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Making and Installing 8" Beveled Lap Siding

Started by Planman1954, May 25, 2012, 07:29:32 PM

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Planman1954

I thought some may be interested in a simple way to produce 8" beveled lap siding. The advantage to cutting a beveled siding verses a single width siding is more lineal feet of siding per cant. I understand there are jigs to lay on the bed of bandsaw mills, but this method works well for small jobs or on-site milling.

First of all, here's my jig for making beveled siding:


 


That's it! 2 little sticks. They need to be 3/8" thick x 1/2" Wide x 6" long (that fit on the bed of MY mill.) Simply slip the pieces under an 8" wide cant on the infeed side of your bandsaw mill. You've now successfully tilted your cant just right! The height of the cant doesn't matter, but you'll need to use your cant hook to tilt the HEAVY cant in order to slip in or remove the sticks until you get near the bottom. Then you can just manually tilt the cant. I don't clamp the cant while I'm cutting. I've never had a problem with movement while cutting. Here's the 2 little sticks set under the cant:


 

Now that the cant is tilted and your cant is 8" wide, drop your blade 5/16" from the previous top of the flat cant. Make a cut. Voila! A piece of beveled lap siding. Now remove the sticks and take another cut after dropping the blade 5/8". I get into a routine when cutting: Install or remove the sticks, lower the blade, and take another cut. One easy way of remembering which drop you are on is: If the sticks are installed, drop 5/16", and if they are removed, 5/8".

Here's a picture of the mill cutting some siding:


 

Here's a picture of some siding that has been dried and ready for use:


 

And here's a picture of the siding being installed on my barn/rec room:


 
I've found that 6 1/2" is a good exposure to use with 8" siding. This gives some leeway in case the siding varies a little in width, since you have 1 1/2" overlap to play with. You should put some type of finish on the siding as soon as you can to prevent movement. Of course the siding should be properly dried before installation. This is one part of my project that was NOT done with green lumber. Trust me, if you make that mistake, you'll be replacing large gaps at intersecting seams/joints with new boards, as well as touching up new areas opened up with board movement!

Have fun, and play safe.
P.S: OK, Magic...how can we make this post turn into talking about food??
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

Magicman

It looks  food3  like a  digin1  great place   digin_2  to host   musteat_1  a cookout.   food6
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Planman1954

I thought that was what you'd say! I hope to come with piney to see you one day at your place. Meanwhile, let me finish getting this place in good order, and then host a fishfry. I do have a pond next to the house my Daddy stocked with white perch! Might make a day of it.
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

WDH

Planman,

That is really simple and effective.  Suits my capabilities, too  ;D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Misfit

Beats the heck out of paying big bucks for a factory made accessory! Great tip, thanks Planman! I'm gonna add that to my list of tips and tricks to remember.  8)
I am neither a Philopolemic Blatherskite nor a Bloviating, Sialoquent Blatteroon.

"Say nuthin and saw wood."

bama20a

Planman that sure is neat,
You was saying not to install while green.Then other places I read where you can install siding green,
Now ya'll got me confused smiley_whacko,Got to  admit that ain't hard to do.
When drying how long should I wait? Also If it's cut a full 1" on the thick side will it have anything to do with the drying time on it ? are can it be installed green because of the thickness?
That siding is what I'm wanting to do on my house,Sure don't want to have to go & replace boards.Mark,,,,
It is better to ask forgiveness than permission

WDH

SYP dries fast.  1" stock (even less with bevel siding) will air dry in 6 weeks or maybe a little less if you use 1" stickers.  If you use 3/4" stickers, and it is hot and humid, put a box fan along side the stack to keep the air moving to prevent stain and mildew on your pine.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Jim_Rogers

I did something similar one time when a customer wanted some 5" wide pine clapboards. I used a small piece of wood cut into a wedge shape.

I called it my $1300 wedge, as that was the price of a lap sider attachment to my mill. I don't know if that's the right price or not, I'm just going by my fading memory......

Put the wedge in make one cut, pull it out, till it back and make one cut. Very easy to do if you drop down the right amount each time.

I drew the profile on the end of the cant and then tilted it and measured the gap to figure out the size of the wedge.

Works great. Thanks for sharing....

Jim Rogers

PS. When is the cook out?

Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

Planman1954

Bama20a:
Don't put the siding on green! It will shrink on the building and look BAD. Just wait as WDH said for 6 weeks. I have a solar kiln, and can use it in a week. SYP dries quickly. Oh, and I don't know why you want it so thick. It'll just be heavy to work with. These pieces go on easily. Pine is tough for exterior. This method goes from about 5/8" to 3/16" thick. With the exposure at 6 1/2", the thinnest area is probably about 1/4". I think it can withstand a lawnmower throwing something against it!
Jim: The wedge idea is the same concept...except I like the sticks, they are easier to place quickly under the cant. And there is no movement on the cant...
Oh, and the cookout will be when I get this place looking decent. I've done it all by myself...takes time! But it will happen one of these years, if God wills!
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

pineywoods

Not just 8 inch. I made a batch of 12 inch, worked fine. I hauled it to Alabama over the holidays and built the daughter an 8 X12 storage building with it. Cut from a big lightening killed pine, it was hard as a rock, but dried quickly with minimal warping stacked with 1 inch stickers. Planman is a neighbor, so I get to see most of his woodworking projects. That solar kiln he built would easily pass as a piece of fine furniture.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Too Big To Fail

bringing back this thread with a question-

First, I like the simple method with the sticks. 

