Tall picket fence questions

[DRJR]

Go the deck screw route. Make sure the screw that you use is rated for PT lumber, or use stainless fasteners.

[GibsonGM]

Go the deck screw route. Make sure the screw that you use is rated for PT lumber, or use stainless fasteners.

Absolutely. And I'd go a step beyond - get the Torx screws that are coated for exterior (dull bronze color) and a couple of bits. If you start using them, you probably will never go back to Phillips screws. Probably need #8 or #10, 1 1/2" or something. They're self-drilling.

You don't jump out of the head of the screw when you're driving them. Big time saver.

[phil]

are Robertson screws still unavailable in parts of the US? I see them so much that it's hard to imagine not having them.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/you ... le1024050/

[GibsonGM]

are Robertson screws still unavailable in parts of the US? I see them so much that it's hard to imagine not having them.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/you ... le1024050/

You do still see them, Phil, but they have for the most part been supplanted by Torx, which requires 1/8 turn of the bit to re-seat in the screw as opposed to 1/4 turn.

http://assets.rockler.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/364x364/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/2/7/27097-01-1000.jpg

[Jeepnstein]

Use coated screws for PT lumber. I'd definitely buy one of these to do the job. Get a spare battery while you're at it. You'll never want to be without an impact driver after you use one. My old Hitachi is going on 15 years of heavy use in a commercial setting. The Harbor Freight one is surprisingly good and the batteries are priced right.

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-volt-14-in-cordless-variable-speed-hex-impact-driver-62421.html

You can shape the tops of your pickets with a jig saw. Make a template of the design and just trace them on and go to town. It'll be a lot of repetitive cutting and will get old really fast. Make sure you can't buy pre-cut pickets before you start this.

[Olson185]

My rule of thumb for fences is ....

I agree with everything SkipW said it the above post (pg.1 of this thread). And I appreciate all he said because I get plenty of people telling me I'm doing it wrong by doing it the way he described....and it's nice to see I'm not alone it doing it such a way.

As one who had to remove all the concrete foundations of a perimeter fence, to repair the rotted posts, I've not seen a particular problem with not using concrete. When one does insist on using concrete I encourage a base of gravel topped off with scrap tile or a layer of bored bricks to inhibit the concrete from ruining the drainage.

I was shown (in person) where one guy uses PVC (large enough for the post to pass through it and long enough that it's about 1" above grade) stuck into the gravel base and then the concrete form (Sonotube) is slid over the PVC and concrete filled in between the Sonotube and the PVC. The Sonotube fails to reach grade by about 6-8" so it doesn't prevent flowers from being planted above it. The post is slid into the PVC and then gravel is packed in around the post.

I have not done this. I do not know of anyone else who does this. I do not know of any problems in doing this. I do want to try it the next time I install a tall fence.

[phil]

I bought a bag of the torques ones in that shiny gold color when I did my stairs. I didn't like using them myself and the square ones never slip and they stay on the end of the driver. usually I buy the green or brown coated ones. I find them easier if I want to take stuff apart as when the torques ones get full of paint it's hard to get the bit to not slip. Ive been trying to use the torques ones up on things that I dont' plan to ever take apart but either would work fine for the fence. Stainless ones are nice but expensive. the brass or rather, fake brass they sell nowadays are too weak and often just snap off especially with the new impact new drivers that are so common now.

Willa yes I agree a good driver like the harbor freight one might work nicely for you. I don't think that one was very good quality and you can get better ones by rigid or milwakee or makita.. maybe they are ok , who knows.

the difference between that and the senco one I posted , with the senco you just load the strips of screws and then you can slap the tool against the wood and hit the trigger and then move straight to the next screw without reloading. with the type that was posted from harbor freight you have to hold the screw and insert the driver bit into the screw each time. since you dont' have lots of tools I would suggest one more like the harbor freight one as you will love that tool and use it for many purposes. they really do help with the load you put on your wrists. It might be more usable and versatile. If you have lots or build the senco one would be faster, neither will do a better job than the other but if you are continuously driving screws you would appreciate not having to load each screw individually. other than speed often you wan the other hand to hold things.

most drywallers use the drywall chucks that stop at a preset depth. I have just been using my makita impact driver for that and it works fine for that too. I like that I can slow down to just a click click click and check the depth and stop exactly where I want. I guess the kind designed for drywalling are faster but those battery tools are great. you can always add the attachment for sinking drywall screws, you can also fit sockets or even drill bits to the impact drivers so if you are say assembling a tin shed or something they would be good for that too but the senco one would be pretty much only for driving screws.

