 Lurch77BBR BullyPremium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | Wood Clothesline
Please ask before making this masterpiece your desktop background. |
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 jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | Notch the top cross piece and the post so they dovetail. |
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 nunyaWho is John Galt?Premium,MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO
kudos:8 | reply to Lurch77
Jeez-o-peet. Have you priced 6 x 6 posts lately? I'd go get some heavywall pipe instead.
What are you going to hang up to dry on that line, a Buick?
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...because I care. |
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Lurch77BBR BullyPremium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | I already have the lumber here. I didn't want pipe since I think it is ugly. If I need to have an ugly clothesline in the yard, it needs to looks as good as possible, and fit it with the landscaping.
A dovetail looks a bit complicated for this. What do you guys think of a simple lap joint? Seems to be the general recommendation from the internet. |
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jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | That's what I think I meant.... |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | reply to Lurch77
How about getting a couple of pieces of 1/4" plate and drill it so that you can run long lag bolts into the top of the upright and then also for carriage bolts to go all the way through the top beam on the outer ends of the plate. I'm thinking something like 5 1/2" x 12" for the plate. I would prefer not to have the end grain of the upright exposed so rain easily penetrates and this would do that. |
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 leiboldPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
kudos:6
 ·SONIC.NET
| reply to Lurch77
While I know that wet clothes can be very heavy, It does seem that your construction might be overkill. I remember growing up our clothesline ended in a 1"x2" hardwood crossbar. However you don't say how many lines you are running and how long they are.
Assuming that you chose 6x6 lumber because the wet weight that your clothesline needs to handle is indeed that much, you might think about bracing the post to the ground as well (not so much for any left/right imbalance but for the weight pulling the posts towards each other).
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Got some spare cpu cycles ? Join Team Helix or Team Starfire! |
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 49528867Premium
join:2010-04-16
Fort Lauderdale, FL
kudos:3 | reply to Lurch77
said by Lurch77:I'm look for strength, but I still want it to be fairly aesthetically pleasing if possible. If you want a nice simple look and have a dado and since you are working with six by sixes, then just notch out the crossarm and the pole an inch or so deep but just a hair under the width needed for the pieces to fit together, preassemble the assembly as much as possible, a linemans hammer is handy for encouraging engagement, just be sure everything is staying square while doing so.
Then once preset drill a ½ inch hole all the way through the center of the cross and hammer through that hole a half inch bolt with a fender washer on it, a bolt that is long enough to allow you the ability to get a nut with another fender washer on that bolt for at least a few threads, torque it up nice and tight and you have one end of your line done, once the other end is completed, auger a couple of holes in the ground and set your poles remembering to keep your crossarms on the far side of the pole from the load, that is to say the clothes lines when loaded should be trying to pull the crossarm through the pole not away from it.
Wayne
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"It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence." - Charles A. Beard |
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 SandSharkLong may you runPremium,MVM
join:2000-05-23
Santa Fe, TX
kudos:3 | reply to Lurch77
A half lap joint and some nuts and bolts should be adequate. |
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 tschmidtPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
kudos:8
·G4 Communications
·Fairpoint Commun..
 ·Hollis Hosting
| reply to Lurch77
If you want to simplify the joinery simply cut it per your picture and use ceramic coated Torx head, or timber tite screws to hold it all together. Not sure if the Torx head screws are long enough to secure the horizontal beam to the post but shorter ones work well on the cross brace. Drill countersink holes in the brace so the head does not protrude beyond the face of the brace. Low tech use galvi lag bolts but make sure they are compatible with pressure treated wood . Almost all the force will be downward so the fasteners/joinery is not under much stress. » www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?par···Id=PDIO1» www.lowes.com/pd_206435-74016-FM···cetInfo=/tom |
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 John GaltForward, MarchPremium
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
kudos:5 | reply to Lurch77
For Lurch a 6x6 IS a 4x4...  |
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Lurch77BBR BullyPremium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | reply to Lurch77
Some good ideas, everyone. Thanks. I ended up doing a lap with 5/16" galvanized lag bolts. The weight of wet clothes will pull the joint tighter together, so the lag bolts won't see much of a load. The poles are 25' apart and will have 4 lines for 100' of line. I know it is overkill, but I wanted the big timber for it's aesthetics as well as the strength. My cuts are not perfect, as I didn't have a saw that could do it right, so I did it partly by machine, partly by hand. But the rough look I ended up with fits in with my natural landscaping around the property.
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | Looks really nice! |
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garys_2kPremium
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI | reply to Lurch77
Nice, looks pretty durn sturdy!
Will you do anything to keep the upward facing end grain waterproofed? |
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Lurch77BBR BullyPremium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | I have not really thought about it yet. Ideas? |
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harald
join:2010-10-22
Columbus, OH
kudos:1 | Son, looks to me like you are running an unlicensed elk drying facility.
You think the RIAA/MPAA is bad, wait until the Brotherhood of Elks gets after you. |
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 dennismurphyPut me on hold? I'll put YOU on holdPremium
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ | reply to Lurch77
Learning to walk tightrope? |
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 dosdoxiesPremium
join:2004-12-15
Wallingford, PA | reply to Lurch77
I think I can see them on Google Earth! |
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jack bGone FishingPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-08
Cape Cod
kudos:1 | reply to Lurch77
Now string up some 3/8 stainless steel aircraft cable for your lines, and 5/16 eye bolts on the ends to adjust the tension. |
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Lurch77BBR BullyPremium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | See, now this guy right here gets me.  |
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