Advice; cutting a hole in a table

[superFoolish]

Hi all,

I'd be very grateful for some advice please...

I want to make a sewing machine table like the one in the project linked at the end of this post.

It's an IKEA hack - a nice cheap table that will convert nicely (I plan to use an identical IKEA table to the one in the linked project). I am confident and reasonably competent with power tools, but would really like to make a good job of cutting the hole in the table without damaging the plastic laminate. The good news is that most of the cut will be concealed as shown in the first photo in the link - the plastic sewing machine plate covers the vast majority of the hole, and the plate on my wife's sewing machine is even larger (I have taken that into account with my measurements). Furthermore, the cut at the back of the machine will not be visible, because it's against a wall (much like the first photo).

This gives me some opportunity to get things wrong with the cuts that will be concealed!

In the first photo, one can see that the hole is very closely cut to the right-hand side of the sewing machine, but I am going to have to leave a 30 mm gap at the right to provide hand-access to a lever* which will be below the table surface. I'll probably apply plastic edging to the visible cuts. Having just written that previous sentence, I'm wondering if there might be such a thing as clip-on edging; that could conceal a multitude of sins, and would look quite neat!

I have researched making clean cuts with a jigsaw but, so far, I've only found references to cutting edges with a circular saw, which does not apply here. The best tips I can find are:

1) Use a new blade (should I be using a thin blade?)
2) Score the surface on the cut-line.
3) Put tape on the cut-line.

I'll be drilling the corners out, rather than trying to jigsaw a radius, but I'm not sure whether I should be using a large bit (starting with a small bit initially), or a larger hole-cutting tool (I have various sizes).

http://badskirt.blogspot.com.au/2012/07 ... hands.html

* ...the lever lowers the feed dogs for free-motion quilting (just in case you were wondering)!

[redsturgeon]

Points to note,

A jigsaw cuts on the up stroke so if you can cut from the underside you will probably get a neater edge.

It is not the thinness of the blade but rather the number of teeth (pitch) that is the key, smaller teeth or more per inch equals neater cut.

Drilling from top down, don't use a spade bit a hole saw with fine teeth might work or just a large high speed bit, 12mm should be fine use high speed on drill.

You can get plastic edging strip in various profiles.

Good luck

John

[DrFfybes]

Points to note,

A jigsaw cuts on the up stroke so if you can cut from the underside you will probably get a neater edge.

It is not the thinness of the blade but rather the number of teeth (pitch) that is the key, smaller teeth or more per inch equals neater cut.

John

You can get blades that cut on the downstroke which I have used when cutting contiboard,, but they are a bit tricky to use as the jigsaw can jump if the grab.

Best bet is probably to get a laminate blade which has fine teeth and a pretty universal cut.

Have a look at this video - quite good for the basics

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/how-to-choose ... cuts-a1445

Paul

[MyNameIsUrl]

Once you've marked out your hole, mark out a smaller opening and use it for practice. Try out, for example, different speeds of cut. Check whether top or bottom has the cleanest edge.

[redsturgeon]

One more thing I forgot...if you have an orbital action jigsaw. Make sure you dial it back to 0 for no orbital action.

John

[kiloran]

Points to note,

A jigsaw cuts on the up stroke so if you can cut from the underside you will probably get a neater edge.
John

It's also useful to clamp a stiff piece of wood to the laminate side along the saw-line to help minimise damage to the laminate

--kiloran

[jfgw]

If it is an Ikea table, you may find that it is hollow in the middle (except for cardboard honeycomb). That is not to say that the job cannot be done but it may be wise to cut out some of the honeycomb and line the hole with wood of the correct thickness. A proper timber merchant should be able to rip a piece of wood to the thickness you require.

Julian F. G. W.

[bionichamster]

Using a router will give a much better finish, it will round the corners very neatly and will require no pre-drilling, provided it is run along a good staight-edge it will give a perfect cut avoiding the possibility of jigsaw creep or blade bending that can really screw up trying to do a neat job.

You can buy stick-on edging for this sort of thing in standard widths but if it was me I'd be looking for a solid wood tabletop (Ikea do some at reasonably cheap prices although I guess they might not suit this project in other ways. But I reckon a well routed chipboard top could look pretty reasonable, it will almost certainly look better than a jigsawed one. But for the hidden edges it's irrelevent. If it was being factory made it would be routed.

BH

[superFoolish]

Thanks for the replies.

I was planning to do some practise runs inside the required cutting area.

The table is definitely wood, and not stuffed with cardboard.

I hadn't thought about using a router; I have one, but haven't used it for quite a few years. I'll dig it out to have a practise, and see how it goes. It'll be interesting to see what it does to the laminate.

Thanks again.

[redsturgeon]

Thanks for the replies.

