I'm about ready to make the cuts in my two outside pieces of bedwood for the tub cutouts... and it's puckered up a bit.

All I have is a jig (saber) saw... would be nice to have a band saw ...but then again don't know if I could make the turns at the end ...hmmm

anyway.... I, of course want as smooth a cut as possible before sanding and wonder what TPI blade to use. I'm no wood worker but have blades from 6TPI up to 24... but I imagine 24 would take like a year per inch of cut...

little help ???

after that we drill... all the mounting holes along the walls and I"ve got bullet point drills for that...

any suggestions or sage advice is welcomed

john

 

Here is some help


http://www.boschtools.com/Products/A...&subCatId=1327
Good luck !

 

Handy chart, Chris. The only other thing I'd add might be to leave a little meat on the thick side and finish the gap with a drum or spindle sander, instead of trying to make it perfect with the jig saw.

 

The more teeth on the work the better the cut. Is there anything on the wood that could be used as a reference point to make a pattern first?

 

thanks Chris.... good chart... don't know why I didn't think of looking at the saw folks website first...duuuh.

I've got the boards marked after the initial fit up and I like the idea of leaving it a little fat

thanks guys
j

 

specially for the turns, use a knife and score just inside (good material side) where you will cut. this will let the outside piece move without lifting the inside. sabre saw cuts on the upstroke.

Sam

 

Exactly what I was going to say sdetweil, score the line with a sharp blade on a utility or exacto knife, and as it stops the splintering on top it will also be much easier to see the actual cut you are making. There are some saber saw blades that are narrower for scroll work that may be easier to cut the curves with, the wider ones for the straight part of the cut. Of course if you do have an oscillating spindle sander you can just make the curved cuts away from the line and sand to the line. But not everybody has one. You can also get a set of small sleeve sanders that fit any drill and if you can find one that is the correct radius it would help (especially if you put it in your drill press to keep a 90 degree surface on the cut) and they are cheap. Good luck with it.

 

John
Rough cut it with your saber saw. Make a template and do the finish cut with a router.
Scott

 

the way i cut around things like that is like i cut tile ,, lay 1 pcs on top of the other then lay something on top and trace around it ,, you can google it ( cutting tile around corners ) and you can see what i am talking about ,, then cut strong of line and sand to line ,, i hope this was some help

thanks

 

I prefer using blades that have unset teeth and taper ground backs. They can be recognized by the fact they are narrower (~1/4") than a standard blade and when looking down on the teeth the front of the teeth are alternating cut at a strong angle rather than straight across. Drill the corners with a 1/4" or larger drill with a suitable radius (Use a foresner bit or back the hole with a piece of scrap if using a twist drill. Cut with the bottom side of the board up (face side down). DON'T force the saw, let the blade do the work, only push hard enough to keep the saw cutting. If your saw has the option use aregular rather than orbital stroke setting. Apply a strip of masking tape to the face side centered over the cut line on the cross grain cuts to reduce splintering.

After all is said and done, doesn't the cut edge of the board slip under a trim strip? The piece should not be cut tight so the wood can expand and contract without splitting.