I have a partial sheet of some sort of synthetic board, brown, smooth on
one side, and comparatively rough and unfinished on the other side with
many tiny parallel vertical and horizontal "grooves" there. Is this
what is meant by fibreboard? Is it like Masonite? Maybe mine is more
bendable (though my piece is only 10" wide so of course it's bendable).
If it *were* Masonite, wouldn't it say so?

My piece is over 4 feet long, 10" wide, and 1/8" thick and i want to
cut a hole in it without making it thicker where the cut is. IIRC
cutting this stuff with a saw makes it like a rope frayed at the end,
thicker and softer. . At least right at the cut edge and within 1/8 or
1/4" of the edge.

Any suggestions on how to cut it?

Or I could cut it and leave some material, that 1/8th or 1/4". Any
suggestions how to take off the last 1/4" without making the remainder
just as thick?


I think a sharp knife would not make it thicker but it would take for
ever. I have a toothless blade for my saber saw, and it's sort of like
a knife, but I think that's meant for something else (though I forget
what)

A band saw would be better than a sabre saw, because it' only goes in
one direction, but it's an internal hole. No way to get the band saw
blade in there.


Does it matter if the smooth side is on the bottom versus the rough
side, if I'm using a saw?


Thanks

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:33:43 -0400, micky
wrote:

With the needed tools.

Is this one of your Judge Judy questions?!

micky wrote:
I have a partial sheet of some sort of synthetic board, brown, smooth
on one side, and comparatively rough and unfinished on the other side
with many tiny parallel vertical and horizontal "grooves" there. Is
this what is meant by fibreboard? Is it like Masonite? Maybe mine
is more bendable (though my piece is only 10" wide so of course it's
bendable). If it *were* Masonite, wouldn't it say so?

My piece is over 4 feet long, 10" wide, and 1/8" thick and i want to
cut a hole in it without making it thicker where the cut is. IIRC
cutting this stuff with a saw makes it like a rope frayed at the end,
thicker and softer. . At least right at the cut edge and within 1/8
or 1/4" of the edge.

Any suggestions on how to cut it?

Or I could cut it and leave some material, that 1/8th or 1/4". Any
suggestions how to take off the last 1/4" without making the remainder
just as thick?


I think a sharp knife would not make it thicker but it would take for
ever. I have a toothless blade for my saber saw, and it's sort of like
a knife, but I think that's meant for something else (though I forget
what)

A band saw would be better than a sabre saw, because it' only goes in
one direction, but it's an internal hole. No way to get the band saw
blade in there.


Does it matter if the smooth side is on the bottom versus the rough
side, if I'm using a saw?


Thanks

Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when they made
it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw. Saber saws
cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up. More TPI = smoother
cut.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any fuzz - with
either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

On Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 2:33:48 PM UTC-5, micky wrote:
I have a partial sheet of some sort of synthetic board, brown, smooth on
one side, and comparatively rough and unfinished on the other side with
many tiny parallel vertical and horizontal "grooves" there. Is this
what is meant by fibreboard? Is it like Masonite? Maybe mine is more
bendable (though my piece is only 10" wide so of course it's bendable).
If it *were* Masonite, wouldn't it say so?

My piece is over 4 feet long, 10" wide, and 1/8" thick and i want to
cut a hole in it without making it thicker where the cut is. IIRC
cutting this stuff with a saw makes it like a rope frayed at the end,
thicker and softer. . At least right at the cut edge and within 1/8 or
1/4" of the edge.

Any suggestions on how to cut it?

Or I could cut it and leave some material, that 1/8th or 1/4". Any
suggestions how to take off the last 1/4" without making the remainder
just as thick?


I think a sharp knife would not make it thicker but it would take for
ever. I have a toothless blade for my saber saw, and it's sort of like
a knife, but I think that's meant for something else (though I forget
what)

A band saw would be better than a sabre saw, because it' only goes in
one direction, but it's an internal hole. No way to get the band saw
blade in there.


Does it matter if the smooth side is on the bottom versus the rough
side, if I'm using a saw?

