Any tips on cutting 6mm ply?

ghostlymoron said:
Cut slightly oversize then block plane to required. Tip for block plane is to use well sharpened blade and plane slightly at an angle so its slicing rather than chopping.
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Thanks for that, I have ordered the router now though, so will have a go with that first. There's one part of the panel that has a small tab, I wouldn't get the plane near that although it would probably cope with the rest of it and I could do that with the Dremmel if the router doesn't work.

xeitosaphil said:
As others have said - cut from the back but you need to be able to use a jig saw upside down? or marked from the back, but then you can't see where your cutting! or if you have a bosch jig saw these may be useful as they limit the splintering when cutting from the face - or downward cutting blades.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/3103...f11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=101&ff19=0
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I wouldn't actually need to cut upside down, I can just flip the panel over and cut it in negative, that's the cunning plan anyway if I end up using the jigsaw!
It's sadly not a Bosch though, I'm hoping the router will do all of it and make it considerably easier to cut out all the holes in the other panels for switches etc
 
If you have one of those 450mm long saws made by Sandvik like a small panel saw or like a tenon saw with no back you will find that if you support the work well & bend the off cut side down as you cut you can angle the saw away from you & cut quite a good curve. I really depend s how tight you want the curve to be. It just takes practice - But having had a joinery business for 25 years i suppose that is easy for me to say !!!
 
Murv said:
I have absolutely no experience with a router whatsoever!

Is that the simple answer then, just buy something like this? http://www.screwfix.com/p/energer-e...racking url&gclid=CMCT1N2HvrsCFTDMtAodTyEAxQ#
Can I run it along a straight edge as a guide when cutting the straight sections on the profiling?
Could it be used to cut out a square, for electrical outlets for example?
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That's a good machine for the job, and it's quite easy to use - given the usual and quite reasonable warnings about 'care and attention'. The manual that comes with such tools will indicate most of the safety stuff, and a good read/watch of relevant YouTube videos will cover all of them. What is VIP is the wearing of polycarbonate eye protection, for if a router bit running at up to 30,000RPM connects with a piece of embedded metal - or even sometimes a hard knot - then bits of metal will be flung far and wide. Also, keeping fingers well clear of a spinning bit is also of some significance, and there are both tools/jigs to help and also operating practices to learn, to keep your violin-playing as good as it always was....

*** It's a pity you've ordered one already, for what seems to be exactly the same unit is available via ALDI, at £10 less ( mine was 'on offer' at £19.99 just last week - https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/sunday-8th-september/product-detail/ps/p/1200w-router/) and with a couple of router bits that would certainly do the first job or two. More to the point, that comes with a 3-year warranty!! There are regular offers of boxed sets of router bits for just a few pounds - certainly good enough for boat-fettery - and certainly much cheaper than the 'first division' router bits from Trend - who also do some very helpful How To Do It videos on their website.***
 
You will be able to cut the straight edges by running the base plate of the router along a straight edge. You will not be able to cut the curves freehand. The router will want to take off in all directions. You need a bearing guided template profiling bit for this. You then bodge together a template in the shape of the part you are trying to cut (It can splinter and be manky). You clamp it to the ply and a bearing on the end of the cutter rolls along it as you cut.

This is the one I'd use, but it costs as much as your router!
http://www.trend-uk.com/en/AU/productlist/4/1562/90_degree_triple_flute_trimmers.html

Do be aware that the cheapest router bits you can buy are really ****. They will be blunt before you finish even this job. I'm not saying that you have to go for the best TCT ones, HSS are OK for light use. I am saying this from experience. I bought a small Makita router which came with a set of bits. They were pretty hopeless to start with, and I blunted one beyond usefulness in half an hour on softwood. It causes me pain to say it, but probably if you are getting a bit for under about 12 to 15 quid it's going to be pretty suspect. I do not think I'm being unnecessarily elitist here - I reached this conclusion through frustration. Luckily, by the time I'd finished with the cheap bits there was enough money in the swear box to buy good ones.