Second, I want to make some lap siding with white oak (because I have a lot of it).  Any advise as far as dry time, etc?  I'm planning to torch-blacken it and linseed oil it on the flat and then give it another coat of oil once it's up.  Think a couple months dry time in the spring/summer would be sufficient at the thickness detailed above?  Would I need to worry about the thin edge drying out too fast and checking badly (being oak and all)?  Think it would be best to seal both sides on the flat to prevent cupping issues or would I just be sealing in moisture and rotting the siding out from the inside?

thanks!

Cedarman

What is "torch blacken"?  How is it done?  Why is it done?  Want to get rid of some ignorance here. :D :D :D  Mine.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

Too Big To Fail

You burn the surface with a torch, brush it off with a dust broom and maybe burn it again depending on what you're going for.  It's a variation on a traditional Japanese technique originally used because apparently the charcoal (if the burn penetrates the wood pretty far) inhibits insects and fire from getting into the siding.  There have been other post about it- I think I saw one in the timber framing section.  You can google Shou-sugi-ban for more information about it.

I'm doing it because a light burn/brush removes the saw marks (no planing necessary) and exposes the tougher part of the grain in an attractive way and because I want a dark finish on the siding and would rather not paint it.  It's a less uniform color, more "natural" looking maybe.  I'll probably accent it with colored trim, doors etc so it's not too gloomy.

WDH

I would not cut it as thin as the pine as pine is more stable than white oak.  A little thicker should help prevent curling and cupping.  I would also dry it at least 4 months on stickers.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Planman1954

And put the stickers closer together than normal...probably about 18" apart. Be sure to stack them with 2 pieces together (one angle one way, and then the opposite) to keep the stack even.
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

Too Big To Fail

really?  So you stack 2 on top of each other to make a squared piece?  That won't cause mold issues?  I figured I'd be stacking them like usual and the sticker would just span the thickest portion.
So maybe cut them 8" by 1/2 tapered to 3/4 or so?  I wonder if that wouldn't look clumsy with such a thick bottom end.  Maybe it would be better to cut them at 1/2" with no taper and lay them up like that?

Piston

I'm glad you brought this thread to the top, as I hadn't seen it before.  I like the simplicity of the idea!  (The price doesn't hurt either  :D) 

With my manual mill, this will be some good excercise  :D
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

thecfarm

I plan on doing something for the side of the wife's Veggie shack,clapboards. How do you keep it going level? Caulkline?? I maybe putting this up alone too.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Planman1954

You can do it like Norm on This Old House does it...Make yourself a stick the height of the wall and mark the increments that match the exposure of the siding you want. For instance, I like to use 8" siding with 6 1/2" exposure. So starting on one end of the stick, measure 6 1/2" and put a mark (One that's easy to see on all four sides). Go another 6 1/2"...13"....and make another, and so on until you reach the end of the stick. I put corner boards on the building first, and around doors and windows over my house wrap or felt. Line up the marker stick by the bottom of each corner board and transfer the marks to it. You could run a string if you want on the first bottom piece of siding to keep the boards perfectly straight between corners, or just get the first one level across by marking somewhere in the center of the building. There is no way to adjust the straightness of the boards, so keeping them level is really not a problem if you follow your marks. Have fun!
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

hturner12

I know this is a very old post glad it is here. Would it work for sweetgum? I kicking  around doing our interior walls in sweetgum. Took wife to eat at Tx Roadhouse they just happen to have clapboard and  v groove wood for walls. She liked  the clapboard
Hugh
Ezbordwalk Jr

Planman1954

Hey...if you can saw it, it will work! I don't know how your wood species will hold up though to the elements, if that is what you are asking.
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

hturner12

Hugh
Ezbordwalk Jr

caveman

I made a quick little bevel jig to cut lap siding today.  I had a little trouble getting the right thicknesses at first (spatially and mathematically challenged).  Pineywoods' old post helped me out.  When on the jig, drop once (or 3/8"), when on the deck, drop twice (or 3/4").  I am planning to saw a few longleaf 8" cants into siding and will probably saw some cypress too, if folks show interest.
Caveman

Planman1954

I am currently making a lot out of cypress for my greenhouse build. I think I have been dropping the saw 5/16" and 11/16" for cuts.....one inch increments for the pair of cuts. The cants are 8" wide using 3/8" sticks. After drying them in the kiln, I install them with 1 1/4" staples with a cheap harbor freight air gun which has done surprisingly well. I install them with 6 1/2" exposure.
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

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