Billy-Proof Fence

This may come as news to a lot of readers, as I don’t think I’ve mentioned it previously, but my mum and sister decided to welcome a new puppy in to their lives, a few weeks before Christmas.

His name is Billy and he’s a ‘Morkie’ (Maltese/Yorkshire Terrier-cross). Mum was asking about a temporary fence to cordon off the shared driveway. Because they live in rented accommodation as well, this needed to be a freestanding option.

I took some measurements, browsed around online and eventually came up with the following.

February’s Fall

Just when I thought it was safe to stow away my claw hammer; the gale-force winds returned and I found myself faced with another fence panel repair and post to replace. I guess I forgot to knock on wood. It’s ironic that the lighting bolt would strike the same spot again, mere weeks after assuring myself that my time as a fence panel-repairer was over.

Mitres and Stops

Earlier today, I uploaded a brand-new video to YouTube, which happens to be my first for about a month. I’ll probably go in to that one a little deeper in a separate blog post next week but it bears some relevance to this post where I’m going to be looking at mitres and tackling the seemingly-simple question of how to fit a length stop for repeat or batch cutting of identical lengths.

Over the Fence

With a long weekend and clear skies forecast, I decided I would use this time to try and replace the fence panels that blew down sometime in, erm… February! That’s without mentioning the two fence posts that had each rotted away at ground level. It had seemed like a monstrous job; the kind that I detest, with my general hatred towards pathetic fence panel construction. Each morning I’ve driven to work, each evening I’ve come home; that gaping view on to the neighbour’s weathered decking had been haunting me for far too long. I was tired of tripping over the old panel remains just outside the workshop door. Something had to be done!

A reminder of how things had been for the past three-months…

I’d Rather Have Snow…

Just as I was getting dressed and ready to leave the house for work this morning, there was a knock on my bedroom door. Mum was eager to tell me that another fence panel had blown down overnight; narrowly missing her car and lying obtrusively on the drive. It wasn’t the panel I ‘repaired’ over the weekend – as I said then; that one’s never going to come out!! This one is as tall as it is wide.

A new day and another panel falls to the ground!

These photos were taken in the daylight, after I arrived home from work a couple of hours ago, using my phone as well (8 megapixels, apparently… Although, I rarely bother to preset the white balance). All I did in the darkness was to pick up all the loose stuff and to dump it infront of the workshop.

Fence Panel Repair

Have I ever told you how much I hate the traditional style of fence panel? If not then, I’ll try not to drone on too much today. Let’s just that I’m ‘not a fan’ of the ‘cost-effective‘ design, where you’re over-relying a few nails and staples to hold a load of thin boards and stick-like battens together.

Three-months later…

In my experience, the very first happens during the drier summer months, when this timber (a softwood) is allowed to rapidly expel the moisture it has gathered, causing its form to take all manner of shapes, along with a few splits, cracks and shakes. That’s all without mentioning the threat of wet rot, rising damp and, perhaps one of my biggest bugbears with ‘solid’ fence panelling; the wind effect.

Mitre Saw Fence

On Monday, I finished building the fence for my new-look mitre saw station…