# Is there an easy way to cut seat of rafter birds mouth?



## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

I already cut the heals of the birds mouth with my Circular Saw, but I don’t know how to make the seat cut with my saw because of the angle. I’m thinking I might have to chisel them out because the boards are too long to use my band saw. I have a Reciprocating Saw, but would like to cut them all at the same time and want them precise.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

It don't take much with a wide chisel and a hammer....


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

One at a time, laying on the wide side, with a jigsaw?

I actually skipped the birdsmouth by just building trusses for my shed roof. Then I gained overheard storage too.

I assume these are 2x6 rafters, so that you're leaving enough wood above the plates?


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

sanchez said:


> One at a time, laying on the wide side, with a jigsaw?
> 
> I actually skipped the birdsmouth by just building trusses for my shed roof. Then I gained overheard storage too.
> 
> I assume these are 2x6 rafters, so that you're leaving enough wood above the plates?


I started with a jig saw, but i didn't have any blades long enough. It's a 2/10 pitch so it looks OK for a 2x4 rafter.


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## JoeFromSD (Feb 23, 2015)

You can get a Bigfoot saw and their swing table which will go over to 75*.
http://www.bigfootsaws.com/bigfootproduct/swing-tables/


that'll get most of that seat cut, then finish with sabre saw.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

Rebelwork said:


> It don't take much with a wide chisel and a hammer....


I'm probably going to get it started with a wide chisel and finish it with a hand saw


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

JoeFromSD said:


> You can get a Bigfoot saw and their swing table which will go over to 75*.
> http://www.bigfootsaws.com/bigfootproduct/swing-tables/
> 
> 
> that'll get most of that seat cut, then finish with sabre saw.


 😲


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

JoeFromSD said:


> You can get a Bigfoot saw and their swing table which will go over to 75*.
> http://www.bigfootsaws.com/bigfootproduct/swing-tables/
> 
> 
> that'll get most of that seat cut, then finish with sabre saw.


WOW! that's interesting. Can't say as if I've ever heard of such a thing.


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## JoeFromSD (Feb 23, 2015)

Sanchez, what's with the 😲?


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## SWrick (Apr 8, 2020)

It gets cut with a circular saw from both sides and then the intersecting cut usually gets finished with a hand saw, that takes seconds to finish or you could use a sawzall or jig saw, it’s really simple!

Pay attention to the building code that states that the birds mouth vertical cut cannot exceed 1/3 of the vertical height above the plate. There is a great web site for all of these calculations or you can easily layout rafters with a 2 foot framing square. 

It’s not real woodworking so I’m not a “Newbie” when it comes to framing!


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

*😲* is the code for an emoticon with a "shocked" face.
sometimes the code is corrupt and does not show the face.









.


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## Pretender (Jun 22, 2019)

SWrick said:


> It gets cut with a circular saw from both sides and then the intersecting cut usually gets finished with a hand saw, that takes seconds to finish or you could use a sawzall or jig saw, it’s really simple!
> 
> Pay attention to the building code that states that the birds mouth vertical cut cannot exceed 1/3 of the vertical height above the plate. There is a great web site for all of these calculations or you can easily layout rafters with a 2 foot framing square.
> 
> It’s not real woodworking so I’m not a “Newbie” when it comes to framing!


Says who.
Carpentry IS real wood working. It's just not fine wood working.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*How good are you with a worm drive Skilsaw?*

This video is for folks with more than basic experience using a worm drive Skilsaw. At 2:00 in he shows how to cut rafters with bird's mouths:








Notice:
When you stack them and even the ends up, the cut at full depth goes a bit into the board underneath saving you measuring it each as shown above.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

*I quit wasteing time and got here done.*

Well I realized that it was taking more time than if did what I always did. So I cut each side of the rafter and used a chisel to clean up the center. Just wondered if there was an easier way. :thumbsup:


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## SWrick (Apr 8, 2020)

woodnthings said:


> This video is for folks with more than basic experience using a worm drive Skilsaw. At 2:00 in he shows how to cut rafters with bird's mouths:
> 
> 
> Skil Saw Pro Tips - YouTube
> ...