I was planning to do some practise runs inside the required cutting area.

The table is definitely wood, and not stuffed with cardboard.

I hadn't thought about using a router; I have one, but haven't used it for quite a few years. I'll dig it out to have a practise, and see how it goes. It'll be interesting to see what it does to the laminate.

Thanks again.

Worth a go with the router if you have one but IMHO they are much more difficult to use than a jigsaw and you will need a lot of setting up to get your guides absolutely right to get a decent straight edge.

John

[quelquod]

I'd certainly give the router a try, practise a bit before deciding. A jigsaw maybe seems an easier option but the difference in quality of finish between a router and freehand jigsawing is substantial. Make sure everything is solidly mounted and the guide is rigidly clamped before you start and don't be frightened to take bold strokes, a decent router with a sharp tool can cut quickly. If the table is laminate or veneer on chipboard a router is certainly the way to go.

[bionichamster]

Worth a go with the router if you have one but IMHO they are much more difficult to use than a jigsaw and you will need a lot of setting up to get your guides absolutely right to get a decent straight edge.

I'm not sure I'd say they are that much more difficult to use but it will require quite a bit more preparation and setting up guides to ensure the cuts are in exactly the right place, but if time is taken to get it right it should be a much better finish than a jigsaw. Actually using it is pretty easy, it's that preperation that is 'difficult'.

BH

[superFoolish]

I've done a test-run with the router on a piece of scrap board that I conveniently had lying around, and I'm very pleased with the results. The edges are perfect; not a single chip out of the laminate. I spent a lot of time measuring and fencing the routing area (the sewing machine is an odd shape - if only it was rectangular)!

I have not done much routing in the past, and certainly not for at least 8-10 years, so this is quite a big project for me. I made a couple of mistakes during the test-run, but that was the whole idea! I now know what not to do wrong now. Having said that, nothing major went wrong, so I'm very pleased so far.

Just plucking up the courage to do the real job now! Worst-case scenario is that I botch it and have to buy a new table-top for AUD$50 (~GBP30).

Unfortunately, a leaking washing machine has assisted in the procrastination today, so perhaps tomorrow.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year.

[panamagold]

I maybe teaching a grandma to suck eggs here but the direction of cut ---> whils't operating a router is paramount to YOUR safety. This http://www.woodcraft.com/articles/605/understanding-router-feed-direction.aspx explains the direction of cut for your particular project. I would provisionally rough cut out the shape using a jig saw leaving 5mm to 8mm to be cleaned up with use of your router. Definitely the tool to use in your case but treat it with the greatest of respect and good luck.

[bionichamster]

I would provisionally rough cut out the shape using a jig saw leaving 5mm to 8mm to be cleaned up with use of your router.

That sounds like an excellent suggestion allowing the edge of the hole to routed out to the required size in several passes removing a small amount of wood at a time and putting much less stress on the router bit.

BH

[superFoolish]

Thanks for the additional advice.

I'm no router expert, but was formally trained in the use of many tools when I was an apprentice (many years ago), and the safety aspects have stuck with me (I even bought a new pair of safety google yesterday). We were told many horror stories about incorrect use of tools (and shown photographs of the results; yeuch), and I'm too much of a coward to risk injuring myself!

I'm the kind of person who does loads of research before diving into this kind of project (some call it procrastination!), so I had already learned about feed direction.

Thanks again; I should be on the case within the next hour.

P.S. The washing machine repair appears to have worked.

[superFoolish]

An update...

The routing went very well (although slowly); Mrs sF is ecstatic to have a large, dedicated sewing area, with a 'sunken' machine. No more hunched shoulders.

Rather than drill holes in the worktop to suspend the sewing machine shelf, as suggested in the original plan (see OP), I screwed blocks to the underside of the tabletop and suspended the shelf from the blocks. I probably overdid it with the number of screws used to attach the blocks, but it's a very expensive machine, and I didn't want to risk disaster!

There's a bit of sanding to do, and I need to enlargen the hole at one end - the sewing machine fits, but it's tricky to get it in and out without bashing the controls on the right-side of the machine. Also need to cut the excess length of the bolts off.

From start to finish, about a day's work and less than Aus$100 (~£50) materials. I had to postpone finishing the job for a couple of days due adverse weather conditions (>40 degrees C)! Long weekend ahead for me, so I can finish it off and move on to the next job.

Incidentally, the washing machine repair has held-out; there was a tear in the rubber door 'boot', so I repaired it with polyurethane sealant. It's bonded beautifully, and looks pretty neat. $10 for the sealant and 20 mins of my time is better than a minimum $90 replacement part and a couple of hours to replace it. You have to dismantle half the machine just to replace the door seal!

Thanks again for all the advice.