In article ,
Keith G wrote:
I don't trust the '90 degree' setting on the circular saw and the
'upward cut' is what causes the chipping

A jigsaw 'upward cuts' To minimise this you use the provided tool (with a
decent make) to help this. And the difference in accuracy between a good
and cheap jigsaw is vast.

A circular saw cuts downwards. And with all such tools you check the
accuracy of the angle first on scrap. But a decent one will be pretty
accurate on the indent. But most cheap power tools will be anything but
accurate. However, they can sometimes be calibrated to work quite well. As
will changing the blade for a decent one. Which might cost more than the
tool. You really don't get owt for nowt.

--
*A woman drove me to drink and I didn't have the decency to thank her

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Keith G wrote:
I don't trust the '90 degree' setting on the circular saw and the
'upward cut' is what causes the chipping

A jigsaw 'upward cuts'


Not always - blades which cut on the downstroke are available, I
*considered* a pack the other day in B&Q.



To minimise this you use the provided tool (with a
decent make) to help this. And the difference in accuracy between a good
and cheap jigsaw is vast.


As is the price. My new jigsaw (basic B&D) has already paid for itself
cutting out the holes for the sink and the hob - any 'speaker holes like
this:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/busc...uschhorn06.jpg

I get will be freebies... :-)

This is how it works: The target SAVING on the kitchen job is *upwards* of
£5K - the layout is already better than those suggested by people who
couldn't work in anything other than 'whole (kitchen) units'. Check out the
little slimline cupboard with only one leg left of the hob...

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/kitchen3.jpg

....I cut that down by 200mm to click the whole thing together - note the
'piston fit'... ;-)

One (5 figure) quote had a 100mm empty gap at the end of the cupboard run,
would you believe?? (I'm always up for a laff, but there comes a time when
the joke's over!! ;-)



A circular saw cuts downwards.


Mine doesn't. (Basic B&D again!)


And with all such tools you check the
accuracy of the angle first on scrap.


Sure.


But a decent one will be pretty
accurate on the indent. But most cheap power tools will be anything but
accurate. However, they can sometimes be calibrated to work quite well. As
will changing the blade for a decent one.


The problem is when they are 'hard up against the stop' and still don't give
a 'perfect 90 deg'.


Which might cost more than the
tool. You really don't get owt for nowt.


Absolutely agreed, but there's the Law of Diminishing Returns to consider -
I'm not a pro and don't do enough to merit paying for 'pro' or
'uberprecision' kit. (I need summat left for the drivers etc!! ;-)

(Clue: 2 no. 1220 x 2440 x 21mm plywood boards for the next project are
going to cost £115.29 inc VAT and delivery!!!)

Keith G wrote:


(Clue: 2 no. 1220 x 2440 x 21mm plywood boards for the next project are
going to cost £115.29 inc VAT and delivery!!!)



Those will be speakers to give any wife a heart attavk! Have you been
watching too much spinal tap?!

Keith G wrote:

A jigsaw 'upward cuts'

Not always - blades which cut on the downstroke are available, I
*considered* a pack the other day in B&Q.

Well worth a try.


A circular saw cuts downwards.

Mine doesn't. (Basic B&D again!)

Are you sure about that? Doesn't the leading edge cut down into the wood?


The problem is when they are 'hard up against the stop' and still
don't give a 'perfect 90 deg'.

Take a file to the stop. Never be afraid to pull a piece of crap apart to
see if it can be decrapped! :-)


(Clue: 2 no. 1220 x 2440 x 21mm plywood boards for the next project
are going to cost £115.29 inc VAT and delivery!!!)

What sort of ply? I got two 18mm birch ply sheets from B&Q for 33 quid each.
Included VAT, but they chopped them up so's I could deliver them myself.


--
Wally
www.artbywally.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:31:01 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Keith G wrote:
What was the first cut done with causing those chips in the laminate?

Handheld circular saw - just to take the (not inconsiderable) weight of
the offcut out of the equation.

That's my tool of choice for cutting laminate faced board. With a decent
and sharp tipped blade and using a straight batten as a guide you'll not
get any chipping. Sawing something like this by hand is too much like hard
work for my liking - I'd rather spend the time listening to my music. ;-)

Not forgetting the obvious point that the saw goes on the *underside*
of the worktop. That way, the blade is cutting down, pressing the
laminate against the worktop, and is much less likely to cause
chipping.

--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 22:52:20 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Keith G wrote:
I don't trust the '90 degree' setting on the circular saw and the
'upward cut' is what causes the chipping

A jigsaw 'upward cuts' To minimise this you use the provided tool (with a
decent make) to help this. And the difference in accuracy between a good
and cheap jigsaw is vast.

As noted for the circular saw, you cut from the underside of the
worktop.

A circular saw cuts downwards.

Mine doesn't! In fact, I don't think I've ever seen one that does. If
it did, it would tend to force itself away from the work. Basically,
that's why a table saw is best for this kind of thing - you have the
workpiece the right way up, and the saw *does* cut down into the
surface you can see.

And with all such tools you check the
accuracy of the angle first on scrap. But a decent one will be pretty
accurate on the indent. But most cheap power tools will be anything but
accurate. However, they can sometimes be calibrated to work quite well. As
will changing the blade for a decent one. Which might cost more than the
tool. You really don't get owt for nowt.

Yup, always use a top-quality TCT blade, *never* a plain steel one.

--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Sun, 18 Sep 2005 00:13:17 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:

This is how it works: The target SAVING on the kitchen job is *upwards* of
£5K - the layout is already better than those suggested by people who
couldn't work in anything other than 'whole (kitchen) units'. Check out the
little slimline cupboard with only one leg left of the hob...

