[Shop-talk] Notching rafters for purlins?

[Obaa]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I looked them over, and went with Jon's:
>Would you happen to have 24-inch centers? I'd use Simpson Strong-Ties
>truss braces instead of notching and purlins.
>http://www.strongtie.com/ftp/catalogs/c-hw05-r/C-HW05-R-07.pdf Much
>simpler, faster and stronger. Cheap too. You can get them in bulk for
>about $1.70 each.

I picked up a bunch of them at the local lumber yard, and put them in with some #8 wafer head screws (?) I bought at the same time.  Those things went up fast, and using a power drill instead of a hammer meant I could start early without waking anyone up.  That was a great suggestion!

After this project, I don't know why I haven't gone to these guys instead of HomeDepot/Lowe's before.  Their hours are shorter (i.e only open till 5), but they know what they are talking about, their lumber is so much better, their yard guys help you pick/sort through it, they have better availability (including 16' posts not even found at HD/Lowe's), and their prices are better.  What more could you ask for?


>Hi all,
>I have a set of 2x6 rafters (25) that I need to notch for some 2x2 >purlins.  There are 6 purlins per rafter, so a lot of notching....
>The only way I'm aware of to make these notches is to saw a number of >closely spaced slots, then knock out the "fingers", and use a chisel to >clean up the groove.
>Is there a better way to do this, given the number of notches required?  >I have just basic hand and power tools (circ saw, jigsaw, router); no >table saw or anything else like that.  Any ideas appreciated!