Supporting feather edge for nailing - any tips

[AJB Temple]

Good afternoon guys

I have started nailing 8" oak feather edge boards horizontally to one of my new buildings. Never done this before. I am using an overlap of 1.5". The boards were green oak but have air dried for a year. The boards are 3 metres long and I am needing to fit them staggered. Working on my own it is proving somewhat slow to position each board for nailing. Are there any tips for securing the boards level and neatly butted up? I am thinking of nailing on a temporary support block at one end of each board whilst I level and fix the other end but I am wondering if there is a better way? A 3m oak board is reasonably heavy to support one handed.

Also I am using stainless steel annular ring nails and hand nailing. To avoid board splits I am pre-holing each board. Is that normal? Nails have to be dead on as annular ring nails do not pull out again once in (the heads are weaker than the nail's grip on the wood).

Thanks. AJ

 

[Doug71]

This might give you some ideas.

http://www.sitebuddyz.com/

Doug

 

[AJB Temple]

Thanks Doug. Just got back in after finishing one side of the building. The solution I used was to support one end with a nail used as a ledge. Drill nail hole in each end of board (but nowhere else) as this makes getting a temporary fix much easier. Prop one end of board on nail, use level to get other end at correct height, nail, then nail the propped end then nail the joists. It was pretty quick once I got going as the planks cam off the chop saw and straight up onto the job.