Garden Arbour

[Fitzroy]

I have an old garden arbour that a honeysuckle grows over. Time, and my two boy’s fondness for climbing on it has taken its toll. I’ve a bunch of oak sleepers lying around planned for some raised beds. Some of them have split over the three years I’ve had them and so I’ve decided I’d try to use the wood to remake the arbour.

I’ve broken one sleeper down to size with a combination of my trusty refurbed 4tpi rip saw, band saw, table saw, planer, and thicknesser. I thought the wood would twist, and bend hideously, but it hasn’t! So having lucked out with the wood the next step is thinking about building the arbour.

I was thinking of trying some drawbored mortice and tenons to build the arbour frames. Am I getting carried away, should I just screw the thing together? Will this kind of joint just trap moisture and encourage the whole thing to rot?

All comments and thoughts welcome!

Fitz.

 

[MikeG.]

........I was thinking of trying some drawbored mortice and tenons to build the arbour frames. Am I getting carried away, should I just screw the thing together? Will this kind of joint just trap moisture and encourage the whole thing to rot?.......

Definitely the strongest option, and it produces a better looking final product. If you are worried about water getting trapped in the joints, then a downward sloping hole drilled through from the side of the posts upwards into the mortise provide a drain-hole and/or air supply.

I built a proper pergola some 20 years ago with draw bore m&t's, and arched braces, and it is as good today as the day it was built. My biggest tip for longevity is to raise the bottom of the posts above soil level by planting some steel into concrete in the ground and into a slit in the bottom of the posts, then bolting through the posts.

 

[Fitzroy]

Finished sizing all the pieces and started cutting tenons and mortices. Schoolboy error, I used the rule of thirds for tenon widths but forgot to size to the nearest chisel width. I have 14.4mm wide tenons and a 12 or 15mm chisel, doh! Tenons cut, shoulders on the table saw and cheeks on the bandsaw.

Mortices hogged out on the drillpress and finished with hand chisels. There are 16 in total and number 3 is way better than number 1, practice makes perfect!

As always I’m getting carried away for what is supposed to be a piece of garden furniture.

Fitz.

Ps amazed at the quality of timber I’ve gotten from a sleeper!

 

[sammy.se]

The timber looks great

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Fitzroy]

Frames made, pleased with the outcome of the M&Ts. Some of the members moved a little and gained a bit of bow. Luckily I could match members with similar amounts of bow which meant everything lines up after cutting the joints.

I’m now left with a decision on how to join the frames. The original arch had half laps at each of the joints. I was thinking angled M&Ts at the corners and a half lap at the top. I was also thinking if some kind of reinforceing bracket at the corners. Thoughts and suggestions welcomed!

Fitz.

 

[Fitzroy]

Sorry to bump this but would love any opinions on angled M&T or simple half laps at the corners? Or another more appropriate joint suggestion!

Back in the workshop this evening and want to crack on with this.

Thanks in advance

Fitz.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Hi - I'd be tempted to join the frame sections using solid braces/brackets - a bit like this sort of thing but bigger:

https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2015/03 ... er-blocks/

With stainless screws (and pre-drilled holes) - you could plug the screw-holes with bits of oak.

My next favourite would be pegged half-lap joints, cut to equal angles.

Cheers, W2S

 

[fiveeyes]

Too late maybe..a bridle joint with a dowel, or two.