10-05-2012, 06:17 PM
Hi,
Thanks Joe; yes it is uncommonly hot here too today. I've just come out of the garage after a nice session; I had the doors wide open and when I looked out it was brilliant sunshine but a couple of minutes later it was pouring with rain; I managed to put the car away before it got soaked but now it's like a black hole and the rain is coming down. I love our bungalow and gardens but I wish I had a teleport to teleport the lot to somewhere my cloud couldn't find. I too am looking forward to seeing the completed desk Joe but I think this is some time away yet although I hope to add a lot of detail as work progresses.
Yesterday I was in real trouble; I carried the rolled Formica into the garage and carefully unrolled it on the floor; it looks beautiful; the problem now was how the heck do I cut it to size as it is a huge sheet; 3050mm x 1300mm. Formica is very easily damaged as it is brittle. Absolutely no way could I put this through one of my stationary machines on my own. This ruled out the saw bench and big band-saw. I wondered if I could run my tenon saw down by hand so pulled out two long wooden beams plus a long wooden straight edge. Nothing wanted to sit level on the floor but I tried anyway to fail miserably; the Formica was grabbing the saw blade and flexing badly causing it to splinter so now I know not to cut Formica with a tenon saw.
Huge sheet of Formica.
I have a jigsaw and a very large circular saw but thought both these would cause considerable damage so these were rejected. This left the router to consider. I installed a 1/8” straight cutter into the router and juggled with adjustment as this cutter was rather short taking into account the thickness of the wooden straight-edge; I wanted the plain shank of the cutter to act as a guide along the straight-edge and the first sample cut the cutter just skimmed the surface of the Formica but it looked promising. The router was set on maximum plunge so I could only drop the cutter a bit from the collet to gain extra cutter length. What a terrible job this proved to be; walking the plank on my hands and knees whilst pushing the router ahead of me; push the router a couple of feet then crawl up to it then push it again; not my idea of fun and I made certain I was pushing the router the correct way in order for the cutter to remain in contact with the straight-edge; get this wrong and the cutter has a mind of its own. If the health and safety lot saw me wobbling around on the straight-edge whilst using a machine they would have a fit.
The picture shows cutting under way with a cut length neatly coiled and secured with string in the distance. I managed to keep my balance and eventually the long cuts were successfully made; the router actually did a very good job with no damage at all to the Formica. To align the cut two long wood screws were used to secure the straight-edge to the wooden beam below nipping the Formica. This job wasn't good on the nerves because to damage the Formica could have proved rather expensive so I took my time because had I failed with this sheet there wouldn't be guaranteed success should I have to attempt the job a second time.
Cutting Formica under way.
As I was making the final cut I heard a wagon coming along the street and knew this would be the materials arriving. Sure enough as promised and on time the oak and MDF was delivered; we carried the oak into the garage stacking it neatly on the bench then we carried in the full sheet of 18mm MDF; this is very heavy stuff indeed so we propped it against the bench where I could get at easy.
Cutting the Formica took all morning. After dinner I set to and roughed out the MDF but this time using the big circular saw again working on the garage floor against a straight-edge. I'm a sucker for punishment. I bought moisture resistant MDF and noticed this sheet is made up like a sandwich having thick outer layers which are a different colour. The saw made light work of cutting but setting up for each cut took a lot of time as I double checked everything and ensured the clamps were tight; I didn't want the saw to suffer kick back whilst I was on my hands and knees. I took advantage of the perfectly square end of the sheet and designed the new desk so that it would have a four foot long Formica panel so I only needed to make a single cut to give the desk top panel. Two more cuts were made giving the correct width for the base panels but these were not cut to length as I still need to work out the measurements.
Full sheet of MDF.
I was amazed at the oak; it was dimensioned perfectly to size and planed all round; not only this but it was actually made full size; 3” wide was 3” wide and not the usual 2.75”. I'm not only delighted with the oak and MDF but I'm delighted with the service afforded me by “Boards Huddersfield” The price of the Oak was average but the machining really was the icing on the cake; well done “Boards” I'm a happy customer and will be back.
Some of the oak.
Time flies by when I'm enjoying myself and after tidying up I had the pleasure of drying the car as it was soaked again.
I've not worked on the desk today but instead decided to set up my Evolution Mitre saw. This saw is a beast cutting material 3” x 12” and not only timber; it cuts steel!! A while ago I sold the big Wadkin chop saw releasing some rare space in the garage so today I fitted what is a shelf between two benches coupling the benches; this will be the new saw station once I work out how to swivel the saw out of the way of the car. The saw is too long to have fixed as the car would hit it so a bit more work is called for. Once the desk is completed I'll make a proper job of this saw station perhaps using welded angle iron for safety.
Rare garage space and now new saw station.
The project is now moving along nicely.
