Cutting a Scarf into the middle of a timber, making both sides at once?

I have some timbers that are difficult to manage by myself. I've decided to consider just cutting them in half and re-joining them with a scarf joint so I can handle one half at a time.

since i would be joining a timber back to itself, I was thinking "I wonder if there is a way I can just cut the same simple scarf shape through the timber and get two joints at once"

to be clear, I'm not doing traditional timber frame scarf joint, but rather a simple square scarf that will be held together with bolts.

anyway, can you think of any kind of tool that I could cut a scarf through the middle of an 8x8 timber where I can cut the "zig zag" of a scarf into both at once?

not a huge deal, I can just cut it straight and then scarf each end and join, but it was an interesting thought.

could there be some kind of a wire saw? some kind of really long jig saw with short turning radius? maybe drill a hole at where each direction change would be?

Posted Aug 1, 2026, 3:41 AM UTC

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