Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

On 10/12/2011 12:13 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

There's no "right or wrong" there; the trimmer would certainly handle it
fine and be a little easier to handle. How much of a decision it would
be would mostly depend on just how large "full size" is...that's a
sizable possible variation from something not much larger than a trimmer
to a 3+ hp behemoth.

IOW, suit yourself. (And, if you end up taxing the trimmer sometime
you'll certainly be able to tell it and can change then.)

--

On Oct 12, 10:13*am, Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

I think lam trimmers are typically hard to control for shaping ops. If
you make or have a bigger base they are better. If you only have a 3hp
monster then a trimmer might be a better choice. If you have a 1 3/4
hp fixed base it would be my preference.

Of course I don't follow my own advice and I have my 1 3/4 in my
router table and my 2 3/4 hp as my free hand but I am looking for a
trimmer and will likely get a second 1 3/4 for free handing.

On 10/12/2011 1:45 PM, SonomaProducts.com wrote:
On Oct 12, 10:13 am, Greg wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

I think lam trimmers are typically hard to control for shaping ops. If
you make or have a bigger base they are better. If you only have a 3hp
monster then a trimmer might be a better choice. If you have a 1 3/4
hp fixed base it would be my preference.

Of course I don't follow my own advice and I have my 1 3/4 in my
router table and my 2 3/4 hp as my free hand but I am looking for a
trimmer and will likely get a second 1 3/4 for free handing.


Well, a small sample size so far, but exactly what I expected: A tossup.
A matter of what feels best to the individual user. I will, as usual,
abuse some of my scrap pile before working on the actual project.

So let me ask a related question. This is a 1x2 border around the edges
of a desktop. Although my inexpertise may trip me up, rounding the
horizontal edges seems straightforward enough. What about the vertical
corners? I'd like to round those as well, But I can foresee difficulties.

Could I clamp a block both above and below to "extend" the corner,
allowing the router base more "land" to sit on at the beginning and end
of the cut? If so, I suppose I'd have to make these cuts first, before
tackling the horizontal edges. I suppose I should also turn the desktop
on its side, to allow the router to be used vertically.

Or should I just do it with a sanding block, by eye?

Could I clamp a block both above and below to "extend" the corner,
allowing the router base more "land" to sit on at the beginning and end
of the cut? If so, I suppose I'd have to make these cuts first, before
tackling the horizontal edges. I suppose I should also turn the desktop
on its side, to allow the router to be used vertically.

Or should I just do it with a sanding block, by eye?

I suppose you could do it with a router but vertical rounding is
always a difficult situation.

You sould consider that you may blow out the grain as you exit or even
enter the cut and that wouldn't be nice on the tabel top.
Also be careful of blow out on the ends when you do the horiz too.
Maybe a backer block or do climb cuts at the exit corners.

I would sand the verts. If you want it very precise then do the
vertical corners first and before you do it, draw the radius on the
top of the table. This is how round overs and chamfers are done when
using a hand plane in either axis. You would be surprised how nice/
precise of a large round over or chamfer you can get with a hand
plane if you draw the shape first. You can do the same with a sanding
block. Use a very stiff block, not rubber or felt, rather a piece of
wood so you have good control. Actually 5/32 is almost 3/8's right,
maybe a block plane would be a good start, that is a lot of material
but could be sanded.

Could I clamp a block both above and below to "extend" the corner,
allowing the router base more "land" to sit on at the beginning and end
of the cut? If so, I suppose I'd have to make these cuts first, before
tackling the horizontal edges. I suppose I should also turn the desktop
on its side, to allow the router to be used vertically.

Or should I just do it with a sanding block, by eye?

My first reply isn't showing up for some reason. Forgive if a repeat.

Be careful of blowing out the grain when doing horiz but especially
when doing vert with router/traimmer. Use a backer block or climb cut
the exits.

To do by sanding or block plane, draw the radius on the edge first, it
nakes it very easy to have a precise round over or chamfer with a
plane or sanding. Use a firm sanding block like wood, not felt or
rubber.

