Cutting Angles

[mytheral]

Good morning everyone.

Chalk this question up to my inexperience in wood cutting but here we go.

I am currently building my control panel base and I have pieces of wood that need to be angled so they fit flush around the whole panel. I have measured the angles of the control panel to see what they were but I don't know how to convert this to cutting my angled pieces of wood.

Pictures below. (I threw in some other pictures of the build so people can get a better idea)

https://goo.gl/photos/rZfLpraG1K49B1fi9

I hope that was enough information.

Thank you in advance!

-Myth

[JDFan]

WHat are you cutting with ? -- Almost all Circular and Table saws have adjustments that can be used to angle the blade to cut up to 45 degree angles. Here's a Youtube video showing using a circular saw so you just need to figure out how to set your particular model of saw up to do the angle cuts and then cut the proper angles on both pieces so that they attach to each other as needed for the CP box ! (ie. 2 45 degree cuts make a 90 degree angle - 2 22.5 degree cuts will make a 45 degree angle etc. etc. so you just need to know what angle you need and cut accordingly - might want to use some scrap wood pieces to cut test pieces first to get the angle you want and then cut the final pieces.)

[mytheral]

I have both a circular saw and table saw at my disposal. My problem is figuring out the angle that I need to cut.

I am unaware of how to do that.

Do i maybe need to take the degrees that I have found and divide them by 2?

I am a noob to all of this stuff lol Thank you for your patience

[JDFan]

I have both a circular saw and table saw at my disposal. My problem is figuring out the angle that I need to cut.

I am unaware of how to do that.

Do i maybe need to take the degrees that I have found and divide them by 2?

I am a noob to all of this stuff lol Thank you for your patience

Pretty much -- figure the 2 pieces coming together will join to make the angle so 2 45 degree cuts will join at a 90 degree angle - If you need an off angle that you are having a hard time cutting exactly - you can also cut anything larger than needed and just line up the front edge and the join edge will look fine even though the entire back side does nopt line up. So could actually cut 2 45 degree cuts and then just line up the front edge at any angle since the back portion will not be visible so does not have to all be lined up as illustrated below

[mytheral]

Hmmm that is an option. I could just fill any gaps with filler or some puddy if it bothered me that much but at this point, I don't think it will.

Thank you for that suggestion.

[EvilNuff]

Take some scrap wood and make test cuts until you get the fit you want and then with the blade at the same angle do the real cuts. 

[lilshawn]

measure the angle you have on the base and divide by 2. set your blade to this angle and cut both pieces to this angle.

for instance, if it's 140 degrees then set it to 70.

this is why we were supposed to be paying attention during trig in school.

"this is crap, i'll never use this in the real world"

[JDFan]

if it's 140 degrees then set it to 70.

You mean a 20 degree setting ( 90 - 70 ) and cut from other direction. ( Most saws only have up to 45 degree setting )

[lilshawn]

if it's 140 degrees then set it to 70.

You mean a 20 degree setting ( 90 - 70 ) and cut from other direction. ( Most saws only have up to 45 degree setting )

oh yeah i suppose. my saw has 2 scales that start and go from either direction

[aldub516]

i have an almost identical control panel, and went through trials cutting those angles.. a person with even little skill could probably do it in ten minutes... took me quite a few more tries than that.. I just used smaller scrap would that was long enough and kept trying different things. As someone said chances are you will end up with space in the back inside, which should be a big problem

[mytheral]

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. I am going to finish measuring my angles this weekend and cut them. i'll let you know how it turns out!!

[mytheral]

It needs some touch up work, and I might possible cut a couple of new pieces but here is where she is at the moment. Dry fitting everything....

https://goo.gl/photos/uhLsH4zDgZ1SZ26Y7

[Pauly]

I know this is a bit old but I feel compelled to share my experience here with my first build. I am relatively new to word working and kept screwing up my angels. Wish I followed the "Take your angle and divide it by 2" approach. So flipping simple.

This is what helped me get the correct angle on my tablesaw. I used one of the bad boys to identify the angle.


It was a lifesaver.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_466699-56005-828_0__

Also I noticed you have fairly rough cuts on your MDF, you might want to consider getting a 60 tooth or higher saw blade for a smoother cut.

[MartyKong]

Pauly got this one right. I bought the  iGaging 11" Electronic Protractor Digital Angle Finder off Ebay. It has become my most used tool. Also I found out my table saw cuts from 90 - 45 degrees. To get a cut from 45 - 1 degrees I would have to make the cut with the 6 ft.  board standing vertical Not a great idea. My circular saw can get up to a 56 degree angle (Protractor will see this as 34 degrees). With this, I was able to get my 37 degree angle done. I hope this makes sense.

[mytheral]

My apologies for not following this thread!

Also I noticed you have fairly rough cuts on your MDF, you might want to consider getting a 60 tooth or higher saw blade for a smoother cut.

Pauly, thank you for your contribution. Next time I will have to use a different saw blade to make some of those cleaner cuts

Next time....

[Slippyblade]

To get a cut from 45 - 1 degrees I would have to make the cut with the 6 ft.  board standing vertical Not a great idea.

Or, ya know, flip the board and cut from the other side of the blade.