Marking, Measuring and Cutting

Looking at the pile of lumber that takes up the rear driveway and a good part of the garage I wonder to myself where should I start and a little voice in my head says, “At the beginning of course!” Taking on a project of this magnitude can be overwhelming but so long as it’s done in stages it will be managable without too much cause to worry. The plans state that if you cannot follow the instructions then it’s best to hire a professional contractor to build it for you. This no doubt is very sound advice because you do have childrens safety to concern yourself with, be them your own or other peoples children. I’m one of those very cautious type individuals who will always over analyze and in this case over build to ensure that everything is correct, so I think in this case this sort of construction is ideal for me. It may take more than the suggested 20 hours to construct but does it really matter how much time it takes to build, safety is the number one priority.

The week after buying all the lumber much time was spent deciding on the final elements and I finally decided that I would forego building the ladder and opt for the gangplank ramp instead. This I felt would be a more fun item and with having the rock wall anyway, it already gave a climb-in entrance. Now with a clear course of action I was looking forward to the weekend to start the cutting of the sections.

The week sitting on the drive had seen a fair amount of moisture dissipate from the lumber but it was still extremely wet, so as I started on the cutting list, (the plans suggested starting in the order given, to minimize waste) care had to be taken when using the compound mitre saw to prevent any binding.

The cutting list!

As I was going through the list, I made sure that I marked each piece with the assigned number/letter arrangement and also marked it on with chalk so that it was easily identified amongst the pile. During the process there were several options made available to me, such as, would I have a rear opening or not, this had relevance for the size of the verticals and the horizontal that would be cut for the particular area so I had to make sure that I had my figures correct.

I’m sure that during the construction I will run across a couple of lengths that are not quite right but I will be able to use them in different areas by recutting to the smaller lengths. While I’m writing this journal I’m thinking about the process and it occurs to me that a couple of lengths may have been cut to the wrong length already which is not suprising considering the amount of lumber I’m dealing with.

I’ll have to remember that the right opening that is shown in the plans will be reversed in my construction just to confuse matters therefore the cut length for the right will be on the left but I will keep the markup as set forth in the plans but have a mental picture in my mind. Phew! just writing this is confusing enough but when I’m working with the timber and the plans it becomes quite apparent.

When I purchased the lumber I decided to buy untreated material for the Jungle Fort decking mainly because it would be easier to distinguish it amongst the main frame lumber. It means a little additional work with treating the lengths with preservative but I would be able to sand the surfaces so that there wasn’t any areas that could be splinter prone for children. I could have got the Wood Polymer Lumber for this area but I wanted to keep the overall look the same plus the lumber was a fifth of the price of WPL.

Lumber setup ready to cut with the compound miter saw.

With the WPL the thickness was about one inch overall so with the wood, it ended up two inch prepared lumber which is inch and a half, making it more than ample for the decking. The same lumber will be used for the enclosing of the fort platform again replacing the WPL.

Lifting the lengths of lumber to the saw, the combined weight is such that I’m confident that there will be little movement once errected and once the ground anchors are in place stability will be assured. The manual suggests trying to setup your workshop to save time, my setup consists of a Workmate with compound miter saw clamped on with two roller stands to support the lengths of wood during the cutting operation. Luckily the weather for Southern California is such that it can all be done outside, which brings up another point. It really needs to be cut outside if using the pre-treated lumber because of the venting of fumes, I noticed that the dust kicked off by the saw gave me a slight sore throat especially when cutting large amounts so using a dust mask would have reduced the amount of dust breathed in. It didn’t last for any length of time but I’m sure it wasn’t good for me. I’m sure once this lumber becomes more weathered the smell will be neutralized.

Sections of jungle fort cut to size.

Sections of jungle fort cut to size showing markup for easy identification.

With the untreated lumber the same situation will apply, when applying the preserve it needs to be in a well ventilated area, outside being the best situation. Cutting all the lengths was spread over several weekends double checking each time for size. The unfortunate thing is the setup had to be taken down each time so there is a safe environment for my children when I’m at work. The good thing is it hasn’t occurred to them to use the pile of lumber for climbing, I’ve made sure to explain to them that it’s dangerous until it’s all bolted together, even though I’ve stacked it so that it won’t slide.

It’s amazing how many cuts have to be made but I’m slowly getting to the end, then it’s time to start all over again with chamfering the corners!

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