On 10/12/2011 3:49 PM, SonomaProducts.com wrote:
Could I clamp a block both above and below to "extend" the corner,
allowing the router base more "land" to sit on at the beginning and end
of the cut? If so, I suppose I'd have to make these cuts first, before
tackling the horizontal edges. I suppose I should also turn the desktop
on its side, to allow the router to be used vertically.

Or should I just do it with a sanding block, by eye?

I suppose you could do it with a router but vertical rounding is
always a difficult situation.

You sould consider that you may blow out the grain as you exit or even
enter the cut and that wouldn't be nice on the tabel top.
Also be careful of blow out on the ends when you do the horiz too.
Maybe a backer block or do climb cuts at the exit corners.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm not clear on some of the terms. I think I
can guess what a backer block would be, essentially an extension of the
table top so I don't screw up the edge. But that would change the
profile at the corner (I'm better at geometry than woodworking). Would
you just hand sand the last little bit?

What is a "climb cut"?

I would sand the verts. If you want it very precise then do the
vertical corners first and before you do it, draw the radius on the
top of the table. This is how round overs and chamfers are done when
using a hand plane in either axis. You would be surprised how nice/
precise of a large round over or chamfer you can get with a hand
plane if you draw the shape first. You can do the same with a sanding
block. Use a very stiff block, not rubber or felt, rather a piece of
wood so you have good control. Actually 5/32 is almost 3/8's right,
maybe a block plane would be a good start, that is a lot of material
but could be sanded.

You had me worried there for a second, but 5/32 is 1/32 more than 1/8,
so a fairly small radius. I am thinking of hand sanding the corners. I'd
rather live with a tiny bit of imprecision than an ugly gouge.

Speaking of sanding, can I assume that I'll need to hand sand the
rounded edges, without a block, even? And while we're at it, would you
do any coarse sanding before making the roundovers?

Speaking of sanding, can I assume that I'll need to hand sand the
rounded edges, without a block, even? And while we're at it, would you
do any coarse sanding before making the roundovers?

Yes you have backer idea correct. Routers love to blow out the grain
when you hit the end grain.

Climb cutting is the tern for routing in the opposite direction. You
normally cut by pusing the cutter into the material but climb cutting
is moving in the same direction as the cutter so in essence the bit
wants to start climbing along the wood. ZIt just means go backwards
fir a while. So you rout up to about 1 inch from the end, then start
your cut from outsied and come back in the wron direction to get that
last inch. You can climb cut around the corner or sand it as you said.

No need to sand the sharp edge before routing. The actual proper
method of rounding over is to round over slightly too much, cutting
like 128th of an inch too deep and then sand off the ridge. Most
people try to just barely undercut so you don't get a ridge. I actully
do the later because the flatness will likely vary and you will likley
tilt the router a bit and have a few sections with ridges anyway.

Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

Here is a definitive answer: it depends.

You said elsewhere that you are putting a 1x2 - actually 3/4 x 1 1/2? - onto
a piece 72" x 30"; banding a piece of ply IOW. Which way are you putting
the band, vertically or horizontally? If vertically, you could use either
but the easiest would be the big router riding on the top surface. If
horizontally, use the big router riding on the top surface; trying to keep
*any* router vertical riding on a 3/4" surface is difficult.

If course, there are alternatives to a router...

1. Radi-Plane
http://www.constantines.com/radiusplaneslick-plane.aspx

2. Any small plane
http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Trimming+Plane

3. Shoemaker's rasp. These are so handy that it is beyond my ken why
anyone messing with wood doesn't have one.
http://woodworker.com/49-second-cut-...p&searchmode=2

For the corners (mitered?), forget a router. Use a rasp, sandpaper,
whatever.
____________________

BTW, have you considered how you are going to get the banding flush with the
ply? It isn't going to be, even if you use splines or biscuits. Of course,
there is "flush" and *FLUSH*! To me, it isn't flush if I can feel it.
Getting it flush will be more of a problem if - as I suspect - you plan to
put the banding on horizontally simply because there is more to remove to
reach the Valhalla of Flushdom.