Thanks

How clean a hole do you need? o_O

[8~{} Uncle Holy Monster

dadiOH wrote:
Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw. Saber
saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up. More
TPI = smoother cut.

My saber saw only cuts on the down stroke if you're cutting the ceiling.

micky wrote:
I have a partial sheet of some sort of synthetic board, brown, smooth
on one side, and comparatively rough and unfinished on the other side
with many tiny parallel vertical and horizontal "grooves" there. Is
this what is meant by fibreboard? Is it like Masonite? Maybe mine
is more bendable (though my piece is only 10" wide so of course it's
bendable). If it *were* Masonite, wouldn't it say so?

My piece is over 4 feet long, 10" wide, and 1/8" thick and i want to
cut a hole in it without making it thicker where the cut is. IIRC
cutting this stuff with a saw makes it like a rope frayed at the end,
thicker and softer. . At least right at the cut edge and within 1/8
or 1/4" of the edge.

Any suggestions on how to cut it?

Or I could cut it and leave some material, that 1/8th or 1/4". Any
suggestions how to take off the last 1/4" without making the remainder
just as thick?


I think a sharp knife would not make it thicker but it would take for
ever. I have a toothless blade for my saber saw, and it's sort of like
a knife, but I think that's meant for something else (though I forget
what)

A band saw would be better than a sabre saw, because it' only goes in
one direction, but it's an internal hole. No way to get the band saw
blade in there.


Does it matter if the smooth side is on the bottom versus the rough
side, if I'm using a saw?


I'd suggest clamping another piece of wood firmly to the material on the side
that the saw teeth will be cutting towards before you cut. Then you cut through
both. Or, use a hole saw and just cut through your material and a little into
the clamped on board, then stop.

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:58:38 -0400, "dadiOH" wrote:


Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when they made
it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw. Saber saws
cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up. More TPI = smoother
cut.

Noting Bob's correction, which I hope I would have noticed on my own, I
can do that. I've got blades with lots of teeth and I can buy a better
one.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any fuzz - with

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice to use
it for a change. . Making the template will be harder than just drawing
a line.

either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 14:07:42 -0700, "Bob F" wrote:

micky wrote:
I have a partial sheet of some sort of synthetic board, brown, smooth
on one side, and comparatively rough and unfinished on the other side
with many tiny parallel vertical and horizontal "grooves" there. Is
this what is meant by fibreboard? Is it like Masonite? Maybe mine
is more bendable (though my piece is only 10" wide so of course it's
bendable). If it *were* Masonite, wouldn't it say so?

My piece is over 4 feet long, 10" wide, and 1/8" thick and i want to
cut a hole in it without making it thicker where the cut is. IIRC
cutting this stuff with a saw makes it like a rope frayed at the end,
thicker and softer. . At least right at the cut edge and within 1/8
or 1/4" of the edge.

Any suggestions on how to cut it?

Or I could cut it and leave some material, that 1/8th or 1/4". Any
suggestions how to take off the last 1/4" without making the remainder
just as thick?


I think a sharp knife would not make it thicker but it would take for
ever. I have a toothless blade for my saber saw, and it's sort of like
a knife, but I think that's meant for something else (though I forget
what)

A band saw would be better than a sabre saw, because it' only goes in
one direction, but it's an internal hole. No way to get the band saw
blade in there.


Does it matter if the smooth side is on the bottom versus the rough
side, if I'm using a saw?


I'd suggest clamping another piece of wood firmly to the material on the side

That sounds great. I knew there must be a way to do this right.
Thanks a lot.

that the saw teeth will be cutting towards before you cut. Then you cut through
both.

I get it. I've got plenty of scrap wood and plenty of clamps.

Or, use a hole saw and just cut through your material and a little into
the clamped on board, then stop.

I have a nested set of hole saws, but despite that, probably not the
right diamter. Plus they're cheap and probably not sharp. The sabre
saw will do well.

