I have a piece of oak plywood 3/4" thick 36"x60". I would like to round the corners into something like a 6" radius. What is the best way to do this to make it as smooth as possible? I have only a compound miter saw and a handsaw.
Thanks in advance,
MC
Neither of those will work well for making a round cut easily. You need something with a very narrow blade. Spend the $6.00 for a coping saw to cut out the outline you trace with something you have that has a
6" radius or use a (very big) compass. (12" diameter).
Go out and buy yourself a $5 Coping Saw.
Perfect. You now have an excuse to buy a few new tools. You need an 18" bandsaw to make the first cut after marking it. Then you need a disk or belt sander to smooth it out. A router with round over bit to put a professional edge on it.
If you are careful in your selection of tools, it can be done under $2000. Don't listen to those cheap bastards that expect you to use the $5 coping saw. Look at the possibilities of getting muscular injuries from all that manual sawing. It can wreck your joints, flare up arthritis, cause back pain, etc. .
Oh, one more thing. I've seen guys using coffee cans, jars, soup can, etc to use as a guide for making a corner radius. For consistent accuracy of all the corners, it is imperative you print out a template using Auto Cad.
and don't forget to wrap your sandpaper around a wooden sanding block. I went without and did jobs like that for too long. What a waste. The best thing to do is cut (rip) your sandpaper into 1/3 sheets (the random orbit machine size anyway) then rip the thirds in half again for hand use. Then make a wooden sanding block out of 1/2 plywood. or any other and cut it so that the 1/6 sheet wraps around it and just a little more. Enough to grip around the 1/2" edge, but also enough to peel back. Mine overlaps about
1/16". When it gets warn it is a finger sheet you can fold again if necc.This is really a job for a jig saw. Then sander. In Canada Canadian Tire makes ther own line of tools that you can always get for like $25 +/- $5, jigsaw, vsr keyless drill, sander. You can get drill presses for $50 and thickness planers for $150. Table saws for $80.
"A.M. Wood" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
*snip**snip*
You can easily make one with a ruler, nail/screw, string, and pencil. Determine where to put the nail, and put it in. (Measure the radius in from both sides and put the nail where they intersect. A quick square is perfect for this.) Next, tie the string to the pencil and attach the string to the nail, making sure the marking edge of the pencil is the proper distance from the nail with the string taught.
Puckdropper
This wasn't clear before (to me). The sandpaper wraps around one of the
1/2" edges twice (once from each end). The 1/16" was my cutting mistake. That was when tight. It doesn't matter, but be sure to get a flat back when you sand.I saw a jig saw at House of Tools for $16
The ONLY tool that will round the corner properly is a CNC machine.
Dave
| I have a piece of oak plywood 3/4" thick 36"x60". I would like to | round the corners into something like a 6" radius. What is the | best way to do this to make it as smooth as possible? I have only | a compound miter saw and a handsaw.
Use your CMS and handsaw to make a trammel or compass and a bowsaw from scrap, use the compass to mark the 6" corner curves, cut the marked arcs, and sand smooth.
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
I mean this with only the greatest of respect... but that's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.
Aw, have a heart Ed! :)
Vic
Oh Lord. The shit is pretty deep around here. I wonder what the craftsmen of yesteryear would think about needing all these power tools and AutoCad to perform quality woodworking.
It's true about the injuries though... EVERY time I use a coping saw I blow out my back. Damn.
I mean THIS with the UTMOST of respect: Have you ever encountered a joke before??
Dave
You know, it crossed my mind that it might have been a joke. But sometimes I forge ahead anyway and... well... you see the results. It's a cross I must bear.
I see you've gotten suggestions and sarcasm from both ends of the spectrum, so I'm taking the middle road. Go down to your local Home Depot or Lowes or whatever they have in your town and buy an ORBITAL jigsaw made by Milwaukee, Dewalt, Porter Cable, Bosch or maybe Makita or Hitachi. Don't get Sears, Black & Decker or Ryobi. It's not just that they have a short life, they don't cut good even when brand new. But a good jigsaw is a pleasure to use. Expect to spend about $170 or so. It's more than absolutely necessary for this one project, but I see you post on alt.HomeRepair a lot, so you'll find lots of other uses for it once you have it. A year from now, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.
DonkeyHody "Don't ever wrestle with a pig. You both get muddy, but the pig likes it."
:) Can you post pictures of that cross, Joe?
Dave
Do you have plans for one??
OK, I will try my best to make this an on topic post.
In my youth, many years ago, there was a story in the paper about a guy coming through town with a cross over his shoulder. He was on some kind of religious quest and sepended on the kindness of strangers and donationa for his extended hikes with this cross. It turn out that the cross was causing him some real physical discomfort. Even though it had wheels on the cross, it caused much swelling over his shoulder and back area.
So a kind hearted WOODWORKER designed a new lightweight cross with some nicer wheels on it. It was constructed of plywood with reinforced corners. The new wheels had ball bearings and a simple spring suspension system on it to absorb shocks. The cross was curves slightly where it went over the shoulder. And some padding was constructed that he could wear where the cross went over the shoulder.
The guy maintained that since the cross looked authentic, that god would understand. (even if humans couldn't) He also pointed out that Jesus only had to haul his cross a short distance, while he had to haul it around everyday for long distances. So he could be allowed to make some modifications on the "original design" of the traditional cross.
My thoughts;
1) This would be an interesting project to do. Some guy who was creative and used his woodworking/creative skill to create a solution for an unusual situation. I always like to hear about things like that. Although, I am reasonably certain, that this project will never find its way into Nahm's (or my) shop.2) Now I know that I may be a little disrespectful of religion here, but I couldn't help but wonder. If Jesus had been given a couple of hours, would he have "customized" his cross to make it more comfortable to haul around. Since he was a woodworker and all.
3) In today's world of knock offs and outsourced products to china, will somebody go into biz making such religious objects for sale?? Will we see plastic crosses with skateboard wheels? Maybe even a motorized one like the little scooters?
I think that the devil made the woodworker do this.
--=20 Will R. Jewel Boxes and Wood Art
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