The problem really isn't getting the banding flush, it is getting it that
way without screwing up the plywood. Time was that ply face veneers were
1/20, even 1/16. No more; I find it miraculous that they can cut them as
thin as they do.

Here are some conventional ways of flushing...

1. Horizontal router table with trimming bit and bearing. Good because bit
is cutting with the grain resulting in a smoother cut. Bad because the
workpiece has to be elevated above the table by at least as much as the
amount to trim.

2. Hand held router with trimming bit and bearing horizontal to ply. Good
for same reason as above, bad because the router has to ride on a narrow
edge. Fix the bad part by clamping a 2x4 to the banding so you have a wider
surface for the router.

3. You can also use a router either in table or by hand with the router
perpendicular to the ply. That means the bit is rotating crosswise on what
is being cut and the cut will be less than smooth. It also means that
either the ply - in the case of a table - or the router if using by hand has
to be elevated by at least as much as the amount to trim.

4. I have also used planer blades in a molding head on a radial saw to do
it. Inboard edge of planer blades were just shy of the banding/ply line and
the saw head was tipped slightly.

5. Sanding. Forget it.

6. Plane. Blade has to be very sharp, has to be set to take very thin
shavings and you still have to be very, very careful. The banding corners
will be a PITA unless you band two parallel sides and flush them before
appling the other two pieces of banding.

7. Scraper if there isn't much to take off.

There are two ways to make using a plane easier...

1. Taper your band slightly outward before applying it. That means you
will have to take off much less to get ply and edge of band flush.

2. Put on a piece of thin - 1/8 - 1/4 - banding, make it flush, then
apply your wider band, preferably tapered. That thin band of solid wood
gives you a bit more wiggle room for errors without messing up the plywood.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On 10/12/2011 12:13 PM, Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

Piloted bit, I would go with which ever you prefer. Using a non piloted
with a edge guide definitely the larger of the two.

On Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:38:04 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

Here is a definitive answer: it depends.

You said elsewhere that you are putting a 1x2 - actually 3/4 x 1 1/2? - onto
a piece 72" x 30"; banding a piece of ply IOW. Which way are you putting
the band, vertically or horizontally? If vertically, you could use either
but the easiest would be the big router riding on the top surface. If
horizontally, use the big router riding on the top surface; trying to keep
*any* router vertical riding on a 3/4" surface is difficult.

If course, there are alternatives to a router...

1. Radi-Plane
http://www.constantines.com/radiusplaneslick-plane.aspx

Watch that grain direction or rip out a -much- deeper chunk than
you're ready for.


2. Any small plane
http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Trimming+Plane

#60-1/2 Rules!
Microplanes are no slouch here, either. http://goo.gl/VWntE


3. Shoemaker's rasp. These are so handy that it is beyond my ken why
anyone messing with wood doesn't have one.
http://woodworker.com/49-second-cut-...p&searchmode=2

For the corners (mitered?), forget a router. Use a rasp, sandpaper,
whatever.

The problem with most rasps on the market is that most are at least 4x
too coarse and/or 4x too expensive. I got by with a 4-in-hand for
decades before finding an import #49 for 1/3 the price. They're
wonderful for opening up holes to ease an oversize 120v plug thru.


To Greg, I haven't yet seen anyone mention a ROS, but fine paper on a
sander is a great way to ease corners if you have a lot of them to do
at once. A hand sanding block is good for just a few, as you said.

--
The ultimate result of shielding men from folly
is to fill the world with fools.
-- Herbert Spencer

On 10/13/2011 7:38 AM, dadiOH wrote:
Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over. Which
would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I wrong?

Here is a definitive answer: it depends.

You said elsewhere that you are putting a 1x2 - actually 3/4 x 1 1/2? - onto
a piece 72" x 30"; banding a piece of ply IOW.