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/kitchen3.jpg

...I cut that down by 200mm to click the whole thing together - note the
'piston fit'... ;-)

One (5 figure) quote had a 100mm empty gap at the end of the cupboard run,
would you believe?? (I'm always up for a laff, but there comes a time when
the joke's over!! ;-)

Agreed - it may take longer (nine months in my case!), but you'll
generally get a better finish *and* save absolute shedloads of cash.
Our kitchen is a fairly substantial 24x15 feet 'farmhouse' style
place, and I spent just shy of 10 grand on the materials. The
*cheapest* quote I got from kitchen specialists was 24 grand, and as
Keith says, they don't custom-build to fit the space unless you're
into six figures from Smallbone and the like!

That kind of saving buys a *lot* of very good power tools! :-)

Girls and shoes, guys and power tools.........

A circular saw cuts downwards.

Mine doesn't. (Basic B&D again!)

And with all such tools you check the
accuracy of the angle first on scrap.

Sure.

But a decent one will be pretty
accurate on the indent. But most cheap power tools will be anything but
accurate. However, they can sometimes be calibrated to work quite well. As
will changing the blade for a decent one.

The problem is when they are 'hard up against the stop' and still don't give
a 'perfect 90 deg'.

That's why God invented files......... :-)

--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

10/10 for effort. If only more people were to develop some basic skills
instead of sitting on there arse.

The best way to joint a chipboard laminate worktop is to use a router and a
worktop jig, then clamp the joint together using cheap worktop clamps,
biscuits and glue, You can hire a complete worktop jointing kit from a hire
shop for around £20. Perfect job with a joint you can hardly see, but.... if
you have a the patience and take your time, you can do it as good with a
hand saw, block plane, chisel and a couple of the same worktop clamps.

Agreed - it may take longer (nine months in my case!), but you'll
generally get a better finish *and* save absolute shedloads of cash.
Our kitchen is a fairly substantial 24x15 feet 'farmhouse' style
place, and I spent just shy of 10 grand on the materials. The
*cheapest* quote I got from kitchen specialists was 24 grand, and as
Keith says, they don't custom-build to fit the space unless you're
into six figures from Smallbone and the like!

Agree, The last kitchen I fitted I charged around £5000 just for the labour
8o)

Those, chipboard carcasses that nearly every kitchen uses cant cost more
than £15 for a 600 wide carcass to make, yet the cost from a supplier to you
is daylight robbery. Now, you can buy a sheet of veneered MDF for around
£40, enough to make two carcasses and it's vastly higher quality than
brittle crappy chipboard, and you can make your carcasses to any size you
want. You can go to a timber yard and ask for 35x35 seasoned dressed beech
strips and glue up your own worktop for not much more than the cost of a
chipboard one. You can buy the doors and cornice from a kitchen shop or more
of a challange, make them from hardwood/mdf/veneer using a router, a
bagpress www.bagpress.com and some nice veneers from
http://www.mundyveneer.com/ and get fittings from places like
www.screwfix.com http://www.toolstation.com high end kitchen can really
cost peanuts if you DIY and use a little creativity.

"Stewart Pinkerton" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Sep 2005 00:13:17 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


One (5 figure) quote had a 100mm empty gap at the end of the cupboard run,
would you believe?? (I'm always up for a laff, but there comes a time when
the joke's over!! ;-)

Agreed - it may take longer (nine months in my case!), but you'll
generally get a better finish *and* save absolute shedloads of cash.
Our kitchen is a fairly substantial 24x15 feet 'farmhouse' style
place, and I spent just shy of 10 grand on the materials. The
*cheapest* quote I got from kitchen specialists was 24 grand, and as
Keith says, they don't custom-build to fit the space unless you're
into six figures from Smallbone and the like!


We're much less grand here - about half of all that.

We had quotes from 11.5 - 8.5 grand and the compromises just kept growing
'til I put a stop to it. Now, the target is a truly 'custom' job in our
*own* style (check my speaker pictures for a clue re. 'Miami Hotel' colours)
for just under £3k all in! (Carcases and worktops from B&Q, appliances from
Sainsbury's, doors to be custom made by me!)


The problem is when they are 'hard up against the stop' and still don't
give
a 'perfect 90 deg'.

That's why God invented files......... :-)


No need/point with the handheld circ. saw, but the table saw will get a bit
of attention - it's not bad, but there's half a gnat's cock of 'less than
perfect' needs sorting!

"Wally" wrote in message
. ..
Keith G wrote:

A jigsaw 'upward cuts'

Not always - blades which cut on the downstroke are available, I
*considered* a pack the other day in B&Q.

Well worth a try.


A circular saw cuts downwards.

Mine doesn't. (Basic B&D again!)

Are you sure about that? Doesn't the leading edge cut down into the wood?


The problem is when they are 'hard up against the stop' and still
don't give a 'perfect 90 deg'.

Take a file to the stop. Never be afraid to pull a piece of crap apart to
see if it can be decrapped! :-)


Never fear - I've 'decrapped' more kit than most. No point in this
instance - quicker to make the cuts by hand. (I've not had occasion to use
the circular saw for any form of accurate work to date, so it's never been a
problem.)


(Clue: 2 no. 1220 x 2440 x 21mm plywood boards for the next project
are going to cost £115.29 inc VAT and delivery!!!)

What sort of ply? I got two 18mm birch ply sheets from B&Q for 33 quid
each.
Included VAT, but they chopped them up so's I could deliver them myself.


Nothing fancy - birch-faced @ £44 quid a sheet. (Actually, the price I
mentioned including cutting up, which I will not need now.)