How do I cut a rectangle out of a piece of plywood/MDF? Seriously.

[javeryh]

I can drill a hole for the jigsaw blade and then rough cut 1/8" from the edge and then flush cut with my router and pattern bit.  The problem is getting into the corners - they are left rounded from the router bit.  Any tips?  I really need this to be a perfect/sharp rectangle because it is going to frame my monitor...

THANKS!!

[spacies]

Draw the shape out with pencil and cut the remainder with a hand saw if you aren't confident enough to use the jigsaw.
Then some sandpaper to tidy things up.
Just take it slow and you will be fine.

[leapinlew]

Draw the shape out with pencil and cut the remainder with a hand saw if you aren't confident enough to use the jigsaw.
Then some sandpaper to tidy things up.
Just take it slow and you will be fine.

 

[prOk]

take the wood to home depot or lowes and have them cut it for you.. .25 cents  a cut.

[spiffykyle]

2 options really.

The handsaw is probably the easiest. You can get one of those japanese style saws with the long flat blades that work great for stuff like this.

here's an example: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10705

The other option is a chisel. However you'd normally only use a chisel when you need a corner that is recessed, not cut all the way through.

spiffykyle

[ScottS]

2 options really.

The handsaw is probably the easiest. You can get one of those japanese style saws with the long flat blades that work great for stuff like this.

here's an example: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10705

Japanese saws are great! Just to clarify though, you want the flush-cut saw (Kugihiki), not the Dozuki! The spline along the back of the Dozuki will make it difficult to cut at the correct angle. If you can't find a Kugihiki, you could also use a Kataha (single-edge saw), or maybe a Ryoba (double-edge saw). The best place to buy Japanese saws is The Japan Woodworker

Let's be realistic though: most people can't saw worth a crap. Draw a line across the top, front, and back of a piece of wood and they can only hit 2 of the 3 lines, if that. Practice on some scrap wood before making the cuts for the bezel. If you can't accurately saw to a line on the scrap, you won't be able to do it on the bezel. The Kugihiki is probably your best bet for getting it right. Any western-style push saw bought for less than $100 is probably a piece of crap that won't cut straight no matter what you do...

The other option is a chisel. However you'd normally only use a chisel when you need a corner that is recessed, not cut all the way through.

Why? A chisel is actually a better tool for this task than a hand saw! You put the blade against the flat of the side, then push toward the corner. Do that from each side and you eventually end up with a nice, square corner. The only trick is that you have to use a sharp chisel. Even a brand-new chisel bought from a woodworking store isn't sharp enough to cut well. If you've never sharpened your chisels and don't know how, don't use this method! If you do try it, do not use a mallet. With a sharp chisel, the mallet isn't necessary; in fact, using a mallet with a dull chisel is a great way to ruin a project. If you have a lot of wood to remove, make a series of smaller cuts. Trying to remove a large chunk of wood at once is a great way to split the wood.

[javeryh]

Hmmm... thanks a lot guys - that's a lot of good info.  It's just as I feared though in that there's no magical trick to doing this.  I need skills!  Oh well, I'll give it a shot and see if it works (of course to complicate things I'm using MDF so I'm not sure a chisel is an option.  The flat hand saw will probably be my weapon of choice.

[ScottS]

Actually, the option which required the least amount of skill is the one originally suggested by spacies: use a jigsaw to get it close, then clean things up with sandpaper (use a sanding block), a chisel, or maybe a file.

Even better: make a small sawboard for your jigsaw! That should allow you to make perfectly straight cuts with it, which is all you need to clean-up the corner.

[Red 5]

Try this:

Rockler Link





Jon

[ScottS]

Try this:

Rockler Link

Infortuntely, that tool won't work. It's designed for squaring up rounded edges in hinge mortises. The base needs to be supported by the wood and it can only remove a tiny bit of material at a time.

[Red 5]

Infortuntely, that tool won't work. It's designed for squaring up rounded edges in hinge mortises. The base needs to be supported by the wood and it can only remove a tiny bit of material at a time.

I have squared up 1/2" thick material with this same tool. The bottom squares itself
into the corner. It is supported by the top of the material you wish to square not the bottom of the mortise. It can work well.