OK. So here's where you get to scold me a bit. I walked around HD and
decided that the most cost- and time-effective strategy (both important
factors right now) for this desktop would be to start with a solid-core
door. I recently finally put a finish on one I had installed in a hurry
some years ago and saw how it looked on the sawhorses. An idea was born.
More on the pitfalls I discovered further down.

Which way are you putting
the band, vertically or horizontally? If vertically, you could use either
but the easiest would be the big router riding on the top surface.

Vertically.

If
horizontally, use the big router riding on the top surface; trying to keep
*any* router vertical riding on a 3/4" surface is difficult.

I was thinking about that too. The door is a little thinner than the
1.5" "one-by-two". I definitely planned on rounding the top edge from
the top, but I'm thinking about how to do the bottom edge. Having the
router balance on the 1" edge (I put a contrasting band of thinner wood
in-between) didn't sound like a good idea. I thought I might stand the
desktop on its side an run the small router along the 1.5" side. Another
option would be to just knock the (bottom) edge off with sandpaper, but
I'm not sure that would look as nice.

If course, there are alternatives to a router...

1. Radi-Plane
http://www.constantines.com/radiusplaneslick-plane.aspx

I bought one of those years ago and didn't like it at all. I dug it up
again recently was determined to fool with it until it became useful. I
got it a little better, but didn't really succeed.

2. Any small plane
http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Trimming+Plane

3. Shoemaker's rasp. These are so handy that it is beyond my ken why
anyone messing with wood doesn't have one.
http://woodworker.com/49-second-cut-...p&searchmode=2

I doubt my ability to do an even job over a six-foot length with either
of those methods.

For the corners (mitered?), forget a router. Use a rasp, sandpaper,
whatever.

Not mitered. I decided I liked the look better the other way. Oh hell,
here's a photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

and another:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

[I'm sure I will get comments that the long clamps are too far apart on
the short edge of the desk top. If I remember correctly, I was able to
use the "bow" of the 1x2 to my advantage on that end. The other end
needed some creative problem solving]

BTW, have you considered how you are going to get the banding flush with the
ply? It isn't going to be, even if you use splines or biscuits. Of course,
there is "flush" and *FLUSH*! To me, it isn't flush if I can feel it.
Getting it flush will be more of a problem if - as I suspect - you plan to
put the banding on horizontally simply because there is more to remove to
reach the Valhalla of Flushdom.

The problem really isn't getting the banding flush, it is getting it that
way without screwing up the plywood. Time was that ply face veneers were
1/20, even 1/16. No more; I find it miraculous that they can cut them as
thin as they do.

I said I'd get back to the pitfalls of using a door. The door I bought,
UN-like the ones I bought some years ago, has very thin veneer indeed.
That came as an unwelcome surprise. Suffice it to say that one of the
spots for a large "cable grommet" has been chosen for me. Luckily it is
near the rear edge of the desk, about where I might have put it anyway.

This is my first real project in quite a while, and one of the lessons
learned has been to look into better materials for the next one.

Here are some conventional ways of flushing...

1. Horizontal router table with trimming bit and bearing. Good because bit
is cutting with the grain resulting in a smoother cut. Bad because the
workpiece has to be elevated above the table by at least as much as the
amount to trim.

2. Hand held router with trimming bit and bearing horizontal to ply. Good
for same reason as above, bad because the router has to ride on a narrow
edge. Fix the bad part by clamping a 2x4 to the banding so you have a wider
surface for the router.

I tried this (sans extension) with the lam trimmer on a test piece, but
with only the inner banding in place. It worked very nicely over most of
the piece, but dug in in one spot. That worries me, and I probably won't
try it on the desk.

3. You can also use a router either in table or by hand with the router
perpendicular to the ply. That means the bit is rotating crosswise on what
is being cut and the cut will be less than smooth. It also means that
either the ply - in the case of a table - or the router if using by hand has
to be elevated by at least as much as the amount to trim.

4. I have also used planer blades in a molding head on a radial saw to do
it. Inboard edge of planer blades were just shy of the banding/ply line and
the saw head was tipped slightly.

