diff --git a/extras/do_copy_files b/extras/do_copy_files
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3cecf38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extras/do_copy_files
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# $Id$
+set -e
+
+: <<inline_doc
+    desc:       Copy files from one dir to another dir using tar
+    usage:      do_copy_files $PRUNEPATH $ROOT_DIR $DEST_DIR
+    input vars: $1 list of dirs that must be skipped by tar
+                $2 the root dir of the files that will be copied
+                $3 the dir where the copied files will be placed
+    externals:  --
+    modifies:   --
+    returns:    --
+    on error:
+    on success:
+inline_doc
+
+TMP_FILE=/tmp/prunelist
+
+# Create a file that we can pass to tar as an "exclude list".
+# There might be an easier way to achieve tar exclusions? Strip
+# the leading /.
+for F in $1 ; do
+  echo ${F#*/} >> $TMP_FILE
+done
+
+mkdir -p $3
+cd $2
+tar -X $TMP_FILE -cf - . | tar -C $3 -xf -
+
+# Clear out the temporary file
+rm -f ${TMP_FILE}