always thought my yard was fairly flat, but to check it out, I used a straight-edged board and a level to establish a level line between the Place one end of a stniglrt edgpd boad atop the first stake, then drive a second stake until the boad is level. The difrerence in the stake heietts is the drup. Position each fence section between pairs of posts and shim the section so the rails arc level. Clamp the plates to the posts while you drive the screws. stakes (RG. 14). My yard was level INSTAII IIIE PANETS from the garage to the side of the Up to this point, I easily managed lot, but it dropped 24" frorn that the sections by myself, but to jockey point to the back lot line (32 ft.), and install them between the posts, requiring me to step the fence I needed a helper. Beginning at the down the slope. Since it took four posts nearest the garage, I positioned sections to span this distance, I had a section with the top of one to drop the top of each successive mounting plate flush with the top panel roughly 6" below the previous of the first post. After clamping this one. This also required the posts for plate to the post, I adjusted the the staggered sections on the slope other end of the section until the to be 6" longer than those on level rails were level, then drove screws ground. (I set mine extra long, then through both mounting plates to cut then to the proper height.) fasten the fence section to the posts Wirh the posr alignnrenr, posirion, (Erc. 15). and height determined, I dug the Where the fence steps down a holes and set the posts (see Selllng slope, you'll need to adjust the posi- Fence Posts on page 34). After the tion of the "downhill" mounting concrete had cured for several days, I plate before you install it on the panel was ready to install the fence sections. (MOUNTING PLATE STEPS). BUILDING A "LEI/EL'' FENGE ON UNWEN TERRAIN Lengthen posts to compensate for a change in grade. Inflll boards can be extended to close off gaps below rail. You want to step down a slope so that each fence section rcmains level and the drup fiom one section to the next is unifiorm. To do this, extend a level line fiom the grcund at the top of the slope to the end of the run and measurc the amount of drcp. Divide the drcp by the number of sections to determine how much you should lorver each oonsecutiye section. On steep gnrund, you may need sections that arc half as long as a standad section, or use infill boads that extend below the lower rail to close off gaps. 30 woF.KBENCH tr MAY I JUNE 1999
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