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pergola ends

8.6K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  phillipdanbury  
#1 ·
hi, im building a pergola in my yard, tryn to figure out the best way to trim the ends. router or jig saw. there are going to be about 50 beams and i think jig will take forever. tried making a template for jig saw, didnt work so well, im sure templte for router will be easier to construct. im a novice with router, any tips on the bit to use?
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum, Antonio.

Using a router template, you will achieve consistent results for the 50 pieces.

Depending on the thickness of the beams you may need 2 cutters. A long straight cutter for the first cut and a bearing guided cutter for the other side.

Do you have a template guide bush set?

PS, I would use the jig saw to clear most of the waste and use the router to fine tune the shape.
 
#3 ·
#4 · (Edited)
#7 ·
My vote is for the jigsaw. It's a pergola, no one is expecting to see a piano like finish.
If you start jigsawing then routering, now you're looking at 100 operations instead of 50. You'll wonder why you ever started the project...
 
#10 ·
Welcome Antonio,
You did not mention the size of the pieces, you only stated the ends. If they are long pieces, I agree with the jig saw. If the pieces are manageable, then I would use a band saw. It is true that a router and template will give you exact duplication, but I also agree that this might be a bit overkill. You said you have 50 pieces to do, if you practise on a couple of scraps first, your skill level with either saw will improve to be acceptable without the extra operation. Have fun, a pergola should be a fun project that you will be able to enjoy for years.
 
#11 ·
When I built one I used a band saw, but it was a portable band saw that I have from my metalworking shop. I traced the pattern on the ends of the beams and then cut about 1/4" away from the line and then used a top bearing long flush cutting bit to remove the rest and smooth the cut. Out of 26 boards cut on both ends I only had one reject and that was because the board had an invisible end grain crack that fell apart when I made the band saw cut. I later decided to make short beams to have the same pattern along the third side, so this reject was cut up into short beams with the pattern cut into only one end, so there was almost no wasted material.

Charley