By the way - the right direction to cut is to push the router forward on the right hand side of the material you are trying to cut, so that it is going in the opposite direction to that in which it wants to roll around the workpiece with its own rotation. That will give you best control and the cleanest cut.
 
Thank you all, it's all greatly appreciated :)
Slightly frustrating that the Aldi one is so cheap, but I've bought this one now so I know to check Aldi next time first!

So, progress report...
The panel is approx 1m square, two straight sides and two that need cutting to shape.
Having read up as much as I could find, and after watching some Youtube videos, I felt confident enough to have a go after some practise on a piece of scrap.
It took me about an Hour, using a straight piece of wood as a guide for the straight cuts and freehanding the curvy bits.
I was quite pleased with the results, some minor splintering on one straight edge where I probably went a little too quickly but on the whole, not a bad job at all.
The last thing to do was to cut a very crude small square in the middle of it to pass the cables through for the immersion heater switch. It only needed to be a crude hole as the switch box would cover it up, it only had to be large enough to pass the cables through.
So, with a pencil drawn box as a guide, I drilled a hole in the middle and set about to quickly freehand the rough hole.
Sadly, the whole I drilled wasn't quite large enough for the bit to sink properly in to, as I lowered it, it grabbed the ply and skated across the surface leaving a nice deep gouge right through the middle of my lovingly constructed panel...

Take two will be later on this evening, and with the addition of safety glasses as it gets increasingly difficult to see the cut as my eyes rapidly filled with sawdust...

My first impressions of using a router are generally favorable, the risk of decapitation looks to be small which is always a plus for somebody more than capable of harming themselves with a roll of electrical tape, but they're not as easy to use as the Youtube demo vids make out!
But, by taking it very slowly I very nearly got a serviceable panel out of it :)

Is 10mm ply a lot less prone to splintering? I have some large off cuts of 10mm in the shed and although it will obviously carry a weight penalty, I'm wondering if it's worth it for a better finish and a sturdier panel as a result.
 
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Amulet said:
I stand corrected..
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To be fair the curvy bits aren't that big and I did take it very, very slowly.

If I understand your post correctly, does that mean that if I buy one of those bearing bits, I can just clamp the old panel over the top of the new ply, then simply cut around the old panel? If so, that would be so much easier.
 
These profiling bits, am I missing something, or is the bearing on the bottom with the cutting blade above it?
 
I still think you are making this unnecessarily complicated. A jig saw cut slightly oversize and plane/sand to final size is so simple - ask any carpenter. Sorry, hadn't read your post to say the job had already been done.
 
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ghostlymoron said:
I still think you are making this unnecessarily complicated. A jig saw cut slightly oversize and plane/sand to final size is so simple - ask any carpenter. Sorry, hadn't read your post to say the job had already been done.
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I'm sure I am! there are a few fiddly bits though, and with the total length of planing required it would be around 4m to plane or sand down. I've not had much luck with planing in the past so was really looking for a quick, simple solution. And, something that's fairly idiot proof as I have no DIY ability whatsoever!

nigelmercier said:
You don't need a special cutter to use a template. There may be a small guide plate in the router box, or you can use the side of the base.
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Thanks for that, I did have a play with the guide plate, but it only cuts an oversize copy of the original.
I've sourced a router bit now with the bearing on top and managed to cut a new panel. Unfortunately I lifted it too early and managed to damage both the original and new panel, but I've got some more ply and am hoping that take III will go smoothly!
 
Murv said:
Take two will be later on this evening, and with the addition of safety glasses as it gets increasingly difficult to see the cut as my eyes rapidly filled with sawdust...

Is 10mm ply a lot less prone to splintering? I have some large off cuts of 10mm in the shed and although it will obviously carry a weight penalty, I'm wondering if it's worth it for a better finish and a sturdier panel as a result.
Click to expand...

