Woodworking: Amateurs, Craftsmen, & In-Between

[CharonY]

Noob question: What would you suggest to cut down a door to size. Table saw, circular saw or is there something better?

 

[iNow]

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Noob question: What would you suggest to cut down a door to size. Table saw, circular saw or is there something better?

 

My approach would be to use a circular saw against a straight edge, or (even better) a track saw if you have one. Trying to manage a piece that large on a table saw is doable, but more dangerous and more difficult to do well. 

As you may know, lots of doors these days are hollow core, so be thoughtful about what kind of edge you’ll be left with if removing too much material. On those, only the perimeter areas are solid wood. Not really an issue though if it’s solid wood throughout.  

[zapatos]

11 hours ago, CharonY said:

Noob question: What would you suggest to cut down a door to size. Table saw, circular saw or is there something better?

 

Also depends on what you mean by "down to size". If the door is already up and simply sticking or not quite fitting right, you can fix the problem with a plane.

 

If the door has a wood veneer on it you also run the risk of splintering the edges when you cut it. If that is the case there are some suggestion I can make on avoiding that issue.

[TheVat]

Masking tape on the cut line, and a finer toothed blade? Have had pretty good results with that.

[zapatos]

26 minutes ago, TheVat said:

Masking tape on the cut line, and a finer toothed blade? Have had pretty good results with that.

Yep. You can also pre-cut the line with a razor knife, or make two passes with the saw, first one at a depth of about 1/16".

Took me a while to figure this one out, but if you have a 'good' side to the wood you are cutting you should have 'good' side up on a table saw, and 'good' side down when using a circular saw. That way the teeth enter the good side on their way to the inside of the piece. Similar to the way a nail will punch a neat hole on its way in but may cause splintering as it exits.

[CharonY]

6 hours ago, zapatos said:

Also depends on what you mean by "down to size". If the door is already up and simply sticking or not quite fitting right, you can fix the problem with a plane.

 

If the door has a wood veneer on it you also run the risk of splintering the edges when you cut it. If that is the case there are some suggestion I can make on avoiding that issue.

Thanks, we had flooring installed and it is now a bit higher than used to be, so we need to cut down the bottom in order to make it fit. All good suggestions, thanks.

[iNow]

9 hours ago, TheVat said:

Masking tape on the cut line

8 hours ago, zapatos said:

You can also pre-cut the line with a razor knife, or make two passes with the saw, first one at a depth of about 1/16".

Adding to these excellent ideas, another path involves placing a sacrificial backer board tight against the workpiece being cut.

Could be plywood or any scrap piece of any species really. 

It serves to reinforce the fibers and wood grains such that when the saw blade (or drill bit or chisel or planet or whatever) pushes through and you get less (or nearly zero) tear-out. 

2 hours ago, CharonY said:

Thanks, we had flooring installed and it is now a bit higher than used to be, so we need to cut down the bottom in order to make it fit. All good suggestions, thanks.

Here especially a circular saw against a straight edge strikes me personally as being the easiest and cleanest. Hope it turned out well, and congrats on the new floor!

Edited August 1, 2022 by iNow

[zapatos]

7 minutes ago, iNow said:

Here especially a circular saw against a straight edge strikes me personally as being the easiest and cleanest. Hope it turned out well, and congrats on the new floor!

Agreed!

[iNow]

No stains, no dyes, no paints, nor metal fasteners. Just wood and finish. Cool flex, bro.  

 

[zapatos]

Nice work my friend! 😃

[Sensei]

..you can also use this method with wood..

 

[iNow]

33 minutes ago, Sensei said:

..you can also use this method with wood..

 

Well, except for those bits where they used a magnet, an angle grinder, and a welder. Lol  

I also don’t often work with large diameter dowel stock, though totally appreciate how cleanly constructed that corner joint was ✌🏼

[Sensei]

5 minutes ago, iNow said:

Well, except for those bits where they used a magnet, an angle grinder, and a welder. Lol  

I meant how they were prepared before welding. In the case of wood, you could use glue or sticks inside the dowel, or both.

