Let's Build Something: Beam Supports

I knew that eventually I would need to build supports that would go underneath the main beams for the smaller tree since that is the side that the beams will be allowed to slide.  The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of having 4 of these supports, 1 for each side of each tree, so that I can have more anchor bolts into the trees but also have the anchor bolts spaced apart.

The design of the beam supports are actually quite simple, I just ripped off the Romans and built 4 crucifixion crosses.  I guess you could call them telephone poles too, but you get the idea.  I first cut an 8 foot 2x6 in half.  One 4 foot part will be the vertical part and one 4 foot part will be the horizontal.  For the diagonal parts, I marked and cut 45 degree angles for that the longest part of the remaining board is 2 feet long.  Here is a picture showing my layout for the diagonal members:

Once the diagonal member are cut, I cut 1.5 inches off tone of the corners to give a nice shoulder.  You will see why in a moment.

Now I want to cut a groove on the horizontal member for the diagonal members to mate to.  I trace the outline of the top 1.5 inches of the diagonal members onto the horizontal member and then cur relief cuts for easier material removal once I break out the chisel.  Here are 2 pictures showing the tracing and then the relief cuts right before I chisel out the material.

With that completed, you start to get a glimpse of the finished product.

Lastly, I add the vertical member underneath and drill all the holes for the 1/2 inch carriage bolts.  With that assembled, here is the finished product:

I did not complete the assembly because I want to break this down for easier transport.  When it is in its final-final assemble stage, there will be truss plates nailed at the junctions between the horizontal and diagonal members to hold them in place.

Of course all this could not be possible without my family of helpers.  Today, Anna really was a really big helper.