Hi all,

Thanks for the responses. I ended up snapping two lines on every face that represented where the the distance from the edge that the joinery was spaced to (2") and then the housing (7"). Very easy to do, and very effective.

Now Im on to that curved piece I was telling you all about. Its a tie beam, that spans 14', with a thru tenon on either end that joins it into the posts, and with brace pockets spaced 3' from the shoulders. My plan in to snap lines representing the edge of the thru tenons from the outside face again (2"), and then snap lines defining the top and bottom of the thru tenon. These lines representing the top and bottom of the thru tenon will also show me where the top and bottom edges would be on my theoretical straight inner timber. Since the braces are already cut, and their pockets in the posts, my main concern is that 3' from either shoulder, I need my snapped line to still be on the timber (since the piece is curved, the timber will lose the line in places). If I lose the line at those brace locations, then the pocket I cut for them will be smaller (shallower) than what they need. I also need to make sure that this is true on both sides of the timber, even though the brace is hugged to the outside edge because if I lose more of the line on the inside edge at the brace pocket location, then there would be little meat for the brace peg to come out through. Hope that all makes since.

I write this all in case any of you out there can anticipate any mistakes before they happen in reality. Or in case any of you have any suggestions.

Now, what about snapping lines on curved edges, both convex and concave?

Dan