Kind regards, Col.
Thanks Joe; yes it is uncommonly hot here too today. I've just come out of the garage after a nice session; I had the doors wide open and when I looked out it was brilliant sunshine but a couple of minutes later it was pouring with rain; I managed to put the car away before it got soaked but now it's like a black hole and the rain is coming down. I love our bungalow and gardens but I wish I had a teleport to teleport the lot to somewhere my cloud couldn't find. I too am looking forward to seeing the completed desk Joe but I think this is some time away yet although I hope to add a lot of detail as work progresses.
Yesterday I was in real trouble; I carried the rolled Formica into the garage and carefully unrolled it on the floor; it looks beautiful; the problem now was how the heck do I cut it to size as it is a huge sheet; 3050mm x 1300mm. Formica is very easily damaged as it is brittle. Absolutely no way could I put this through one of my stationary machines on my own. This ruled out the saw bench and big band-saw. I wondered if I could run my tenon saw down by hand so pulled out two long wooden beams plus a long wooden straight edge. Nothing wanted to sit level on the floor but I tried anyway to fail miserably; the Formica was grabbing the saw blade and flexing badly causing it to splinter so now I know not to cut Formica with a tenon saw.
Huge sheet of Formica.
I have a jigsaw and a very large circular saw but thought both these would cause considerable damage so these were rejected. This left the router to consider. I installed a 1/8” straight cutter into the router and juggled with adjustment as this cutter was rather short taking into account the thickness of the wooden straight-edge; I wanted the plain shank of the cutter to act as a guide along the straight-edge and the first sample cut the cutter just skimmed the surface of the Formica but it looked promising. The router was set on maximum plunge so I could only drop the cutter a bit from the collet to gain extra cutter length. What a terrible job this proved to be; walking the plank on my hands and knees whilst pushing the router ahead of me; push the router a couple of feet then crawl up to it then push it again; not my idea of fun and I made certain I was pushing the router the correct way in order for the cutter to remain in contact with the straight-edge; get this wrong and the cutter has a mind of its own. If the health and safety lot saw me wobbling around on the straight-edge whilst using a machine they would have a fit.
The picture shows cutting under way with a cut length neatly coiled and secured with string in the distance. I managed to keep my balance and eventually the long cuts were successfully made; the router actually did a very good job with no damage at all to the Formica. To align the cut two long wood screws were used to secure the straight-edge to the wooden beam below nipping the Formica. This job wasn't good on the nerves because to damage the Formica could have proved rather expensive so I took my time because had I failed with this sheet there wouldn't be guaranteed success should I have to attempt the job a second time.
Cutting Formica under way.
As I was making the final cut I heard a wagon coming along the street and knew this would be the materials arriving. Sure enough as promised and on time the oak and MDF was delivered; we carried the oak into the garage stacking it neatly on the bench then we carried in the full sheet of 18mm MDF; this is very heavy stuff indeed so we propped it against the bench where I could get at easy.
Cutting the Formica took all morning. After dinner I set to and roughed out the MDF but this time using the big circular saw again working on the garage floor against a straight-edge. I'm a sucker for punishment. I bought moisture resistant MDF and noticed this sheet is made up like a sandwich having thick outer layers which are a different colour. The saw made light work of cutting but setting up for each cut took a lot of time as I double checked everything and ensured the clamps were tight; I didn't want the saw to suffer kick back whilst I was on my hands and knees. I took advantage of the perfectly square end of the sheet and designed the new desk so that it would have a four foot long Formica panel so I only needed to make a single cut to give the desk top panel. Two more cuts were made giving the correct width for the base panels but these were not cut to length as I still need to work out the measurements.
Full sheet of MDF.
I was amazed at the oak; it was dimensioned perfectly to size and planed all round; not only this but it was actually made full size; 3” wide was 3” wide and not the usual 2.75”. I'm not only delighted with the oak and MDF but I'm delighted with the service afforded me by “Boards Huddersfield” The price of the Oak was average but the machining really was the icing on the cake; well done “Boards” I'm a happy customer and will be back.
Some of the oak.
Time flies by when I'm enjoying myself and after tidying up I had the pleasure of drying the car as it was soaked again.
I've not worked on the desk today but instead decided to set up my Evolution Mitre saw. This saw is a beast cutting material 3” x 12” and not only timber; it cuts steel!! A while ago I sold the big Wadkin chop saw releasing some rare space in the garage so today I fitted what is a shelf between two benches coupling the benches; this will be the new saw station once I work out how to swivel the saw out of the way of the car. The saw is too long to have fixed as the car would hit it so a bit more work is called for. Once the desk is completed I'll make a proper job of this saw station perhaps using welded angle iron for safety.
Rare garage space and now new saw station.
The project is now moving along nicely.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
