Replies

1. 
   UncleDunc | Nov 30, 2003 03:29am | #1

   >> I know I will not be able to make anything similar ...

   I don't see why not, I mean aside from the part about dying of boredom before you finish. :)

   With thin strips, you could make a lattice with half lap joints. Dado the backs of the vertical pieces, and the faces of the horizontal pieces and glue them together. A little less than half the thickness in the dados would set the faces of the horizontal pieces back a bit, giving you a little reveal on the sides of the vertical pieces.

   You'd definitely want to rig up some kind of at least semi-mechanized jig for cutting all the dados. Laying out and marking that many cuts would be a nightmare. Actually, it would probably be better to cut the dados before ripping the strips, in which case a manual layout would be somewhat less horrifying.

   I was imagining strips of something like 10 x 20 mm with the 20 mm face showing, but you could play with all kinds of different ratios. 6 x 25 mm with the narrow face showing would be an entirely different effect, kind of like miniature pigeonholes. Or you could use different sizes for the vertical and horizontal pieces. You could even use several different sizes of vertical pieces and/or several different sizes of horizontal pieces, although at that point you'd be back into horrifying layout territory.

   
   

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   Edited 11/29/2003 7:45:02 PM ET by Uncle Dunc

2. 
   Tzvi | Nov 30, 2003 05:10am | #2

   I have seen sheets of latticed tin or aluminum in brass, tan or black color used for radiator covers in Israel. 

   I know I've dealt with a place that sold the sheets but its been a few years and I seem to be having a senior moment and just can't place the store.

    I seem to think it was a place that sold profiles for making aluminum window frames. but this is the best I can remember. sorry

3. 
   AlanWS | Dec 03, 2003 02:09am | #3

   If you use a router to cut parallel grooves more than halfway through a board from one face, and then a perpendicular set of grooves from the other face, you will have a one piece lattice. You can vary lots of things: the router bit profile, the angles of the grooves, etc. To minimize your work, you would need a straightedge jig that fits into one groove and acts as a guide to cut the next.

   This may be more work than you want, and while I've not made one this way, I have seen them and they are very nice looking. A round nose bit, and a plunge roundover bit each provide a different interesting effect.

1. 
   AlanWS | Dec 03, 2003 02:29am | #4

   For a cheaper and perhaps easier approach, make a jig for assembly of strips of hardboard or whatever. Use two sheets of plywood with sets of strips glued to them, designed to align strips placed in between the glued ones. Distinguish the front from the back, and drive brads through the back side of the back set, so that hardboard strips can be held in place by pressing them onto the points of the brads. Attach the front to the back sheet of plywood with hinges, or index the two sheets in some other way. Draw lines across the front set, showing where the back ones will cross. Wax, varnish, or cover the jig with plastic so that glue won't stick to it. Use the jig by placing strips (which have been cut many at once from stacked hardboard) on both sides of the jig, aligned in the grooves. Apply glue to the exposed (back) of the front set of strips, guided by the lines you drew. Now close the hinge, and the brads will hold the back strips well enough that they don't fall out as they are placed across the front strips. Press the plywood together, and let the glue set. Open and remove the screen. Brad holes and excess glue will show only from the back.

4. 
   woodrae | Dec 03, 2003 03:25am | #5

   Phil—

   Why not weave strips of thin wood into a rectangular panel, and hold the panel in a grooved frame?

   I’ve always wanted to do this, but haven’t… yet. But I’ve seen quite a few made by fellow woodworkers, and the effect is stunning and very good looking. It can be a very quiet approach if you choose your wood carefully.

   The strips I’ve seen are generally 1 – 2 in. wide and about 1/8 in. thick, or thin enough to bend easily. Good bending woods are used, such as ash and hickory, but practically any wood will work. Straight-grained strips work best, and look best, too.

   You can rip the strips to width and thickness-plane ‘em. Then weave ‘em over and under, or any repeating pattern thereof, crosscut the edges straight and square to the desired panel size, and stick the ends into an oversized groove about 1/2 in. deep that you’ve cut in a mortise-and-tenoned, or biscuited, frame. The groove needs to be oversized in width to accommodate the combined thickness of the woven strips and any associated curvature due to the weaving. Experimenting with a scrap groove would tell you the exact size needed.

   —Andy

1. 
   philpolish | Dec 04, 2003 01:21am | #6

   Thanks all for all your ideas. I have tried a few ideas but none with good results.I have tried cutting thin strips with table saw and half lapping them. My fence kept moving so strips varied in size. I also tried weaving thin strips but couldnt get it to lay flat enough.

   I think I will just stick with the shop bought for now until i get some spare time to experiment. In a few of the replies you have mentioned that you have seen fellow woodworkers attempts to do this has anybody got any pics I could see.

   Thanks all for your time

   Phil.

1. 
   AlanWS | Dec 05, 2003 02:43am | #7

   I think I saw photos of routed screens in "The New Router Handbook" by Patrick Spielman.

   Cutting lots of thin strips of wood is the first step in making a wood/fiberglass canoe, so you can check out those sites for how to do it accurately with a tablesaw. I used a cheap circular saw and a jig to cut 90 strips, each 20 feet long, 3/4" wide, and 1/4" thick, in a couple of hours, as shown here:

   http://www.home.earthlink.net/~durgerian/id5.html