: Plus one on cutting slots for decoration strips or patterns. To fit
: a decorative strip against which others abut, I found that
: cutting one side of the needed slot (a Japanese pull saw works
: reasonably well), and then using that cut side as a guide to
: rout the slot to width works well too. In any case, cutting a
: slot is a lot less work than fitting all the strip ends to the
: decorative curve.

: Happy stripping,

: Allan Edie

Thanks, guys... I appreciate the good info and tips. I did cut the stripes into the already stripped deck. I started by first laying the decorative stripe and trying to fit each strip to it. I recognized quickly that this method was going to be more complicated than necessary and switched. Now I have two long openings cut into my deck. If the stripe wasnt more narrow at one end than the other, this would be considerably easier... Only one guy responsible for that move. Gonna need to make something work now! Your input will help.

For what it's worth, my 9 year old has grown a liking to the heat gun, so she routinely asks that we go to the shop so she can help. This keeps other members of my household a bit more acceptant of time spent in the shop. I'll let you know how we turn out by posting a finished picture which hopefully doesn't have fire and smoke in it!

Tyler