5. Sanding. Forget it.

Tried that on the inner banding. See my comment above the cable
grommet. It's a learning experience.

6. Plane. Blade has to be very sharp, has to be set to take very thin
shavings and you still have to be very, very careful. The banding corners
will be a PITA unless you band two parallel sides and flush them before
appling the other two pieces of banding.

7. Scraper if there isn't much to take off.

There are two ways to make using a plane easier...

1. Taper your band slightly outward before applying it. That means you
will have to take off much less to get ply and edge of band flush.

2. Put on a piece of thin - 1/8 - 1/4 - banding, make it flush, then
apply your wider band, preferably tapered. That thin band of solid wood
gives you a bit more wiggle room for errors without messing up the plywood.

I have two ideas about this. The first is to live with the imperfection.
It is pretty flush much of the way around, but you can feel the edge and
even see it here and there.

The second is to use a (Stanley #78)rabbet plane. I'm missing one part,
but I've found it online. I figure that I could set the "rabbet width"
to the width of the banding and set the depth stop to stop the cut at
the height of the door veneer. Thin as that is, though, I'm even worried
about having the depth stop ride over it. (I've already done some sanding).

I may go with #1. We'll see.

Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10/13/2011 7:38 AM, dadiOH wrote:
Greg Guarino wrote:
Next in my continuing series of kindergarten woodworking questions:

5/32 roundover bit, oak. 72" x 30" rectangle to be rounded over.
Which would you use? I'm leaning towards the smaller one. Am I
wrong?

Here is a definitive answer: it depends.

You said elsewhere that you are putting a 1x2 - actually 3/4 x 1
1/2? - onto a piece 72" x 30"; banding a piece of ply IOW.

OK. So here's where you get to scold me a bit. I walked around HD and
decided that the most cost- and time-effective strategy (both
important factors right now) for this desktop would be to start with
a solid-core door.

It's still ply even if the interior is particle board or MDF. Most likely
particle board with 1/8 fiber board on each side with thin wood (luan?)
veneer on top of each of those.
_________________

Which way are you putting
the band, vertically or horizontally? If vertically, you could use
either but the easiest would be the big router riding on the top
surface.

Vertically.

Logical, thick door.
_______________

If
horizontally, use the big router riding on the top surface; trying
to keep *any* router vertical riding on a 3/4" surface is difficult.

I was thinking about that too. The door is a little thinner than the
1.5" "one-by-two". I definitely planned on rounding the top edge from
the top, but I'm thinking about how to do the bottom edge.

Too late now but you could have rounded it before you put it on.
_________________

Having the
router balance on the 1" edge (I put a contrasting band of thinner
wood in-between) didn't sound like a good idea. I thought I might
stand the desktop on its side an run the small router along the 1.5"
side.

That's the only way you *can* rout it now.
______________

Another option would be to just knock the (bottom) edge off
with sandpaper, but I'm not sure that would look as nice.

Of course, there are alternatives to a router...

1. Radi-Plane
http://www.constantines.com/radiusplaneslick-plane.aspx

I bought one of those years ago and didn't like it at all. I dug it up
again recently was determined to fool with it until it became useful.
I got it a little better, but didn't really succeed.

Your problem was...?
______________

2. Any small plane
http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Trimming+Plane

3. Shoemaker's rasp. These are so handy that it is beyond my
ken why anyone messing with wood doesn't have one.
http://woodworker.com/49-second-cut-...p&searchmode=2

I doubt my ability to do an even job over a six-foot length with
either of those methods.

No one is going to be checking the uniformity with a micrometer.

Either is easy to use and much faster than sandpaper. I once did about 40'
of handrails for my sailboat...it was bandsawed as much as possible but all
the rounding - LOTS of rounding - was done with a 4 in hand rasp. Didn't
take all that long, 3-4 hours maybe.
________________

For the corners (mitered?), forget a router. Use a rasp, sandpaper,
whatever.

