So today, I’m going to show you how I made the brackets for the pergola. I had originally planned to build the brackets to match those on the side door of the studio, but I changed my mind. I think those brackets are too big and bulky for the workshop. Plus, the two doors can’t be seen at the same time. If you’re standing where you can see the workshop front door, there’s no way to see the studio side door, and vice versa. So after deciding that wasn’t important, I just went with a different design that I really liked.
I wanted my brackets to be 31″ x 31″. So I started with a 2″x4″, and I cut one piece to 29.5″ and the other piece to 31″. I sanded those really well with 80-grit sandpaper with my orbital sander, and then sanded the corners by hand.
You can see above that the two pieces have a black mark on one end. That’s where I marked where I cut the 2″x4″ to cut the two pieces. I marked those so that I could put the bracket together with those ends together. Sometimes putting wood pieces back together where you cut them creates a better fit. It’s just a good practice to get into.