You could cut holes in two dowels and leave "plugs" in the third one, to connect them together.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Sensei

[iNow]

1 minute ago, Sensei said:

I meant how they were prepared before welding. In the case of wood, you could use glue or sticks inside the dowel, or both.

Indeed, though simpler would be mortise and tenon connections with square/rectangular dimensioned stock, then round over the corners and edges with a router and some sandpaper. Could use dowels or biscuits instead if not comfortable cutting own mortise and tenons. Similar connection 

Edited March 6, 2023 by iNow

[Sensei]

17 minutes ago, iNow said:

Indeed, though simpler would be mortise and tenon connections with square/rectangular dimensioned stock, then round over the corners and edges with a router and some sandpaper. Could use dowels or biscuits instead if not comfortable cutting own mortise and tenons. Similar connection 

..or you could buy a 1m x 1m x 1m single piece of wood and then use a 3D printer with an engraving plug to "cut out all the unwanted stuff"

Jump to a new level of quality instead of hiding in a cave..

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cnc+woodworking+3d

 

20 minutes ago, iNow said:

though simpler would be mortise and tenon connections with square/rectangular dimensioned stock,

But the whole point of doing it with metal pipes this way is to have symmetry..

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Sensei

[Lorentz Jr]

51 minutes ago, Sensei said:

..or you could buy a 1m x 1m x 1m single piece of wood and then use a 3D printer with an engraving plug to "cut out all the unwanted stuff"

Except two axes would be across the grain.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Lorentz Jr

[Sensei]

4 minutes ago, Lorentz Jr said:

Except two axes would be across the grain.

..there are devices that allow you to choose the angle..

But yes, a cheap 3d printer converted to engraving/CNC would require operator assistance at this stage.

BTW, my new friend welcomes visitors in the hallway:

(over a week of printing.. scale 1:20)

 

[iNow]

40 minutes ago, Sensei said:

CNC would require operator assistance at this stage.

Maybe if I hit the lottery. 

https://lagunatools.com/cnc/fiber-lasers/

[Sensei]

33 minutes ago, iNow said:

Maybe if I hit the lottery. 

Build it. It can be done this week. Creality Ender 3 new one costs $220 on eBay.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Creality+Ender+3+ebay

How do you turn it into a laser engraving or wood engraving machine?

Design connector in 3D app or download ready project for free. Plug laser with enough power on the connector and have it controlled through hotend fan wire.. It will be on one of sides of existing hotend attached by screws.. You can use any laser this way with enough power.

..or buy ready extension for Creality Ender 3 S1 (but it is for S1, which is for $400)

https://www.google.com/search?q=CV-Laser+module+1600mW+for+Creality+Ender-3+S1

It is ~ $80/75 EUR here. You will spend $400 + $80 = $480. Does it require a lottery?

But it is a complete replacement of the hotend, so you will not have a 3D printer, unless you replace it back to the original hotend (~ 1 hour loss each time, so it is better to buy 2x Creality Ender 3 and 3 S1, less hassle).

Attachable connector is handy. Design one which will hold a mini-drill and you will have a wood engraver.

 

Installation of the said laser module:

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Sensei

[Moontanman]

I am thinking of building a cathedral bee hive from plans on the net. Has anyone looked into this? 

[iNow]

I have not, but it seems to be a hexagon cut in half. Bottom half used as a tray to receive a full hexagon slice inserted into it for the hive activity. 

[zapatos]

Because I cannot say 'no' to my grandchildren.

[iNow]

That’s awesome!

[zapatos]

Thanks! It was a lot of fun building. 😀

[Sensei]

1 hour ago, zapatos said:

Thanks! It was a lot of fun building. 😀

It would be funnier, and self-paying, if you set up a couple of cameras around you on tripods while you work, and create a "how I did it" timelapse and then upload it to YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, FB and IG..