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Well, while I wait for the motor for my toe pincher prop, thought I would share my other prop that im working on as well.

Im wanting a fence to go around the front yard. I thought about something rickety at first. Then I decided instead to go with something more... ummm, stately. Assuming all goes well, I plan to make 4 of these guys. Im still uncertain about the paint scheme... do have some ideas though. These will be made entirely from wood, cause I don't do foam. No offense to you foam folks.

This is just a sketchy drawing at best. Forgive me... im no artist, but I think you get the idea.



So whats my plan? Glad you asked. I started out by making a long rectangular box. Made the box with particle board. Now normally, I wouldnt consider particle board for anything, let alone this. But, I think with enough layers, enough paint, enough glue and screws, it should hold up. And the price was right. I bought 4 sheets, 12 inches by 48 inches, for 2.69 each. Thats hard to beat.

A few sheets pictured here.



To form nice tight corners, I use these corner clamps. I bought them years ago, an absolute life saver when building anything like this. I have a total of 4 of these clamps, would love to have another 4.



In order to make things simple, and strong, Im using a simple butt/over lap joint. Particle board does not lend itself to mitering.



Simply line up the edges and clamp them together. I did run into this issue, some bowing of the wood. Not warped, just bowing.



Some outward pressure, and liberal use of my brad nailer took care of the problem. Just be careful to not shoot a brad into a finger. Trust me, it hurts.



I would love to end it here. But, with particle board, you have to use something more substantial then a brad nailer. The stuff just loves to chip, and flake apart. So, blocks, glue, and screws should do it. In order to have a strong edge and prevent tear out, YOU MUST predrill. Other wise you will be throwing your money away. I determined, taking into account the thickness of the material, and needing to stay away from the edge, that 1 inch in, is where I wanted to predrill. To be consistent, I used my carpenters square. You can lock it in place, and a tiny notch at the end of the rule is handy for your pencil to mark the wood.



After making sure that the edges are crisp and straight, and your holes are predrilled, get a block, glue it and screw it together. Use liberal amounts of glue here. This isnt the place to be stingy. I put glue on 2 sides of the block, held it in place and put the screws to it. Each block has 3, 1.5 inch drywall screws. 2 Screws on one face, 1 screw on the other face.



Clamp the next board on, rinse and repeat.

To be continued.....

Keep adding those blocks...



Now the final (4th) sheet of particle board will have to be assembled a bit before final assembly. Cause other wise you would need arms 40 inches long to reach inside to get to where the middle blocks go. Just predrill, then mount the blocks flush with the edge, then plop it on top, align it, and screw it together.



Its a rectangular box!



A close up of the overlap joints... The great part about this technique is speed. No need to miter, and you still end up with a box that is square.



Just a mock up of the corner details. Im still playing with these. Just some scraps that I had laying around.


All thoughts, ideas, etc are welcome. Still got plenty of work to do.

Looks great! I can't wait to see more!

FarmerChad,

These look like they're off to a good start, but man, I hope you're going to put spar varnish on this, particularly the end "grain." As I'm sure you know (considering your comment about how you normally wouldn't use particle board for anything), particle board soaks up water like a sponge...and swells like one when wet. I'd hate to see all those nice straight, crisp lines go astray on you.

With a sealer and paint, though, (and maybe another coat of sealer on the outside), it should be protected from the weather. Looking forward to seeing the completed project, and then getting progress reports after they've been through some nasty Fall weather!

Good luck.

Rich

Thanks yall for the compliments. Yeah, the fact that particle soaks up water does have me concerned. Im confident though I can seal it. I originally thought about putting wax on the "end grain" but figured paint wont stick to that. Then I thought about drywall mud. That might crack. Im thinking about several very thin layers of primer. Very fine layers, just enough to mist the area. Should dry pretty fast that way so it doesnt have a chance to soak in and swell. Texture it, then do the same thing with some exterior paint, then heavily coat with poly or varnish. Guess we will have to wait and see.

Originally Posted by GhoulishCop

FarmerChad,

These look like they're off to a good start, but man, I hope you're going to put spar varnish on this, particularly the end "grain." As I'm sure you know (considering your comment about how you normally wouldn't use particle board for anything), particle board soaks up water like a sponge...and swells like one when wet. I'd hate to see all those nice straight, crisp lines go astray on you.

With a sealer and paint, though, (and maybe another coat of sealer on the outside), it should be protected from the weather. Looking forward to seeing the completed project, and then getting progress reports after they've been through some nasty Fall weather!

Good luck.

Rich

As an update to "how to seal the edges".. I looked around on the interweb and ran across an article about using a wood preservative. Something like "Thompsons Water Seal". Evidently some varieties are paintable and hold up quite well. This may be the solution.

FarmerChad,

Monster Mud is an option as might be paintable caulk sealer, like the kind you'd put around windows and doors. With the MM option you'd be able to hide the butt joints and you could also texture the surface. While epoxy is typically recommended for particle board end grain, that's a rather pricey option for the size project you have there.

As an experiment, I took ceiling tile which is even more absorbent than particle board and applied several coatings on it. On one piece I started with spar varnish, covered that with MM, then paint, and finished with a deck sealer. On the other, I went straight to MM, then paint, and then sealer. After they were dry I threw them in a bucket of water and let them sit for a few hours. There was no damage whatsoever with either piece.



Well, that's not exactly correct. While painting and allowing them to dry, I had stood them up using toothpicks punched in the bottom and then placed on Styrofoam to hold them up. One of the pieces the holes were covered in the final coating; the other was left open. While immediately around the open holes it did get a little spongey to the touch the integrity of the whole piece was not compromised. Again, they were left in water for several hours (4, I think).

So a regular sealer in combination with Monster Mud and paint (along with a decker sealer -- I use the cheapest one I can find) ought to offer sufficient protection for your project. Whichever way you go though, again good luck.

FWIW, I use Thompson's on all my outdoor projects as a final sealer. It also has the benefit of being the cheapest one I could find, about $8 a gallon at Home Depot and/or Lowe's. Since it's so thin it goes a long way. I originally bought two gallons when I was building my first prop last year and I still haven't used up one gallon yet despite having put the deck sealer on everything (including those ceiling tiles above).

Cheers,
Rich

Monster Mud.... hmmm.... never thought about that. Food for thought. Could spread caulking along the "grain" ends, then coat with the mud. Then paint, and preserve.

The plot thickens.

So, just got back from some errands and decided I need to get something done in regards to this pickle im in. I decided to go the caulking route. I had a tube of all purpose caulk and adhesive. DAP brand I beleive. Paintable when dry. I simply put a thick bead on the outside edge, then smeared it all around with my fingers. I completed two sides.

I think the edges are where I really need to concentrate my "water-proofing" efforts. Seems to me, if anywhere, this is where water would get in. I suppose time will tell. I will get some pictures up later this evening. Also, hopefully I will start to work on the flared base. I think at that point, the post will really start taking on some life of its own.