Backgrond, A friend lent me his portable AC. He told me last year that
he had it and he actually found it pretty quickly this year. But he
doesn't have the flat piece that goes in the window**, so I have to make
a flat piece of something, wood or masonite to mount the hose to. The
end of the hose is like a circle that's been squished, so it's shaped
like (_____) with a line across the top also.

Actually only 4 parts of the circumference have to be done well where
there are built-in clips to hold it in place, so if cutting nicely is
too slow, I can switch blades for most of it. The clips are meant for
a 1/8" thick piece of plastic, the exact same thickness as the
fiberboard I have already.

I know I could have done a crappy job of cutting and then trimmed away
whatever made it too thick where the clips were, but I like to at least
plan to do things right.


I know all about the inefficiencies of a "portable" AC, but I only need
it for 12 days a year, for one room, and probably only 8 hours each
night, to sleep. (The basement and first floor are cool enough without
AC) So for 96 hours a year, it can't be as expensive as running
central AC. I'll fix that when my mood has changed.


**He did include a round plastic part for mounting the hose through the
wall, but I don't think I'll ever be willing to do that. ;-)

He also can't find the remote control, but since it has a thermostat, I
probalby don't need that. They still sell replacements for $30.

The drain hose is the remaining issue. The outlet is 1 foot off the
ground, so I think I could run a 1/2" I.D. hose 25 feet to the shower,
and it would drain????? Or I coudl run a hose 6 feet to the closet
where it overhangs the first floor, and drill a hole through the floor
to the outside (like the cable guy did to install the cable, when I had
cable) From there it's only a foot to the downspout, and where the
downspout runs at an angle (because of the overhang) I was going to make
a hole in the top of it and put the drain hose in the downspout..
(Well, after I watch the water dribble out for a few days. I'm curious
about that.)

And I was going to seal the hole in the house around the hose with brown
vinyl caulk, unless there is something better.

But before making a hole, I'm going to run it with the built-in
removeable bucket and see if it works. It probably does.

dadiOH wrote:

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw. Saber
saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up. More
TPI = smoother cut.

Yeah, I know, I said the exact opposite of what it actually is. I know
better, don't know where my head was, I'm really not senile.

micky wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:58:38 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:


Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when
they made it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw. Saber
saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up. More
TPI = smoother cut.

Noting Bob's correction, which I hope I would have noticed on my own,
I can do that. I've got blades with lots of teeth and I can buy a
better one.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any
fuzz - with

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice to
use it for a change. . Making the template will be harder than just
drawing a line.

either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

Do you happen to have one of those vibrating multi purpose tools?

On Sun, 21 Jun 2015 16:34:13 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 22:03:38 -0400, micky
wrote:

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice to use
it for a change. . Making the template will be harder than just drawing
a line.
Clamp it to a table or sheet of plywood with a board on top to act as
a straight edge guide for the router. Align it so the router just
clears the table, or actually eats a little of it if this is a
sacrificial piece of plywood.

I usually cut sheet goods like this on my table saw with the blade
barely sticking through the cut. Again you want a board stabilizing
the edge of the cut. A scrap of plywood or OSB that you can "kerf" a
little will make these cuts factory fresh.

Okay. Thanks.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:21:49 -0700, "Bob F" wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:58:38 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:


Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when
they made it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw. Saber
saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up. More
TPI = smoother cut.

Noting Bob's correction, which I hope I would have noticed on my own,
I can do that. I've got blades with lots of teeth and I can buy a
better one.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any
fuzz - with

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice to
use it for a change. . Making the template will be harder than just
drawing a line.

either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

Do you happen to have one of those vibrating multi purpose tools?

No, but maybe this would be a good reason to buy one. You think it
would do even better than what we've talked about?

micky wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:21:49 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:58:38 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:


Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when
they made it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw.
Saber saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up.
More TPI = smoother cut.

Noting Bob's correction, which I hope I would have noticed on my
own, I can do that. I've got blades with lots of teeth and I can
buy a better one.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any
fuzz - with

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice to
use it for a change. . Making the template will be harder than just
drawing a line.

either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

Do you happen to have one of those vibrating multi purpose tools?

