How to make these cuts in a 4x4?

[KAILUAZ]

I'm looking to build a pull-up station and I'm trying to figure out how to make these cuts with standard power tools (skill saw, jig saw, rotozip, sawzall, etc). I don't have anything fancy like a table saw.
Thanks!

 

[Jared]

I would just use a circular saw and a wood chisel.

 

[BEAVO]

thats what im thinking circular saw and chisle. are you wanting to cut it on the corners like in the pic?

 

[KAILUAZ]

thats what im thinking circular saw and chisle. are you wanting to cut it on the corners like in the pic?

Yes its the corner cuts that I'm trying to figure out.

With the circular saw would I cut the depth I want and then use the chisel to "knock" it out flat? Would I do two cuts or a bunch of them?

As you can tell its been about 20+ years since I was in wood-shop.

Thanks

 

[MrMark]

What you have to do to notch something is take your Skil saw and set the proper depth. Then you make a series of kerfs close together to hog out the wood. One kerf on top of the other. Clean it up with a chisel. It is the same thing as cutting a dado on the table saw without a dado head cutter. A bunch of passes to eat up the material. The fact that these cuts or on a corner will make it a pain in the ****. But, it doesn't look like you need too much precision for your purposes, just relatively clean.

 

[IndyGarage]

I would make a little fixture that would clamp to the 6x6 that holds the circular saw within the boudaries and sets the 45 angle.

Then you just cut a bunch of slots about double blade width apart at full depth for the full width of the flat - like a comb- then bust the pieces out with a hammer and use a sharp chisel to clean up the bottom.

Another way would be to use a flat bottom router bit.

 

[rockchucker]

Attach a piece of Plywood to the Post in question so you have a "Plane" surface to work off of. Then set your depth. Outline where you want the cut to begin and end. Then as MrMark was saying just make a bunch of Kerf Cuts with a Skil Saw within that area you have marked off. Attaching the piece of Plywood and having a Plane surface to work off of will get you the wanted results. Without the Plane surface you will be freehanding a plane cut on a 90 degree angle. You can do it but it is a lot easier with a plane surface to begin with.


Of course clean up the kerfed cuts with a Chisel or a Rasp.

Just my .o2

 

[OccupantRJ]

Cut 4 triangles out of a wide 2 by, at 45 degrees. Attach these with screws to the bottom side of a piece of plywood to form two V shaped saddles about 10 inches apart underneath the plywood, which will saddle solidly onto a corner of the post. Attach to the post with clamps or screws. Attach a strip of wood to the top of the plywood for a guide fence for the saw, to keep things square. You now have control of the variables most likely to give you trouble. Make your cuts, then chisel out the excess wood. Multiple cuts will ease the chore of chiselling.

 

[KAILUAZ]

Cool, thanks guys. Sounds like getting it setup will be the fun part. I should probably do it the right way and not wing it with my sawzall haha.

Someone on another board recommended drilling the holes out for the bar to pass through instead of using screws to hold the bars up. If I went that route I guess I could make a small flat spot to start the drill bit (spade 1 3/8") and drill them out?

 

[OccupantRJ]

If you are gonna use a spade bit, start it right on the corner by punching a center punch spot. You can lock the bars in by drilling through holes to bolt them in place. Now, another subject. How you gonna drill straight through the post?

 

[KAILUAZ]

Now, another subject. How you gonna drill straight through the post?

Yeah, no easy task either way I go.

 

[Randy_che]

The triangular structure is much stronger than the two-legged ones with the holes drilled in the later picture. I'd stay with that configuration.

 

[rsanter]

hand saw and a wood chisel

bob

 

[blue dog]

And do a test run on a cut off first. All good advice here, but i would say a skilsaw and a chisel is your easy way out. measure twice, cut ounce.

 

[sgrammel]

One queston...are you going to make the 'instruction' sheet like in original pic 2?

 

[KAILUAZ]

One queston...are you going to make the 'instruction' sheet like in original pic 2?

Haa no, that was a quick deal using Photobucket's brush.

 

[kblazer87]

hand saw and a wood chisel

bob

+1
.........

 

[babzog]

I would just use a circular saw and a wood chisel.

Actully, it looks like a trickier cut in that he's not cutting a constant depth along the flat - he's cutting in from the corner.

I'd mark it all up with a pencil - draw the entire box that you want to remove - and straightedge, then use a good handsaw to make the initial cuts at the sides. Make a few more cuts in the middle. Finally, knock out the pieces and chisel it flat.

 

[KAILUAZ]

Thanks everyone for the ideas and help; I ended up just going with a standard two post setup. The added cost of materials (4x4, bars, cement, etc) was a bit more than I wanted to spend.
After reading a bunch of posts over at Crossfit.com I went with a screw-in mount on one side and a through hole in the other. I made three heights (top for rings and climbing rope) and I can use the same bar on each one.
Anyway here it is waiting for the cement to dry:

 

[ghnl]

Make 2 or 3 of these, simple.

 

[Jack Olsen]

A pair of quickly-cut V-blocks to hold it in position, then run it on a table saw with dado blades.

 

[mdoolittle]

This is too much work to do for fitness/exercise!