If you put that straight edge along the straight lines and knife through the top 2 veneers, you stand even less risk of any splintering out as long as you router half a mm from the line
S.
 
if you are having problems with a plane I suggest that you may not be sharpening the blade correctly
One of the problems is that people get a rounded edge on the blade becuse they do not hold the blade at a constant angle on te stone
If you use an eclipse honing guide you will get a very good finish on the blade & may well improve things
 
Daydream believer said:
if you are having problems with a plane I suggest that you may not be sharpening the blade correctly
One of the problems is that people get a rounded edge on the blade becuse they do not hold the blade at a constant angle on te stone
If you use an eclipse honing guide you will get a very good finish on the blade & may well improve things
Click to expand...
I spent an afternoon a couple of years ago sharpening and resetting my planes - it transformed their performance. They now glide through anything (wooden) including end grain and I have no need for a power plane. I have a honing guide but I can't use it on my Record No 4 as my stone is not wide enough. I can't understand why other people have difficulties although with thin sheet material you have to hold them steady to prevent them flexing.
 
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ghostlymoron said:
I spent an afternoon a couple of years ago sharpening and resetting my planes - it transformed their performance. They now glide through anything (wooden) including end grain and I have no need for a power plane. I have a honing guide but I can't use it on my Record No 4 as my stone is not wide enough. I can't understand why other people have difficulties although with thin sheet material you have to hold them steady to prevent them flexing.
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"a couple of years ago" Wow! where do you get your plane irons from? In a serious day's woodwork I'd probably sharpen my plane a dozen times. This means setting the capping iron and adjusting the depth and tilt every time. I have been known to futz with the position of the frog as well for difficult timbers, but I mostly set it up and leave it. Tip: when you are convinced you've got everything right and it is still difficult - lubricate the sole with tool wax (and for your power plane too).

I'm surprised that you have plane irons that flex. Most of my planes are fairly hefty old-fashioned beasts and I use seriously thick irons, but I'd have thought flexing would be a disqualification in any plane iron - in use rather than in sharpening. No shame in using a honing guide for repeatability. I sharpen by ear mostly but the angle can drift over several sharpenings and still sound OK on the stone. And as for small spokeshave blades that are difficult to hold and won't fit in the guide.. Geoff King of Boatbuilders Harry King and Sons put a great edge on one for me in about 30 seconds once. I watched, but can't repeat.
 
In another life I had a large floor standing oil bathed grinding and honing machine in my workshop.

It had the capacity to clamp 300mm planer blades as well as plane blades and chisels.

I used to leave it running on its own and check it every few minutes to see if the angles were where they needed to be.

This website has some handy information on that........
http://www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/jig faq 03.html#angleblock

A light honing on a stone would put a fine edge on most things withing a few strokes. I was truly spoilt.
 
Amulet said:
"a couple of years ago" Wow! where do you get your plane irons from? In a serious day's woodwork I'd probably sharpen my plane a dozen times. This means setting the capping iron and adjusting the depth and tilt every time. I have been known to futz with the position of the frog as well for difficult timbers, but I mostly set it up and leave it. Tip: when you are convinced you've got everything right and it is still difficult - lubricate the sole with tool wax (and for your power plane too).

I'm surprised that you have plane irons that flex. Most of my planes are fairly hefty old-fashioned beasts and I use seriously thick irons, but I'd have thought flexing would be a disqualification in any plane iron - in use rather than in sharpening. No shame in using a honing guide for repeatability. I sharpen by ear mostly but the angle can drift over several sharpenings and still sound OK on the stone. And as for small spokeshave blades that are difficult to hold and won't fit in the guide.. Geoff King of Boatbuilders Harry King and Sons put a great edge on one for me in about 30 seconds once. I watched, but can't repeat.
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I gave them a good going over a couple of years ago and now just have to hone them slightly to keep in prime condition. Plus woodworking is not my main occupation so them don't get an enormous amount of use.
The flexing I referred to was of the material being planed, not the iron! Or were you being deliberately obtuse?
 
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