Do things have to be millilitre perfect?

[petermillard]

Solid advice up above. FWIW ‘square enough’ is all I ever aim for, it’s much more important to me to have consistent gaps around / between the doors. As Mike G says in the first reply, get the shoulders of the rails square and everything else should follow.

I make panel doors the way I do because it’s quick & easy - if that means making the panel slightly undersize for an easy fit, so be it.

BTW, it can be useful to mention not just what you’re making and how, but from what; advice for making panel doors from solid timber with a wax finish using hand tools would be very different from making panel doors with power tools in MDF to be painted.

Cheers, Peter

 

[woodbloke66]

Depends where the mm is and whether it's crucial or not. When you lay out a project to begin with, your working drawing (if you do one and you should) ought to have metric sizes which are the starting point and are outlined in the cutting list eg; 2 front rails 500 x 50 x 18; material - oak. Those distances are critical and they need to be exact.
As you go through the build, you start to measure off relative distances from the job itself, the actual mm reading tends to become less import unless it's another critical distance say, a drawer opening or a diagonal across a frame; here again you should compare one against the other, not measure it.
As you gain experience in building stuff, you start to appreciate which distances are critical and those which aren't; you'll soon learn which mm is important - Rob

 

[TheTiddles]

As your skills come up, a millimetre seems larger and larger. I now use metalwork tools and gauges as woodwork ones just aren’t precise enough. I used to think it was funny that people did that.

Obviously not for making a trellis in the garden, that can be out by up to 3mm

Aidan

 

[Jonathan S]

Get it right from the start and everything flows......get it wrong and you've got a fight on your hands.

The old boy that taught would only except perfection, it was difficult as a boy to achieve.....but it payed off....and yes I made a load of mistakes and still do!

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

 

[NewbieRaf]

Thanks again all, yes that’s a very good point. The only plans I make are sketches with measurements - not all that detailed. I really need to find time to mess around with Sketch up. Do any of you use it or something similar?

 

[Max Power]

Depends what you are making.

On something modern and simple looking where you want clean lines (shaker style) you need to be really accurate or it shows.

There's nothing modern about "shaker style" panelled doors have been in common use for hundreds of years

 

[Lons]

I can't add much to the advice given except a couple of points.

A top end machine e.g. table saw doesn't automatically guarantee accurate results as it has to be maintained and properly set up, that also applies to cheaper machines some of which if carefully tuned and fitted with a really good sawblade can give very acceptable results so it's still down to the user.

If you don't have one already then buy a reasonable quality track saw and your large sheet issues will be solved, I wish I'd bought mine a long time ago.

 

[NewbieRaf]

I couldn't agree more with the track saw comment. In fact, as soon as I made the decision to buy sheets of MDF I immediately got myself some tracks and they are awesome. I also should have gotten myself some insulation board to cut on but rather I did it resting on a couple of CLS's. Setting that up is a pain as although I rough cut I made sure it was square.

 

[MikeG.]

.......... I also should have gotten myself ............

Gotten?!

Carruthers, we have a first time offender. I think a damned good thrashing with some stinging nettles should suffice this time. Fetch me my gloves and a bundle of fresh nettles.

 

[MikeG.]

Don't forget that a track saw requires a flat surface, so if you are breaking down 8x4 sheets regularly you'll need some sort of large flat arrangement on which to work. For me, I see no advantage over a clamped straight edge, 3 saw horses, and a circular saw.

 

[Doug71]

For me, I see no advantage over a clamped straight edge, 3 saw horses, and a circular saw.

Apart from ease, speed, safety and quality of finish...... :wink:

 

[MikeG.]

"For me" were the key words. In my circumstances, where working with sheet goods is irregular, and where ply or MDF is always contained within a wooden frame, none of the things you list are an advantage, and would require an investment of lots of money and lots of space in the workshop. So......for me.........a tracksaw offers nothing. This is a horses for courses argument, not "my way is better than your way".

