Help With A Rookie Error...

[charliegolf]

Picture 2 lengths of deck board, parallel on edge.
Picture 2 more bits about a foot long, meant to screw up to make a long, thin rectangle, a deck board deep.

Whatever I do, including screwing up on a very flat surface, my long thing rectangle has a twist in it!

What am I doing wrong; or can I reasonably blame the boards? I ask that seriously, 'cos when doing a deck recently, there was a curve in loads of the boards, but over 12', I could pull them into line.

Cheers

CG

 

[StephenStephen]

How 'bout a picture?

 

[Tigercubrider]

Have you sighted the boards? By looking down the length.

 

[charliegolf]

Have you sighted the boards? By looking down the length.

Yes, as well as using a glass outside table as a flat plate. They seem fine, but maybe I need to check more closely. Cheers.

SS, can't do pics!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Try clamping things together before you screw them together. Can make all the difference

 

[oldbutnotdead]

You making a sort of long thin coffin? Check your end cuts are dead square, run a straight edge over the faces of the boards, good odds you'll have a bit of cupping going on

 

[charliegolf]

You making a sort of long thin coffin? Check your end cuts are dead square, run a straight edge over the faces of the boards, good odds you'll have a bit of cupping going on

I think you have it... Been looking again. I'm making sun loungers for family out of decking undercarriage and scraps for slats; from pallets to surplus oak flooring. I'll have a really close look at the next one, especially the ends. I have a table saw, but the slidy-forward-carriage do-da isn't the tightest fit for perfect parallel. Cheers all.

CG

 

[foxhole]

What are you making?

 

[charliegolf]

Sun loungers. For family members- freeloading gits!

 

[Tigercubrider]

Make a square out of 12/18" ply
Cut a couple of bits of 2x2 each 2-3" short of the 12/18
Fix them to two edges of the square, making a gap where the two would meet, of about 2" on each.

Then clamp the timber that you want to fix into the corner so they don't move and screw together
If using bigger timber you can adjust the dimensions