Not mitered. I decided I liked the look better the other way. Oh hell,
here's a photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

and another:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

[I'm sure I will get comments that the long clamps are too far apart
on the short edge of the desk top. If I remember correctly, I was
able to use the "bow" of the 1x2 to my advantage on that end. The other
end
needed some creative problem solving]

Those are dowels? If you had clamped, drilled at a slight angle and then
insertted the dowels you wouldn't need any clamps other than 1-2 while
drilling. Ditto with screws and face grain plugs.
________________

This is my first real project in quite a while, and one of the lessons
learned has been to look into better materials for the next one.

Good luck on finding them.
_________________

Here are some conventional ways of flushing...

1. Horizontal router table with trimming bit and bearing. Good
because bit is cutting with the grain resulting in a smoother cut. Bad
because the workpiece has to be elevated above the table by at
least as much as the amount to trim.

2. Hand held router with trimming bit and bearing horizontal to ply.
Good for same reason as above, bad because the router has to ride on
a narrow edge. Fix the bad part by clamping a 2x4 to the banding so
you have a wider surface for the router.

I tried this (sans extension) with the lam trimmer on a test piece,
but with only the inner banding in place. It worked very nicely over
most of the piece, but dug in in one spot. That worries me, and I
probably won't try it on the desk.

I assume you were running the router with the base on the 1 1/2 side, right?
With a trimming bit with a bearing, right? If it dug in then you had to
have tipped it toward the outside. Set the cutting depth so that the
cutters are at or just shy of the ply, guide the router with one hand and
use the other to firmly hold the base against whatever it is riding on.


6. Plane. Blade has to be very sharp, has to be set to take very
thin shavings and you still have to be very, very careful. The
banding corners will be a PITA unless you band two parallel sides
and flush them before appling the other two pieces of banding.

There are two ways to make using a plane easier...

1. Taper your band slightly outward before applying it. That
means you will have to take off much less to get ply and edge of
band flush. 2. Put on a piece of thin - 1/8 - 1/4 - banding, make it
flush,
then apply your wider band, preferably tapered. That thin band of
solid wood gives you a bit more wiggle room for errors without
messing up the plywood.
I have two ideas about this. The first is to live with the
imperfection. It is pretty flush much of the way around, but you can
feel the edge and even see it here and there.

The second is to use a (Stanley #78)rabbet plane. I'm missing one
part, but I've found it online. I figure that I could set the "rabbet
width" to the width of the banding and set the depth stop to stop the cut
at
the height of the door veneer. Thin as that is, though, I'm even
worried about having the depth stop ride over it. (I've already done
some sanding).

Why in the world would you bother trying to use a rabbet plane? Really
unneeded complication.

I may go with #1. We'll see.

If you do, no woodworking merit badge for you



--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On 10/13/2011 12:23 PM, dadiOH wrote:
Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10/13/2011 7:38 AM, dadiOH wrote:
Greg Guarino wrote:
I walked around HD and
decided that the most cost- and time-effective strategy (both
important factors right now) for this desktop would be to start with
a solid-core door.

It's still ply even if the interior is particle board or MDF. Most likely
particle board with 1/8 fiber board on each side with thin wood (luan?)
veneer on top of each of those.

Judging by the end I cut off and what I saw when I sanded too deeply in
one small area, that sounds about right. Having just sanded and finished
an older (also HD) door, I wasn't expecting that.

I was thinking about that too. The door is a little thinner than the
1.5" "one-by-two". I definitely planned on rounding the top edge from
the top, but I'm thinking about how to do the bottom edge.

Too late now but you could have rounded it before you put it on.

I don't have a router table, but I suppose I could have rigged something
up, maybe with a second piece of 1x2 adjacent to the work piece to
provide more "land" for the router to ride on. Maybe next time.


Having the
router balance on the 1" edge (I put a contrasting band of thinner
wood in-between) didn't sound like a good idea. I thought I might
stand the desktop on its side an run the small router along the 1.5"
side.

That's the only way you *can* rout it now.