often these tools are sold as a set so you get the charger , two batteries, the impact tool and a drill. this is a good setup because you can use the drill to predrill holes and the driver to then drive screws in cases where you want to predrill. then when one tool runs weak you can put that battery on the charger and switch the battery to either tool so you aren't "down" while waiting for the battery to charge. So if you can I'd look for the set. I like makita and milwalkee better but the others will work very similar. Ive used my makita one for 10 years and it's still on it's original batteries but one recently died. the batteries are about 100 bucks apiece here.. maybe half that if you look around in the US. its probably cheaper just to ditch mine now and buy a new set but that tool sure paid for itself.

senco is a brand name not the name of the tool. they make really nice tools but they aren't cheap. I had a job where I had to fix the senco air nailers a lot and they had crews of guys running them all day beating the crap out of them. we also had automated machinery that would make walls and trusses and things via CNC so they would rapid fire like a machine gun.

man those things were loud to work around. it was factory that made pre made houses so all the parts were created including walls , windows trusses post and beam work, classic fir doors and stairways. it was all automated and they would create whole houses to the computerized plan and truck the whole house to site where it was assembled. all the walls were made on an automated assembly line so it would do all the nailing and cut windoows and doorways.. also the window factory was a huge CNC machine. i had to maintain it all so it was a quite an interesting job but cold in the winter and always very loud and very dusty.

in that situation maybe the nailers are worth the $1200 or so they cost but they are too much for my budget. I have had that auto loading screw driver apart and it wasn't built like the nailers, it was built more like the other common brands.. As far as getting parts and repair I like makita best. dewalt seems to backorder stuff from china and take a long time to get some parts and they love using the torques screws but they are ok I guess.. Milwakee are likely a little above the others pricewise and perhaps slightly better quality too. you won't really go wrong with any of these brands. I used to have to fix the tools too so we had a stock room full of makita parts and I could fix anythign makita very quickly so that ahs probably swayed my opinion of makita.. I wouldnt' buy a makita chop saw though , they have a very bad design for the guard mechanism and I have seen so many problems with those that I wouldn't recommend the makita slider type chop saws, the ones that arent' sliders are probably ok.. The makita slider chop saws have inherent issues with the guards sticking and preventing the saw from working right. its' a design issue they never corrected. new parts wont' fix the issue. sometimes they go forever and sometimes they just keep breaking despite replacing every part related to the guard mechanism.

[Lily left the valley]

I forget the year, but Dewalt got bought out some years back now. From what I remember at the time, the versions you could buy at the boxes like Despot were inferior compared to the pro line, but I don't know if that's still true or if the pro line suffered eventually as well when the old stock was replaced with newer. I was bummed out because I used to love Dewalt stuff.

When we decided it was time to get some tools for the studio we gutted, Sean bought me one of the Ryobi cordless kits that had several tools with it, plus so many batteries and chargers including a miter saw that all fit inside a rolling box. I don't think they even offer anything like it anymore. Despot was running a sale at the time so we got it for a really good price and if you also bought the small hand vac, it was totally worth adding on because it came with its own battery and charger. I still have the set. Eventually I'll take pictures of it and add it to my tool gallery.

I wound up getting one of the newer Ryobi Li cordless drills two years ago when I needed one in a pinch, and I've been happy with it so far. Since I don't do steady heavy work with my power tools, they've all held up just fine.

The only exception was when a certain someone who will remain nameless got a brilliant idea to try to cut wood down to size for a stove using the miter saw. The guard got caught and wrecked as a result, though fortunately it was the only thing to sustain damage. Still haven't gotten it fixed, but I've only used it once for some small quick cuts since then.

[phil]

your first cordless is probably wort thinking out as youll want ot continue with the same batteries , whatever you choose. I think if you use them on a fairly consistent basis they actually last longer. If you don't then maybe just stick it on the charger now and then , otherwise I think they fail from Non use. you can find info on charging and various types and that might be worth comparing. the places that specialize in batteries like "battery world" might also provide some options.