 

[woodbloke66]

For me, I see no advantage over a clamped straight edge, 3 saw horses, and a circular saw.

Apart from ease, speed, safety and quality of finish...... :wink:

Totally agree. I've used Mike's method of a clamped straight edge and a circular saw and still do...for stuff where the cut isn't critical. I also however, have a Festooly track saw which produces a far superior and more accurate cut. To compare the two is bonkers IMO :lol: - Rob

 

[NewbieRaf]

Lesson learned with sheet goods, seldom will I get large sheets again, too much of a pain. I may invest in a MFT3 or similar to avoid any self debate if my cuts are square or not

 

[Spearmint Wino]

Hi

I would say i’m in a similar position to you, in terms of where I am on this woodworking journey and the types of things I make.

My space doesn’t allow me a permanently set-up bench with vice so earlier this year I got a track saw and a 3rd-party MFT top with bench / rail dogs and my accuracy and cuts are leagues beyond where they were previously. The capacity is a bit limited but the confidence in knowing you CAN cut accurately (yes, bang on the millimetre!) was a turning point for me and has inspired further working methods and procedures that themselves increase accuracy and reduce mistakes.

As was covered earlier, removing potential for error (proper accurate measuring and marking, clamping etc), using existing parts as reference rather than constantly re-measuring, making spacer blocks and panels as a constant reference for repeated dimensions among other things have made a world of difference. Most of it made possible by being able to cut pieces accurately - in my case with the track and mft.

It also taught me that when the timber yard cut sheets to my specified dimensions they weren’t square. Or particularly accurate...

 

[Hornbeam]

We all strive for accuracy but it has to be taken in context. Generally on smaller projects then I find you need to work to tighter tolerances, but it is very much project specific. For example a small box with a hinged lid could be 2 mm out of square and nobody would notice, the same box with a lift of lid needs to be 100% as the owner will almost certainly try and put the lid on the wrong way round. A square box is even more demanding as there are now 4 ways of putting the lid back on.
I also find that having worked on small projects my accuracy on larger ones improves as well
Ian

 

[Trigs]

For me yes and no, it depends on the project, for example if I make a carcass for an alcove I might design the size to be 600mm wide X 300mm deep X 700mm high,whilst I might be not be bothered if the finished size is +- a couple mm it's important that the cuts are repeatable and accurate to each other to keep things square. However when I make the doors I will be more fussy . How you achieve this is irrelevant, work with what you have, take your time and learn from mistakes, expensive machines don't garuntee perfect results, only practice, skill and patience get you closer

 

[thomashenry]

I'm sure others have said it, but learning what sort of accuracy is needed for a given situation is something you'll pick up as you go.

For example, if you are making a cabinet with an inset door, around 70x40cm. If the door frame is 1-2mm out of square, its not the end of the world - your eye won't see it, and you plane the door to the opening anyway. However, if the gap between the door and the frame varies by 1-2mm from one side to the other, you will notice it, and it will be a problem. But this won't happen, because you fit the door to the opening.

On the other hand, if the door or the frame is in twist by 2mm, it might well be an issue, as you will notice it.

 

[NewbieRaf]

I totally agree guys and much like the good person above I too have a small shop in fact it's just a single garage, but then it actually forces me to think of solutions plus I watch a lot of youtube videos that give me many tips. Having said that I can't help looking at youtube, seeing the MFTs and thinking jeez...that cut would have taken me 5 mins (an age). Take Mr Millard as an example, check out his shop....its small, but using his words "there is no debate if this is square. Its square because I set it up".....He was talking about his MFT

 

[Lons]

Just another small but I feel important benefit using a tracksaw on ply or mdf. I don't know if all makes have the feature but my Makita has a pre-cut setting which cuts just a few mm on the first pass, it takes seconds to knock setting back off that off and take a second cut then the result is virtually no tear out on either side.