This desk is going to back up to a wall. Maybe I'll try the back edge
first and then decide.

Another option would be to just knock the (bottom) edge off
with sandpaper, but I'm not sure that would look as nice.

Of course, there are alternatives to a router...

1. Radi-Plane
http://www.constantines.com/radiusplaneslick-plane.aspx

I bought one of those years ago and didn't like it at all. I dug it up
again recently was determined to fool with it until it became useful.
I got it a little better, but didn't really succeed.

Your problem was...?

We've established that my woodworking skills are modest, but it just
didn't seem possible to make a smooth cut. The cutters are made of thin
material. I think this is part of the problem. They don't seem rigid
enough and must flex a little during the cut. I surmised that the front
cutter would need to be shallower than the rear, but could never come up
with a combination that worked well. If your goal was a very very slight
roundover , maybe.

2. Any small plane
http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Trimming+Plane

3. Shoemaker's rasp. These are so handy that it is beyond my
ken why anyone messing with wood doesn't have one.
http://woodworker.com/49-second-cut-...p&searchmode=2

I doubt my ability to do an even job over a six-foot length with
either of those methods.

No one is going to be checking the uniformity with a micrometer.

Thank goodness.


For the corners (mitered?), forget a router. Use a rasp, sandpaper,
whatever.

Not mitered. I decided I liked the look better the other way. Oh hell,
here's a photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

and another:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

[I'm sure I will get comments that the long clamps are too far apart
on the short edge of the desk top. If I remember correctly, I was
able to use the "bow" of the 1x2 to my advantage on that end. The other
end
needed some creative problem solving]

Those are dowels?

Yes. The "tight" ones I mentioned elsewhere.

If you had clamped, drilled at a slight angle and then
inserted the dowels you wouldn't need any clamps other than 1-2 while
drilling. Ditto with screws and face grain plugs.

That's very much like what I did, actually. But I used five clamps along
the long sides. The 1x2s, while the best ones I could pick out of maybe
20 that I fished out of the HD rack, were not 100% true. They needed a
little persuasion to straighten them out while I drilled the holes. I
didn't deliberately drill them at a slight angle, but a slight angle was
what I got.

It seemed that while the Forstner bit made a nice clean hole, it may
have had a greater tendency to wander.

After I drilled the holes I took off the clamps, applied glue and put
the strips back on with the dowels and clamps. Am I reading you right -
with dowels I wouldn't have needed clamps for the glue-up? Really? As
tight as the dowels were, and with the "slight angle", I suppose it
might have held straight pieces OK. But one of my end pieces was bowed
enough that I could see light through the middle section.

That was my puzzle for the day. I only had two clamps that long, and I
had dowels sticking out from the holes. I cut down the dowels, but there
was still maybe a sixteenth left, enough I thought to prevent me from
using a piece of wood to spread out the pressure. I found three pieces
of 1/8" ply and put them in the areas between the dowels, then clamped a
long piece of scrap to span the whole length. (you can see this in one
of the photos) That almost worked, but there was still a small gap in
the middle. I took out the middle piece of 1/8" ply, put maybe 8 layers
of painter's tape on it, stuck it back in and tightened the clamps
again. That extra thickness did the trick.

As ass-backward as that undoubtedly was, It Ain't Comin' Off. I think it
might even rate a merit badge. Perhaps the coveted "It Was All Wrong But
It Worked" badge.

This is my first real project in quite a while, and one of the lessons
learned has been to look into better materials for the next one.

Good luck on finding them.

People have given me some good prospects nearby.


Here are some conventional ways of flushing...
snip

2. Hand held router with trimming bit and bearing horizontal to ply.
Good for same reason as above, bad because the router has to ride on
a narrow edge. Fix the bad part by clamping a 2x4 to the banding so
you have a wider surface for the router.

I tried this (sans extension) with the lam trimmer on a test piece,
but with only the inner banding in place. It worked very nicely over
most of the piece, but dug in in one spot. That worries me, and I
probably won't try it on the desk.

I assume you were running the router with the base on the 1 1/2 side, right?

