# Basswood's Irregular Pentagon and Quadrilateral Pergolas



## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

Here are a couple of interesting pergolas I built during 2013 (a bunch of my woodworking is mega-scale).

One is a pentagon which created some interesting rafter lines. I will dig up a photo of the simple jig used to cut the rafter tails later tonight.

The other is essentially a triangle with a clipped corner. It also has interesting lines. The lattice top is louvered to shade the patio in summer and let sun in during cooler months when the sun is lower in the sky.








!http://i436.photobucket.com/albums/qq88/knottree/portfolio/IMG_2026.jpg!


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)




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## hobby1 (Feb 10, 2012)

Theres carpentry and theres furniture making, you combine both together, to make finewoodworking at a large scale.

Nice work in building a structure with furniture like details, that truly is finewoodworking.


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks hobby1,

Here is a video I made of the beam saw and jig I use on these projects. Speaking of blending rough carpentry and finesse:


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## hobby1 (Feb 10, 2012)

Nice jig, and I like the portability of it too, convieniently quick setup.


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks,

Here is another very simple jig, for cutting rafter tails. On irregular shaped projects, I run the rafters, measure and snap chalk lines, trim to length, THEN cut the angled tails.

The jig just clamps in place with a Kreg clamp, then the edge of the circular saw table rides along the jig to get uniform angles and distances. No measuring or marking or following lines. Just set it and cut.


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

That cropped poorly upon uploading.

Well here are some other process photos, hopefully some of these will be interesting:


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

Here is a top view of two of the doubled LVL beams meeting on top of a notched 6×6 post.

And the arsenal of saws used to do the post and beam cutting: Makita 16-5/16" beam saw, Skill worm drive with Prazi beam cutter (chain saw), hand saw, right and left handed 7-1/4" circular saws.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Interesting pieces. The larger scale and overhead makes
for fun play with light and spatial perception.


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## hobby1 (Feb 10, 2012)

Nice work on the joinery.


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks hobby1 and Loren,

The joinery was quite involved for an outdoor structures.

The light show is pretty cool on both of these, throughout the day and seasons.

Here is a view to the south, on the louvered pergola, showing how much sky you can see that is indicative of how much it lets the sun in during cooler months.

The other shot shows the kind of shading it will yield in the summer.


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## Maggiepic (Aug 26, 2010)

Fantastic creativity basswood!
I really like the louver effect. Not that difficult but a very dramatic effect. Nice!

Here's a fairly large pergola I did a few years ago. Basic 2×2 lattice on top.
Built on an existing deck that we cleaned and re-stained.


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## basswood (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks Gary,

That is a nice looking addition to that deck.

Here is one of my pergola projects that was attached to a house like yours (on a Victorian though):


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## funtastic (Jul 24, 2014)

The header looks so neat basswood, amazing job!

Can you please detail what you used for the headers?

Some more photos would be great if you have them


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## widdle (Mar 10, 2010)

Wow..Lots of work..looks nice..Did you gang cut the rafters with a dado saw ? looks good..


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