Building furniture

[pinnerite]

About 35 years ago I constructed quite a lot of storage units, bookcases etc using Contiboard. (Remember Contiboard).

Doors were made of three layers. A front of sand-blasted Canadian pine, a centre of 3/8" chipboard and the back of Formica. They were fine during all the years since.

I have since moved and want to build again. I can still buy a variety of boards. When I prepared the Contiboard I used a jack plane, with a frequently sharpened blade.

My existing power tools do not have sufficient precision to make a reliable cut without leaving damage. What is the best modern solution for the domestic DIYer?

Instead of hinged doors, I fancied smoked glass sliding doors. My late father-in-law built a unit for my wife with clear glass with ground hollows for finger grips.

I could not find anything on the Internet that could meet that requirement.

Apologies for my verbosity, it's a talent.

Alan

[newshound]

So did I. These days I build almost everything out of plywood, 18mm for the main structures but possibly thinner for the backs. All joined with biscuits, and cut to shape using a sawboard.

[John Rumm]

Have you still got the jack plane? :-) More to the point, what tools do you have handy?

(not sure I would fancy planing chipboard by hand anyway)

There are loads of ways of building doors - a little will depend on the style of door you are after and the tools you have.

The simplest would be a slab of MDF. Slightly better a slab of MDF with a wood banding or lipping round the edge. After than you get fake panel door (slab of MDF with a frame stuck to the faces of it (that can be real wood or more MDF)).

I quite often build various types of panel door. Typically with a frame made from pine, then a panel of some description. Easy would be shaker style:

Those were done using just the table saw to cut a channel into the sides of the timber, and the frame is then glued up round the thin MDF infill.

A slightly posher version made with a router with "cope and stick" cutters for the joinery:

Peter Millard's youtube channel is worth a look - he does demos of many quick and easy door build techniques:

You would need to go to a glass shop with a cut list. They can cut to shape, polish the edges, and have it toughened for you. All you then need is some U channel to run them in - that is easy to make with a circular saw or a router.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have generally found that a rough cut using a power saw a few mm oversize followed by a light cut by a router with a straight tool, will cut laminated composite board very cleanly - especially if care is taken by using e.g. masking tape.

Or very careful sanding with a belt sander or similar.

You need to talk to local glass suppliers - they can kit you out with toughened glass that has been machined. expect it to not be cheap

[williamwright]

I always say, why use one short word when two long ones will do?

Bill

[Tricky Dicky]

A tracksaw would be my first choice now particularly if you plan to cut contiboard or other melamine boards. One of the biggest problems with cutting melamine faced boards is the chip out that occurs. I recently watched a YouTuber who tested a number of methods of circular sawing boards to minimise chipping such as taping etc. The method that gave the best result was to do a scoring cut with the blade set at just a few millimetres followed by a full depth cut.

My Makita tracksaw has a scoring setting before plunging to the full depth and having tested it on some melamine faced boards it really works. Where I worked before retiring we had a sliding table saw and it had a small scoring blade blade set just before the main blade and produced really crisp cuts.

I have to admire your perseverance with hand tools particularly planing contiboard, I think I would have resorted to those planes with disposable blades as you must have been constantly sharpening. Frankly all sheet timbers are really designed to be machined to size and shape.

Richard

[newshound]

Agreed. I don't have a tracksaw because I don't do much carpentry these days, but if I did it is certainly one tool that I would get.

[Brian]

You can cut melamine faced board - which is what Contiboard is- with a decent TCT circular saw provided you use either a guide or saw table.

I clamp a guide the right distance from the required cut line which the ?foot plate? of the saw runs against.

Sometimes, I rig up a crude table saw with a fence.

I?ve tried tape, scoring, etc but the above works best. Plus, of course, provided you take care measuring and getting the guide square etc, things fit together without gaps etc.

I build a set of kitchen cabinets from contiboard the first house we bought and fitted out several sets of fitted wardrobes I?ve build using that method. I tend not to use Contiboard for furniture etc.

[John Rumm]

Yup that works with any circular saw if you can cut the same line twice:

+1

[wasbit]

Or, as we were taught at school, 'Call a spade a spade not a garden implement'.

- Regards wasbit

[Jeff Gaines]

I think that might get you into trouble nowadays :-)

[alan_m]

Put two spades against a wall and ask the Irishman to take his pick.

[Animal]

I'd use a sliding compound mitre saw. I found that a triple chip blade could cut melamine cleanly in one go. And if possible I'd stay away from junk like chipboard & melamine.