You only measure once, verify it fits correctly and then that rafter becomes your template!


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## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

I'm a retired carpenter. One year all I did was cut rafters in a Quonset hut. I used a worm drive 6" Skilsaw and a Bosch saber saw to finish the cut. This is not a difficult job, their are many ways to accomplish the same thing. I once watched a home owner rough cut the birds mouth with a Sawzall, the clamp a template to the rafter and used a 3 HP PC router with a top bearing to clean up the cut. He still had to saw or chisel the corner because the router bit left it round.
My wife and I were sitting on a relatives porch and I remarked that his way of cutting the birdsmouth was labor intensive but in the end he did nice work.
Any method that accomplishes the task is the best way.
mike


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

JoeFromSD said:


> Sanchez, what's with the 😲?


It's a shocked face about that saw! I see your confusion now. I switched to desktop view, and the face turns into a bunch of text. Sorry, mobile view shows them.


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## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

> I quit wasteing time and got here done.


i was going to suggest the same thing

since the rafter tail isn't structural, most framers over cut one side a little and handsaw or sawzall the rest
i'm showing my age... i doubt there's a handsaw on any jobsite anymore


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

_Ogre said:


> i'm showing my age... i doubt there's a handsaw on any jobsite anymore


I have a nice collection of handsaws from my Dad just can't sharpen them. I'm retired now, but I always carried a hand saw with me when I was working.


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## JayArr (Sep 18, 2018)

> i'm showing my age... i doubt there's a handsaw on any jobsite anymore



I've got a handsaw, and the tools to set/sharpen it. When a handsaw is properly sharpened it'll go through a 2x4 faster than walking to the shed to get the power saw. I think the demise of the hand saw was because the skill of sharpening it got lost, particularly with homeowners.


If anyone is interested search eBay for "saw set pliers" there's a bunch of vintage ones for less than $20. You put the saw in the vise, quickly run down the teeth with the pliers to set them then run down the teeth with the file and you get a nice sharp saw. First time on a flea market saw may take 20-30 minutes, after that 5 minutes. The old carpenter I learned from told me he sharpened his saw every morning and every lunch and sometimes during his mid morning or mid afternoon break. He also told me you had to show how sharp you could get your saw during the job interview and if the boss caught you with a dull saw too many times you were fired.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Sleeper said:


> I started with a jig saw, but i didn't have any blades long enough. It's a 2/10 pitch so it looks OK for a 2x4 rafter.


Is that something new I haven't heard about, 2 and 10 pitch, I always used 12 as in 2 and 12 pitch.


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## Sleeper (Mar 24, 2009)

BigJim said:


> Is that something new I haven't heard about, 2 and 10 pitch, I always used 12 as in 2 and 12 pitch.


To be precise mine has a rise of 24" in 120" (2' in 10'). I didn't want to take the time to cut each stud so I used standard 8 ft wall on one side and full 10 ft studs on the opposite side. It doesn't mater what the pitch is as long as water runs down hill unless your in snow country then you have more of a load and need for the snow to slide down when too heavy. I could have 1 in 10 because it never snows around here.


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## SWrick (Apr 8, 2020)

BigJim said:


> Is that something new I haven't heard about, 2 and 10 pitch, I always used 12 as in 2 and 12 pitch.


A roof pitch is always referenced after a 12 (1 foot) that is called the run and the vertical distance per foot is called the rise. So usually the lowest roof pitch that will take roof shingles is a 4 on 12. That a 4 inch rise for each 1 foot of run, 4 inches vertically for each foot horizontally. It’s really very simple and basic carpentry.


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## SWrick (Apr 8, 2020)

Building codes and design criteria does not take into account the roof pitch when designing rafters. It’s all based on a standard dead and live load regardless if the house is in Florida or Buffalo NY. The live load takes into account all loads such as wind, snow and people who need to be there to work.


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