How to Cut Lumber Into Clapboard Siding

Clapboard siding is a traditional exterior house sheathing that is common in New England. Clapboards are wedge shaped strips of wood that are installed horizontally on the outside of a house with each board overlapping the top edge of the one below it. Clapboards shed rain and snow and keep moisture out of the walls. While most clapboards are manufactured using industrial machinery, you can also make your own at home with just a table saw.

Straight lumber
Measuring tape
Straight edge
Pencil
Table saw

Instructions

- 1
  Determine the size of the clapboards that you would like to make. Traditional clapboards are roughly 5 inches wide with a 5/8 inch thick bottom edge and a 1/4 inch thick top edge. To make clapboards with these dimensions, you will need a piece of wood that is 5 inches wide and at least 1 inch thick.
- 2
  Stand the piece of lumber on its edge. Make a pencil mark 5/16 inch from the right side on the top edge. Make another pencil mark 5/16 inch from the left side on the bottom edge. Connect the two marks with a straight edge. You now have the outline of two clapboards, one with the wide end facing down and the other with the wide end facing up.
- 3
  Raise the blade of your table saw to its maximum height. Set the angle of the blade so that it matches the line you made on the end of the piece of lumber. Set the fence of the table saw so that the blade will cut into the line that you made.
- 4
  Start the saw and feed just the end of the board into the blade. Back the board off and look at the end. If the saw cut has removed the pencil line completely, the settings are correct.
- 5
  Cut the board all the way through, using a push stick at the end to keep your hand away from the blade. You now have two clapboards.

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