Posted by JCInsaniac on 10, 2000 at 3:33 PM:
In Reply to: Horrible Time With Woodwork posted by Cupcakus on 10, 2000 at 1:21 PM:
When I started this, I never thought the wood work would be the toughest part... but so far it is...
First I bought hard oak, designed for stairs, it was great material and it was very durable, but it broke 3 of my power tools it was so tough, and it was too thick, my joysticks didn't fit.
So I bought 3/4" Oak Plywood, but every tool I use, tears the wood to bits, I used a spiral saw to cut it out and it tore up the edges really bad... I tried a jig saw, but its too hard to
cut straight and it caused nearly the same amount of damage. On to the buttons... I used a boring bit, which is probably a bad Idea... should I use a hole saw instead?
Plywood is so easy to damage... what tools should I be using? or should I stain and plyurithane it before drilling and cutting?
First of all...don't feel bad. Cabinetry is hard, that's why cabinetry shops abound. ;D There are a few rules that will help you, though. Here's what I know (based on building model
aircraft for a few years.) If you want to cut straight lines, cheat. Use a straightedge to guide your saw. Use a circular saw to cut the parts for the upright cab. The higher the TPI
(Teeth per inch) in the saw blade, the slower it cuts, but it also cuts finer lines, suitable for furniture. Why did you select Oak Ply? Most arcade cabs are made up of "MDF" (Medium
Density Fiberboard) MDF is cheap (though not as cheap as the lighter grade "particle board". MDF looks like thick, hard cardboard.) MDF is very smooth, available in 1/2, 3/4 and 5/8 inch
thick 4 by 8 foot sheets. It drills, saws and routes very well, and is my choice for any project that will never get wet. (It will swell like particle board.) If you want to keep something
from splitting, try using masking tape over the areas to be cut. Simply tape over the area to be sawn or cut, strike the guidelines over the tape with a pencil, and start cutting. Are your
tools sharp? Dull tools make ragged edges. When drilling, do you drill pilot holes? They really help keep you aligned. I make my pilot holes with a special drill bit that fits in my
power screwdriver. It turns very slowly and allows precise alignment. Next, I go to the arbor and hole saw. I start the arbor bit in my pilot hole and as soon as I have the surface scratched
enough to guide the holesaws' blades, I quit and move on to the next hole, repeating until all holes are started. Then I remove the arbor bit and go back to cutting the holes out using the
holesaw without the arbor bit in it. Don't put too much pressure on the drill, allow it time to cut through the MDF. By using the masking tape and this cutting method, you should get holes
that look like a punch cut them...sharp edges and smooth holes. By the way, a router is a very handy tool for this hobby. It allows one to relieve excess thickness from control panels for
trackballs, joysticks, etc. If you want a thinner material for a really strong Control Panel, you might pick up a current model airplane magazine and order 5 ply aircraft plywood from one of
the wood merchants. It is expensive, but it comes in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" thicknesses, up to about 48 inches long...but it'll break the bank, you have been warned. Beautiful stuff though, sanded
on both sides to 1/64th of an inch tolerance.
Hope this helps...sorry it is so long.
JCInsaniac