advice on suitable power tools or alternative
Hi all,
I’m hoping I can get some advice on a project. I’m making bases with treated plywood to set tiles onto. I’m using thin slips of wood (4mm wide, 21mm high) as the surround. I’ll attach photos so this should be clear after viewing them. The angles are pretty sharp where they meet. So far I’ve been using a chop saw, and a little jig to get the correct angles. I find the saw I’m using is probably too big and powerful for my needs.
The wood in the photo for the surround is Irish oak. I’ve been using light oak wood filler to disguise any imperfections in the cut. I would prefer a better initial cut, since I plan to use danish oil to finish, and reckon the bad cuts will be glaring..!
I guess a smaller saw with good accuracy would do the trick, so any suggestions as to one suitable would be appreciated. (I have looked at the model making mitre saws but am not so sure…) Also I am planning to do quite a lot of these, so quick and repeatable is pretty important.
I would appreciate any advice or even suggestions for a better method to achieve the same result.
Thanks in advance.
Replies
You could make a saw hook with the specific angles you need kerfed into the stop.
Or if you don’t like hand sawing and have a table saw a good miter gauge should do it.
I don’t find any chop saw suitable for fine work.
You can always just get it close and burnish the outside of the joint.
Seconded. Also consider a shooting board with the correct angles.
If I were going to make lots of those, I'd research what the right Japanese saw would be to cut the small pieces using a bench hook like "chuckvandyke" said. The plywood would be tough to hand saw accurately. A table saw with appropriate gauges, fences, and stops or top ranked Fest Tool track saw with the right work table/bench would be something to handle the plywood.
If I were making a large number of anything like this I would make a dedicated sled (or sleds) for the tablesaw. To work it with hand tools check out any of Mike P's kumiko instruction articles or videos.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/project-guides/shop-projects/mike-pekovichs-go-work-holding-jigs
An alternative is a manual miter trimmer or shear
https://www.rockler.com/miter-trimmer?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpuak783T8QIVgbzICh1AxAqWEAAYASAAEgK5TPD_BwE
Many thanks for the replies. The issue is not with the plywood. I have limited access to a CNC but in say 4 hours or so I can get 70 or so bases cut accurately. My query relates to the borders. The cuts are 30 degree angles meeting at the tips of the triangle. The border is oak, but VERY thin.... 4mm, so pretty delicate....my chop saw is doing the job (with the jig to get the right angle) but is kinda clumsy and too rough for my needs. I thought maybe a smaller chop saw, although I'm getting the impression a pull/japanese saw is the recommended tool for this job....
The advice is much appreciated
If you have a table saw then a carefully made sled will do.
If you need absolute perfection then make a 30 degree shooting board to plane the ends. You can still use the drop saw to make rough cuts and finalise with the plane.
I would not buy a table saw just for this job.
The miter trimmer suggested by EdWeber would be a good option to get quick, accurate, and clean miters. You might also have a look around for a Morsø F or similar. You could probably pick up a used one for not much more than the one Rockler sells.
You could consider cutting to length and creating the miter on a disk sander with a good set-up.
I did not understand you question until I read your additional comment and other suggestions. This is what I would try.
You need multiple cuts at 30 and 60 (I think) degrees with different length boundary sections. I would use a 30 60 90 drafting triangle to set up a jig to cut one angle as they are very accurate. Gang a bunch together, say 10, to increase efficiency with scrap pieces on each end to eliminate tear out. Use the one jig to cut the first angle. Set up another jig to cut a specific length, using the cut end as a stop. Repeat this with the other boundary pieces. Depending on your resources you could do this with a sled and a table saw with a good blade or a Japanese pull saw. After spending time to set up things you should be able to turn out 60 sets in short order.
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