Cutting and Assembling Pre-made Arm Rails

[Anonymous]

When you buy pre-made arm rails, you’ll want to do the job right
the first time, because any screw ups and you waste some very
expensive material.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1. A decent 10″ or better power miter saw.
2. A custom made jig to simulate your actual rough bar top edge.

The angles:
For a 90 degree corner, you will make one 90 degree turn, so you’ll
need two 45 degree cuts. Joining them will complete the 90 degree
corner.

For a 45 degree corner used in the 45 degree bar design, you will need
to make two 45 degree turns, so you will need to make four 22.5 degree
cuts. Adding each matching pair to make the two 45 degree turns and the
two completed 45 degree corners will complete the overall 90 degree
change in direction.

Of course you will the edge of the blade closest to the finish material to
measure your length and angle. Always cut a bit BIGGER and zero in on
your final size. Better to be too big than too small. (Yeah, I know what you’re thinking)

The Jig:
When using premade bar rail you will ALWAYS need to layer your bar top
in a step fashion to fit the top and bottom groves in the molding. If you
are adding a laminated top, include a small strip of the lamination too.

Make you jig long enough to offer adequate support and for long
sections, you MUST be sure the far end is supported somehow and that
the overall work piece is LEVEL.

TEST BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY CUTS!

Get a few cheap 1″ x 4″ pine boards and practice your angle settings by
cutting and piecing together these cheap boards. Verify that the matching
corners add up to the proper angles and you’ll be all set.

Your corners will be as accurate as your cuts, so be sure to do test cuts!

[armrail:1chwpbyl][/armrail:1chwpbyl]

[Anonymous]

Assembly:

Now that you’ve got the bar rail cuts completed and you are happy with the fit, you can proceed with assembly.

If everything was done properly, your arm rail should sit on the rough
bar edge with all edges matching and a tiny amount of wiggle room if
needed. If you intended to use a laminated top material, you should have
also included the thickness of that material when you made your cutting
jig.

Depending upon your skill level, you could add wooden dowel pins to secure the corners (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=857&sid=AF523)
You now simple need to use wood glue and clamps or screw from
underneath to apply moderate pressure to the corner while it dries.

FINISHING:
Once the glue is dried, hand sand all your corners and apply wood putty
to any small cracks or tiny splits, then re-sand , stain and apply a
urethane type seal.

IF YOU HAVE A WET BASEMENT:
Get a de-humidifier, excessive moisture could warp your bar rail.

[armrail:2uyuv9ab][/armrail:2uyuv9ab]

[Author]

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