No, but maybe this would be a good reason to buy one. You think it
would do even better than what we've talked about?

In my experience they cut very slowly, but very cleanly if properly guided, and
they don't chip the edges of wood. Probably similarly for masonite. I find mine
perfect for many jobs. You would probably want to make the cut from the smooth
side, in a few passes.

The saw with wood backing should work too though.

On Mon, 22 Jun 2015 20:26:38 -0700, "Bob F" wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:21:49 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:58:38 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:


Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when
they made it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw.
Saber saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side" up.
More TPI = smoother cut.

Noting Bob's correction, which I hope I would have noticed on my
own, I can do that. I've got blades with lots of teeth and I can
buy a better one.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any
fuzz - with

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice to
use it for a change. . Making the template will be harder than just
drawing a line.

either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

Do you happen to have one of those vibrating multi purpose tools?

No, but maybe this would be a good reason to buy one. You think it
would do even better than what we've talked about?

In my experience they cut very slowly, but very cleanly if properly guided, and
they don't chip the edges of wood. Probably similarly for masonite. I find mine
perfect for many jobs. You would probably want to make the cut from the smooth
side, in a few passes.

Sounds good.

The saw with wood backing should work too though.

Darn, you ruined it. No excuse to buy another tool. Just kidding. I
can still use this as an excuse, even after I've done this project with
the sabre saw. I often buy tools that I might use and this just proves
that I really might use it. But I won't make a special trip and I'm
wail until it's on sale (like it is 1/3 of the time.)

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:33:43 -0400, micky
wrote:

I have a partial sheet of some sort of synthetic board, brown, smooth on
one side, and comparatively rough and unfinished on the other side with
many tiny parallel vertical and horizontal "grooves" there. Is this
what is meant by fibreboard? Is it like Masonite? Maybe mine is more
bendable (though my piece is only 10" wide so of course it's bendable).
If it *were* Masonite, wouldn't it say so?

My piece is over 4 feet long, 10" wide, and 1/8" thick and i want to
cut a hole in it without making it thicker where the cut is. IIRC
cutting this stuff with a saw makes it like a rope frayed at the end,
thicker and softer. . At least right at the cut edge and within 1/8 or
1/4" of the edge.

Any suggestions on how to cut it?


Just use masking tape on the cut line. Use a fine blade.

micky wrote:
On Mon, 22 Jun 2015 20:26:38 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:21:49 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

micky wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 15:58:38 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:


Masonite is a brand of fiberboard.

The rough side is rough because that side was on the screen when
they made it.

Yes, it matters which side is up if you cut with a saber saw.
Saber saws cut on the down stroke so you want your "show side"
up. More TPI = smoother cut.

Noting Bob's correction, which I hope I would have noticed on my
own, I can do that. I've got blades with lots of teeth and I can
buy a better one.

You will make the smoothest cut with a router and template. Any
fuzz - with

I'd forgotten that I have a router somewhere!! It would be nice
to use it for a change. . Making the template will be harder
than just drawing a line.

either router or saber saw - can just be cut/sanded/filed off.

Do you happen to have one of those vibrating multi purpose tools?

No, but maybe this would be a good reason to buy one. You think
it would do even better than what we've talked about?

In my experience they cut very slowly, but very cleanly if properly
guided, and they don't chip the edges of wood. Probably similarly
for masonite. I find mine perfect for many jobs. You would probably
want to make the cut from the smooth side, in a few passes.

Sounds good.

The saw with wood backing should work too though.

Darn, you ruined it. No excuse to buy another tool. Just kidding.
I can still use this as an excuse, even after I've done this project
with the sabre saw. I often buy tools that I might use and this
just proves that I really might use it. But I won't make a special
trip and I'm wail until it's on sale (like it is 1/3 of the time.)

Yep! Get it on sale for $16, and then spend $50 on all the differents blades you
can get for it.
Diamond blades are great for plaster and drywall.