Elevate Your Outdoor Space: Embrace the Charm of Curved Cedar Rafter Pergolas

Make the RAFTERS

The pattern is traced on the rafter blank.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Laying the pattern over the rafter blank

We cut the 12 degree angle in the upper and lower ends of the rafter with a circular saw.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Tracing the pattern on the cedar rafter blank

We cut the curved sections of all our rafters on a large bandsaw.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Cutting each end of the rafter

But, if working alone a jigsaw cuts almost as well. I use a heavy, stiff blade on my jigsaw for this 2″ thick Western Red cedar.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — A powerful jigsaw with a heavy blade works well at cutting the rafters

My friend Doug is a very artistic and skilled carpenter. We worked on quite a few design ideas for the curved rafters. We wanted the most elegant curve with the minimal waste of material. We decided on the idea of pairs of rafters that were supported with a ridge beam. And that each rafter tapered down from the center top to the sides. This was done by using two different radius curves. The homeowners approved the design and we all thought it looked a bit like an upside down wooden boat hull.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Bosch jigsaw burns through the cut. Nice!!

Each rafter was then chamfered with a sanding attachment on an angle grinder.

Sanding Curved Rafters

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Belt sanding the edge smooth

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Angle grinder with flexible sanding disc attachment for chamfering the rafter edges

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Rafters finished and ready to be hung

These rafters were set in place and toe screwed to the beams. And also screwed to the galvanized strapping attached to the ridge beam.

Attaching Rafters

Animation of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Dropped in place on the beams

Then the temporary supports for the ridge beam can be removed. Or left there until all the braces are added.

Animation of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — All rafters in place. A sight to be seen

The BRACES

The pergola design called also for curved braces. A pattern is also cut for the two brace shapes. Again I use 1/4″ plywood for the two patterns.

(Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for helping to support my content this way. )

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Ripping the thin plywood to make brace patterns

The curves will be scored with nails through a yardstick-size piece of plywood with a pivot laid out on my workbench.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Making a compass from a yardstick-like strip

I mark the pivot and two curve radii then drill pilot holes. Then tap in finishing nails.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Marking the 45’s on the brace pattern blank

On the small brace pattern I mark the two 45 degree angles first. Then I nail the blank to the workbench.

Sweeping Curves onto Brace Pattern

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Sweeping the curves on the plywood

Along a pencil line on the bench I tap in the pivot point nail then sweep the yardstick along the blank to scratch the curve on the plywood. Then draw a pencil line along this scratch. I darkened it with a sharpie as well.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Darkening the scratch with a sharpie. (mainly so it shows better on video)

The 45 degree angles were cut on the miter saw.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Miter saw used to cut 45’s

The second, slightly larger brace pattern was made in the same way.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — The large brace needs its own compass

The plywood blank is bigger and the radii that I need to scratch in the wood is also greater.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Setting the compass stick in place

As before I make a compass for striking the arcs from a thin strip of plywood, measure and drill pilot holes, and tap in some finishing nails.

Darken Scratch Marks

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Darkening large brace curves

I mark the points for the 45 degree cuts then secure the blank and the compass pivot to the bench. Then scratch the arcs on the wood. Then darken the curves and take the blank to the miter saw.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — Cutting 45 degree angles on large brace pattern blank

I use a bandsaw to cut the brace pattern curves. A jigsaw would also work just fine.

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — A jigsaw is the best way to cut these curves. I have a small table top model that does the job well

Then I sand these curves smooth on a small belt sander.

Small Tool is a Big Help

Construction of a cedar pergola designed with curved rafters and curved corner braces — A small hobby belt sander is super handy. How do I get by without one?

Both patterns only took a few minutes to finish. This little sander is so handy, I use it a lot.

Pages: 1 2 3 4