cutting 6 x 6 beams with miter saw ???

I think you're assuming a couple of things about chainsaws and their use that are affecting your opinion. I have seen tile jobs that sucked - doesn't mean that I think all tile jobs suck. Most people are not looking for joinery-quality cuts when they whip out a chainsaw. They're looking for down and dirty, and probably have a worn chain, so it's no surprise that what you saw was down and dirty - yours doesn't have to be. Invest the money in the correct tool.

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if you want slower so you can enjoy the experience on the hillside for longer
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BTW, you are simply kidding yourself about the cut ends of the ties. Unless you're popping for the $ for cedar, you're going to be getting PT 6x6s and they'll have splits, checks, and big knots. Even if your cuts were perfect the whole job would still look like it was made from lumber with splits, checks, and big knots. You're mentally gilding the lily before you start which is a perfect recipe for a big letdown. I advise you to adjust your thinking.

Again - you're simply kidding yourself. Lugging a drill press up and down and on top of whatever needs to be drilled is pointless in your application. The ties are drilled in place and you don't need a perfectly perpendicular hole, you need a straight hole that's relatively perpendicular. Any heavy duty D-handled 1/2" drill will do the job. Use an extension for the drill bit so you don't have to bend over to drill the holes. The weight of the drill will feed the bit - you just have to keep it from rotating.

I still think you should do it with hand tools. They build moral fiber. :)

R
Reply to
RicodJour
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it CERTAINLY won't be faster with a drill press. I'd get an auger bit and a gas powered drill.

Reply to
Steve Barker

use as I said, I have seen steps cut

Probably simpler to just use a generator. I've never seen a gas powered drill, but I imagine they'd be fun to use.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

as I said, I have seen steps cut

Why not? George Goble had a gas guitar. :-) (George Gobel was a stand up comedian who had as a prop, a Gibson L5CT acoustic guitar. When someone asked him why he didn't use an electric guitar, he said it was a gas guitar).

Reply to
willshak

as I said, I have seen steps cut

we had one at the lawn and landscape joint i spent 13 years at. We put a swing set anchor in it, and the girls drilled holes for flower bulbs with it. Not sure what brand it was. It was red.

Reply to
Steve Barker

as I said, I have seen steps cut

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(tanaka)

Reply to
Steve Barker

A chainsaw will cut in one pass.

Reply to
jw

Late to the party, but just saw this today. What you need is a Beam Saw

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An interesting collection of power tools for working big lumber, but not cheap

Reply to
PV

Northern Tool used to have a big chop saw meant to cut metal. You cut probably put a big blade on one of these to cut wood. That would probably be without a guard So make sure children and pets are far away when using. As I remember the saw was less than $100 US last I saw of one.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

wow, will look at Northern Tool for this chop saw !!

Thanks !!

James

Reply to
James

Those won't work for the OP. He has stated in no uncertain terms that he won't use a chainsaw.

Since those beam cutters are nothing more (said with jest) than electric chain saws, he won't be using one of those.

He's made up his mind. Don't go confusing him with facts.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

As far as I know, the largest chop saw Northern Tool sells is 14".

As far as I know, the max cut size with a 14" chop saw is 5" for square stock.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Good point, but the portable bandsaw looked pretty sweet....once you get passed the price tag

Reply to
PV

I watched some Amish guys build a pole barn. Of course no electricity. They used a gasoline chainsaw to build the entire barn. They even knotched the tops of the posts with it, and the cuts were nearly perfect. But they do it all the time, so practice makes perfect. I normally use a small electric chainsaw for stuff like that. They do sell 12 inch long blades for Sawsalls, they have a standard wood tooth or tree trimming coarse tooth. Those tree trimmer ones cut fast, but I've never gotten a real straight cut becuase the blades bend and flex. But for trimming the tops off posts, they dont need to be perfect.

Reply to
jw

You draw lines on it and give me a good chain and I'll make a straight cut. You can make pretty decent cuts with a chain saw if you have a line to follow, the wood on saw horses, and take your time.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

Hi James,

I would just use a normal circular saw, making a cut on one face then flipping the beam over and completing the cut. This will produce a cleaner and more accurate cut than a chain saw, and will be a LOT less work than trying to lift a beam into position to cut with a power miter saw (if you could even find one that can cut that big of a beam).

If you're really concerned about the appearance, you could clean up the end after the cut using a hand plane, sharp chisel, or a belt sander.

If it were me, I would use long screws instead of nails. Most home centers stock landscaping screws like this in their hardware area. A driver drill would have no problem driving these.

I think most of the landscaping screws are self tapping, so you wouldn't need to drill pilot holes. But for the rebar (and pilot holes if you choose), just use a good drill with a long drill bit (self feeding bits help if you can find them in the size you need). You don't need the accuracy of a drill press for this application and it would be a lot more work trying to position a large beam in a drill press anyway.

I have a DW246 drill for these kinds of tasks. It is small and compact but very powerful. With a 2" self feed auger bit you really have to brace yourself or it will rip your arm off if it hits a knot or something. :)

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If that's the case, you certainly don't want to haul a power miter saw and drill press to the area and try to set up work stations for each machine out in the dirt and rain. These are shop tools, not remote mountain tools.

Of course, you will need to figure out some way to get power to the site, even with the portable circular saw and hand drill. If you are close enough, you could use heavy gauge extension cords (10 gauge) to go a couple hundred feet or so. If you're farther than that, you should probably buy or rent a generator.

Alternatively, you could use a cordless drill and saw if you have lots of extra batteries.

If you don't have access to power and don't have cordless power tools, you can always do it the way our ancestors did. A handsaw and manual auger drill bit. It's slow and laborious, but it works.

One final thought... Have you considered prebuilding your "squares" in your shop, then hauling the finished sections to the site? You could get really fancy with the joinery if you wish, half laps at the corners or mortise and tenon if you feel it's necessary. Build everything in your shop to get the accuracy you're wanting, then you would only need a hammer, shovel, and cordless drill on the site to fasten them in place.

Good luck!

Anthony Watson Mountain Software

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Reply to
HerHusband

No. The saw's motor is approximately 6" in diameter, and limits the depth of cut to about 4.5" on a typical 12" circular miter saw.

Reply to
mkirsch1

I have an older Delta 12" Miter saw. I just walked out and looked at it, with tape measure in hand. My answer is no, not in one pass.

There is enough clearance between the bed and blade for a 5-1/2' to 6" piece of stock to clear. BUT, from the outer radius of the blade, to the motor/blade housing only measures about 4-7/8" so you are going to come up about 5/8" short on depth.

How perfect of a cut do you need? I often cut 2x10's on my saw, which is beyond the cutting range but a little care lets me switch sides and line the blade up visually. You should be able to do the same thing and finish the cut from the opposite side after resetting the blade to the other side.

RonB

RonB

Reply to
RonB

Good points here Anthony... thanks to you and all others. Yes, I am planning on making the squares off-site.

Others have made good points, and I will take all of them into account. Some of you have already made me re-visit some of my original thinking. So, I do take note of what you all say......

Thanks to all !!

James

BTW, am in mountains of NC

Reply to
James

It sounds like a pretty big project. You might consider that pt 6x6's don't last all that long in the ground. I just replaced as 17 year old retaining wall made of them and many were rotted to the point of falling apart. One of the problems is penetration of the preservative. A lot of the rot started on cut ends.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

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