Yes

With a trimming bit with a bearing, right?

Yes

If it dug in then you had to
have tipped it toward the outside. Set the cutting depth so that the
cutters are at or just shy of the ply, guide the router with one hand and
use the other to firmly hold the base against whatever it is riding on.

It seemed to "grab" all of a sudden, like "smooth, smooth, smooth, bind,
DIG".

6. Plane. Blade has to be very sharp, has to be set to take very
thin shavings and you still have to be very, very careful. The
banding corners will be a PITA unless you band two parallel sides
and flush them before appling the other two pieces of banding.

Too late for that. All four sides are on.

There are two ways to make using a plane easier...

1. Taper your band slightly outward before applying it. That
means you will have to take off much less to get ply and edge of
band flush. 2. Put on a piece of thin - 1/8 - 1/4 - banding, make it
flush,
then apply your wider band, preferably tapered. That thin band of
solid wood gives you a bit more wiggle room for errors without
messing up the plywood.

That's what I've got, actually. A 1/4" band and a 3/4" band.

I have two ideas about this. The first is to live with the
imperfection. It is pretty flush much of the way around, but you can
feel the edge and even see it here and there.

The second is to use a (Stanley #78)rabbet plane. I'm missing one
part, but I've found it online. I figure that I could set the "rabbet
width" to the width of the banding and set the depth stop to stop the cut
at
the height of the door veneer. Thin as that is, though, I'm even
worried about having the depth stop ride over it. (I've already done
some sanding).

Why in the world would you bother trying to use a rabbet plane? Really
unneeded complication.

Maybe so, but there'd be no chance of running over onto the veneer, and
there'd be a set depth too. Better yet, I'd get to say I used that odd
contraption for something.

I may go with #1. We'll see.

If you do, no woodworking merit badge for you

In all seriousness, I'm having a good time doing this, even though I've
already made a couple of significant mistakes. I figure the next project
will be even better. That's enough for me. Thanks for the tips. I'm sure
I'll be needing more.

On 10/13/2011 12:23 PM, dadiOH wrote:
The second is to use a (Stanley #78)rabbet plane. I'm missing one
part, but I've found it online. I figure that I could set the "rabbet
width" to the width of the banding and set the depth stop to stop the cut
at
the height of the door veneer. Thin as that is, though, I'm even
worried about having the depth stop ride over it. (I've already done
some sanding).
Why in the world would you bother trying to use a rabbet plane? Really
unneeded complication.

I gave this a try last night and I have to say it worked very well. I
set the fence on the rabbet plane by eye with it sitting on the edge of
the work. Freed from having to worry about running over onto the veneer
somewhere along the 6' length, I was able to trim down the oak nicely.
Here and there I used a block plane in the corners.

Perfect? No. But pretty decent. It was pretty close before I planed it;
at least half of the perimeter I left alone. I could have lived with the
rest, but the "merit badge" comment shamed me into it.

Greg Guarino wrote:
On 10/13/2011 12:23 PM, dadiOH wrote:
The second is to use a (Stanley #78)rabbet plane. I'm missing one
part, but I've found it online. I figure that I could set the
"rabbet width" to the width of the banding and set the depth stop
to stop the cut at
the height of the door veneer. Thin as that is, though, I'm even
worried about having the depth stop ride over it. (I've already
done some sanding).
Why in the world would you bother trying to use a rabbet plane? Really
unneeded complication.

I gave this a try last night and I have to say it worked very well. I
set the fence on the rabbet plane by eye with it sitting on the edge
of the work. Freed from having to worry about running over onto the
veneer somewhere along the 6' length, I was able to trim down the oak
nicely. Here and there I used a block plane in the corners.

Perfect? No. But pretty decent. It was pretty close before I planed
it; at least half of the perimeter I left alone. I could have lived
with the rest, but the "merit badge" comment shamed me into it.

I'm glad it worked for you. I still think it overkill but you are entitled
to the merit badge

--

dadiOH
____________________________

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