Sandpit Construction MkII

I'm building this bloody sandpit next weekend. At a local salvage I managed to get 35m of 2x4 denailed jarrah for $2.50 per metre. Plus $7 each for 3.1m 100mm posts. Bargain.

The base will simply be a square plinth made from the 4 posts half lapped together. On top of this will be the 4be2's screwed down as 'decking.

Now this is a really simply question, but whats the best way/process to fix these boards down. Theres 20 boards with 2 screws at each end. If I have to drill through the board, then into the base, change the bit, countersink, change the bit to a a square-driver and whack in a screw 80 times I'll go bananas!

3 Drills maybe? I imagine a nail gun wont go through 2inch thick jarrah. Is there some all-in-one bits for this sort of operation?



PS: Not only did I get some great wood from this yard, but the old bloke there is an old 'stairmaker'. Twas a nice saturday morning loading up the trailer and talking to this old (90+) woody about old tools and his days as an apprentice. Made me appreciate the story behind some of these old rusted toys we buy. He's got a full set of Titan Chisels plus a bunch of old planes (including, he says, a full set of moulding planes) that he's looking to pass them on to someone who knows their value. (me)
He's tried selling them in his slavage/2nd-hand yard but people either knock-them off or want them for a song.

I'll have a crack Adam.

What about
1. Nailing it down
2. just drilling the 4x2 and nailing it down-easier than 1.

If nailing could split the 4x4 what about blunting/flattening the nail ends prior to nailing.

HTH.........cheers...............Sean the wannabe pit boss :)

PS. Nailing into old jarrah isn't something I've (obviously!) tried so you may p15s yourself laughing but just tryna help :o

Go buy some cheap XU1 power drills for $9.99 or there abouts!

Well here's some progress pics of the sandpit. This is the 'deck' on which the sides will sit. Keeping the height off the ground to a minimum was important for safety reasons

You cant see it but, now you'll understand that theres a septic under there thats raised 10mm above the paving.

Lessons:

Drilling 75mm holes and sinking screws into old jarrah takes some serious drill power. Sprisingly the chuck on the metabo wasnt up to the drillnig task, while the GMC was fine. On the other hand the metabo was much better at driving the squaredrive screws.

Lou, theres my cut-off jig for my circular saw. Works a treat! Joney keeps an eye on everything, not bothered by the bansheewailing saw at all.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,

The Joys of workiing in your patio;) Bout time you let us see your Crosscut Jig Lefty............How bout a post here:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...+jig+beginners

To give us an update on how she goes!!!!...........................I ended up sacking the sled style Jig and using the much simpler one I did the Post on!!!!

Anywaz keep us posted on the Sandpit Lefty.................Looks like shes going to be a beauty!!!!!

REgards Lou

Its all finished. Not once ounce of weight on the septic tank underneath. As you can see by the last pic, the bloody thing is only a few feet from the back door.

MrsLefty spent a fair bit of time sanding and painting on the weekend while LittleLefty and I watched form inside. The little guy wasnt to sure about the sand..................................