I finished up the second leaf for The Deck.
The third leaf had the most complicated design of the three, so I left it for last. Once the second leaf was complete, I went back to the first leaf and re-cut some of the boards for a better fit. Next was figuring out the framework. As a reminder, here is the frame support system for the real life deck.
I mainly needed a frame that would attach to each surface board and be stable enough to be elevated over the front of the landscape board. Using another printout of the first leaf, I began building the frame with a center beam. From there, I planned to cut skinny sticks (to save on cost) to create cross beams every half inch. This should create multiple glue points for each board. Here is my mockup to determine layout.
I notched the center beam and cross boards for a solid fit, using glue to reinforce the joins.
I used bass wood for the few areas where the skinny sticks were too short and left the ends long for now.
To add stability on the outer edge, I added more skinny sticks. These are not the cleanest cuts I’ve ever made, but you will see these only as the underneath structure of the deck.
I cut these notches using my handheld Dremel since they were angled and the main spine was glued together.
Next up…finishing the third leaf surface boards and building the basic frames for leaf 2 and leaf 3.
