I’ve got a few doors that I need to trim .250″ to.750″ and was wondering what is best blade to prevent splintering. —no Festool at this time ;->
On the solid wood 24″ doors I’m going to use my SCMS, but whats best for the skinned panels over 2′?
I’ve always scored the cut line in the past, but never had good results. I saw a tip about masking the cut line also to reduce splintering.
Never tried it in the past but will this time.
Any other tips? And what’s the best blade to use?
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Replies
tape the cut w/ duct tape....
razor knief the cut line into the duct tape and door...
60 tooth trim,finish blade in yur cirular saw or worm...
use a pecisely set sraight edge/saw guide..
cut to the outside of the scored line by a CH on the waste side,,,
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
the trick to scoring first is not to cut on the good side of the score, even a little.
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
LMAO.
Watch the DUCT TAPE pull the veneer away when ya cut it.
Jeezus, they let anyone post here.
Score the door skin with a knife ( or a knief, if ya got a supplier), and keep the saw to the waste side.
Trim carp 100. Get good. Be good. No gadgets. Cut the damm door.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"
Jed Clampitt
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Don't worry, the cheap duct tape I use won't even stick to itself.
I was kinda looking for a magic bullet blade that I read about, but after further looking, it's not what I thought it was.
I remembered reading Mike Maines article on cabinets. He mentioned using (what I thought was a special blade) ATB Alternate Top Bevel.
I've never noticed that listed on any blade packaging, so I put that in the back of my mind as the special blade the trac saws use.
I finaly found and reread Mike's article and googled ATB. It seams just about all my blades--demo to fine tooth cabnet- are all ATB.
I couldn't tell on my 7 1/4" plywood blade.... It's cut so much metal that it looks like a cont. rim tile blade.
Anyway, when I saw something I was unfamiliar with ( ATB ) I assumed new and improved.
Soon as the rain stops I'm cutting the 1st one on my SCMS.
Boats,I use a shoot board, the cajun version of Fein system. For foot Johnson straight edge screwed to a piece of 1/4" ply.KK
You ain't gotta draw me no picture.......... But it would help <G>
Are you talking about using a zero clearance foot and guide?
Shoot boards/Jigs that I'm familiar with are for small stock, what am I missing.
Pop a line on a 8" x 48" piece of ply, attach a 1x2 to it. Run saw along 1x2 and you have a shoot board. I use the Johnson straight edges that lock together. Crude version of Dino's EZ.Mark door, clamp on shoot board, knife cut line, cut. We have multiples in the work trailer marked with which saw or router they work with.I'll try to take a pic and post later.KK
NOW I understand. But I had to read AK's next post to see the advantage over just clamping a guide to the door.
I'm a little dense sometimes.
Thanks for the education.
I can't type too good so my explanations are short. You can get these straight edges at the big box. 8' for $20.Built a whole set of stain grade plywood cabinets long ago with shootboards. Some set to rip miters.KKCan't seem to attach pic.
Edited 5/15/2009 2:07 pm by coonass
Pic
Funny thing happened to me last week...well it's funny now anyway.
I finshed doing this bathroom for my customer.
Last thing I had to do was cut the door down to go over the tile floor so I took the door outside and laid it over the top stoop.
The door old but pretty fancy. Had about fifty little raised panels on each side.
Anyways....screw the tape. I'm with you...just score the damn thing and cut on the outside ot that score line .
So I make my cut....put my saw down patting myself on my back what a fantastically straight splinterless line I cut then my heart dropped into my stomach like a lead balloon. I cut the top of the door instead of the bottom. I felt the heat rise to my head and my fingers were starting to go numb untill.....
I realized I actually did cut the bottom....whewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Wanna know what works really GREAT cutting doors down?
My crappy cordless DW saw. the blade is so razor thin and the saw is so light. Cut like butter with no razor cut first or tape.
For hollow core doors I don't use tape either anymore.
I started out doing the razor cut first but a ways back I realized if I just score the line 4-5 more times I'm right through the skin. at the ends where the blocking is I just use my fine tooth pull saw......then i just fill the bollow bottom part with crumpled up newspaper and a cpl of tubes of caulking....hahahaha...kidding
http://www.cliffordrenovations.com
http://www.ramdass.org
Edited 5/15/2009 8:59 am ET by andybuildz
I got the same crappy saw. I cut a lot of gutter and downspout with whatever blade happens to be on it, being as its an odd ball size, I really don't pay any attention...hell, it might be toothless by now.
But it never fails, all of a sudden I need to make a nice cut, and the blade is toasted. So I rummage and root thru the van and find a newone I bought a year ago.
And yeah, I love that feeling..WTF? DID I JUST DO THAT? Lol.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"Jed Clampitt
View Image
I cut the top off of a very nice, 100-year-old entry door once in the process of fitting and installing a new threshold.I lowered the hinge gains by scoring over and over with a utility knife, then lifting the chip out with a wide chisel. That left me with 3 perfect dutchmen to glue in above the hinges.A little sawing and filing on the strikes, and everything worked out OK.As you said, Whew!AitchKay
quarter inch and as delicate as the door finish seems - I'd just hand plane it -- have several that I keep sharp and they do the trick in no time - these planes are used only for this kind of detail -- have a bunch in the box that are scrubbing planes that cut quick and finish with these beauties
The skill is in the hand of the operator.
If I tried to plane 1/4" off it would look like the roller coaster at Ponchatrain Beach
What everybody else said, and add to that a zero-clearance shoe made out of a piece of scrap 1/4" ply, double-sided taped to the bottom of your saw.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
Set your straight edge.
Set your blade depth to 1/8".
Protect the door from the saw's shoe if necessary.
Pull your saw BACKWARD along the straightedge to score the face.
Set the blade depth to door thickness+.
Finish cut.
yep, kudos for you, use a 1/4" thick shoot board and your walking in tall cotton.
I like a 40 tooth Freud Diablo blade. Then what everyone else said. I don't think I'd chance the duct tape though. Mine's too sticky. I end up using blue painter's tape for alot of stuff.
Here's a version of what coonass is talking about. This particular jig is two short sections of shooting board set up for cutting stair treads, but I have 5' and 8' versions, too.
No need to measure when you make one, just be sure that the top strip of 1/4" ply (6"w or so) is straight, and glued and stapled on straight to an over-wide bottom piece.
When you run your saw over it the first time, that will automatically set the cut line. Then clamp it to your door, score along its edge with a knife, and make your cut.
Sure, use your best blade, but you probably don't have to buy a new one, you'll just have to sand the cut a bit more.
AitchKay
Got it . Thanks.
You or someone else posted a picture of that type of stair template before.
I thought it was just for marking the treads, not cutting them......... I guess I should read a little bit and not just look at the pictures<g>
Thanks again.
Yeah, it's a little hard to see in the pic that there are two offset layers of lauan. Once you know it, you can see how a circular saw rides on it.The view is also complicated by the fact that I draw a Sharpie line on my shooting boards. Outside of this line is where I clamp, inside it the clamps will bump the saw.AitchKay