Yea I forget the story about the buyouts exactly but delta pretty much went out of business that caused a lot of machine replacement as they can't support parts and delta used to make great stuff as did the others , even dewalt was good. the problem with them all is they are made cheaply in china. this has plagued all the brands I know of. Stanley used to make good tools , you should see the homeowner grade planes now. it's laughable except I kinda want to cry when I see people struggling to actually use this kind of junk. If you want a good plane best to look at garage sales. Stanley still makes the higher grade but they are still not great. You'll find an old Stanley cast iron plane for 5 bucks at a garage sale if you look. I be the new blades still fit too. you can get the Veritas planes from lee valley tools and they have a bit of a following among those with cash to spend. we dont' have the option of buying used old stuff with cordless tools but the batteries are great these days.
with chop saws, the dewalt ones are ok for home use, at least the guards dont' usually stick like the sliding makitas. the dewalt ones seem to blow the motor bearings but they are a common bearing and you can replace those if you need to. all the brands use too much plastic. the correc term for a sliding chop saw is a "compound miter saw" and I guess the correct term for a chop saw is a "miter saw"
for tablesaws watch for used stuff, keep in mind that now "saw stop" has the technology to make saws that stop before you cut your finger, places like institutions are switching and that means good machines on the used market come to surface. I'd say any tablesaw that you have trouble moving by yourself probably has a good solid top and good solid trunnions and this makes a world of difference for accuracy if you want to do more demanding work like cabinetmaking. If you want to cart it around the newer ones are probably ok as they are light to move. so far as saw stop yea it's neat technology but I find kickbacks more scary than the idea of putting my finger in the blade, I feel kickbacks are a more likely accident , though maybe not as severe, with a big saw you can really get hurt in a kickback too especially the 3 and 5 HP saws. you won;t see the wood coming or jump away that's for sure. I think it's worth finding out what causes kickbacks as you learn and then once you see the most common causes you know what not to do. As far as the blade goes that's more obvious, dont' put you hand near it and it wont' cut you unless it's something weird like flying saw teeth.
I have a Bosch one here that needs a motor. it is direct drive and cheaply made and I dont think its worth a new motor. I always though of Bosch as good German stuff but even that isn't the case now. I think it takes some time for people to cease to believe in these companies and in that time they reap profits by selling us junk but still under their famous brand names.
If you compare older tools to new prices also notice the quality and dont' trust the brand name. one of the reason I'd rather buy older stuff is that it's almost always just better quality and often repairable so I'd prefer to buy an older machine and fix it's issues. If you can find an older Stanley or Dewalt tool , yes they used to scream quality, and you can find old Dewalt radial arm saws that will last a lifetime for very little money. I have Delta RAS that I paid 50 bucks for and it is an articulating saw , i sold my craftsman 10 inch RAS for 50 bucks and I had fixed everythign and even repainted it , they are cheap !
you can cut pretty much any angle on the thing. I still prefer my tablesaw for most stuff but it's a solid machine and Ill use it if I am doing stuff like trimming boards to length, doing miters, etc. for ripping and for precision work the tablesaw is better. I couldnt' lift the RAS but I wouldn't' part with it easily. I think they are really nice if you have the shop floor space. I like the older Delta stuff, or in Canada it was sometimes branded "beaver" and rockwell international is somehow related I think as well. you'll find older used ones that are still really nice machines and they made lots so I think for the most part you'll get most parts for a while. some places still have inventory. My tablesaw is an old delta unisaw and I like it as much as any of the new saws. there were lots of unisaws so I think a used one is a really great buy , but watch if it is 3 phase or single phase. you can get phase inverters and run 3 phase at home if you want but it's easier if you can find single phase stuff for home use. a lot of the stuff youll see coming out of institutions might be either.
the shopsmith has been going a long time. those are multi use tools so they can be a jointer , saw drill press tennoner , wood lathe,, etc.. the older ones are neat. Ive seen some really old european multi use tools too. If you do have limited space a shopsmith might be fun to have and allow quite a few options without going crazy buying all sorts of machinery. you might have to look a little to find one used.
one thing with the circular saws , the old ones are pretty heavy and now the new plastic ones are actually lighter and that has some merits if you are using it a lot. the lower priced makita ones have really weak saw plates and they drop them and the get bent. as much as I like Makita I think the dewalt ones are sturdier and I thiink youll find the homeowner brands and professional series as well you get what you pay for, kind of.. a battery saw is nice, no cord to worry about! cool !

anyway back to picket fences.. I'm sorry i rambled but I just thought maybe a bit of info on some of the tools Willa might want could be of help. Ive done lots of tool repairs so I get a bit of insight having others break them for me parts available is a big issue as more gets made in china sometimes that's where the parts you need are and that causes delays. you can get any part for most of the common brands but they know how to price so you throw stuff out if it needs an armature , or something. just try to get a part for your tool from home despair , good luck, Sears used to be amazing but now they are deserted.