Jon

[ScottS]

I have squared up 1/2" thick material with this same tool. The bottom squares itself
into the corner. It is supported by the top of the material you wish to square not the bottom of the mortise. It can work well.

You must be using a different tool or have more skill than I. My corner chisel, and I believe it's the one pictured, only has an 1/8" lip to support the tool and a maximum cut depth of 1/4". I don't like my chances of being able to get through 3/4" MDF cleanly, but maybe it can be done...

[spacies]

javeryh: I suggest you do this quickly before you get more confused.

As suggested above, you could clamp something straight, a sawboard or level etc, to use as a guide for your jigsaw or just use a handsaw.

All the best.

[Red 5]

You must be using a different tool or have more skill than I. My corner chisel, and I believe it's the one pictured, only has an 1/8" lip to support the tool and a maximum cut depth of 1/4". I don't like my chances of being able to get through 3/4" MDF cleanly, but maybe it can be done...

The one I have will do 1/2" max but you do have to wack it hard. 3/4" maybe if you went from both sides. Quality counts with this tool. I have seen the HF one fly apart on impact.

You could use a 1/8" diameter router bit to make the radius as small as possible. With a guide of course.

[NiteWalker]

The really simple answer:
Use a router and guide to cut the square.

From there just use some sandpaper wrapped around a stick to make the inside corner nice and sharp. Go nice and slow and you'll be fine.

[javeryh]

The really simple answer:
Use a router and guide to cut the square.

From there just use some sandpaper wrapped around a stick to make the inside corner nice and sharp. Go nice and slow and you'll be fine.

How?  My router and pattern bit will leave a quarter circle in the corner (assuming I can get close enough).  This is the material I'm concerned about removing... I might just clamp a level to the MDF as a guide for the shoe of my jigsaw... I really really don't want to screw this up...

[(+_+)]

Like mentioned previously, draw your square, use a jigsaw and cut as close to the line as possible without going over it since you can sand off the difference but it is much harder to put it back. Then clamp a piece of straight 2 x 4 and sand your straights using the 2 x 4 as a guide. This prevents a wobbly, uneven sanded finish that freehand sanding can cause. Use a sanding block (a cut 3" piece of 2 X 4)

[GoPodular.com]

Use a file.

Clamp wood above and below if you're concerned you won't do it at a 90-degree angle.  It's quick enough to do the job and slow enough you won't majorly screw anything up.

[etoasty]

I would recommend a file too, especially a square file. Sometimes it can be hard to get all the way into the corner with a regular file. Probably not the absolute greatest in quality, but lowes has a file set that includes one:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=96700-000000273-22062&lpage=none

As mentioned, sandpaper is an option too. But if you are trying to sand out corners with it you are going to need a sanding block with an edge to it. If you use a piece of 2x4, use one of the sharp edges on the ends of the piece instead of the rounded edges along the board.

[Xam]

coping saw would be another  you can use.

basically, you remove the blade, drill a hole large enough for the blade to slide into, reattach the blade, and start cutting. This is only an option if the wood is not to wide between edge and cut (usually about a 5-6" span).

[DrewKaree]

If you're using an MDF sheet as your monitor bezel, it's going to look like a plain wooden rectangle.  Have you considered Tailgunner's $2 bezel from posterboard?  It adds an awful lot of depth and style to the bezel area, plus you don't need to monkey around with anything more than an X-acto knife and a stapler.

At the very least, consider building the posterboard version and then disassemble it and use the pieces as a pattern for an MDF version.

A jigsaw will allow you to do what you're wanting to do, and the accuracy - as with any tool - is only going to be as good as the person using it and the level of quality you're shooting for.  Every option (sandpaper, file, saw, dynamite, etc) is only going to turn out as well as the effort you put into it, so why not make the $2 bezel out of posterboard or MDF and REALLY class your project up?  There may even be less effort to get a BETTER final result!

Just my 2 pence

[Chris]

If it's for a bezel, slightly rounded corners will look better anyway.

[javeryh]

Thanks everyone!  I ended up free-handing the corners using the jigsaw and some sandpaper.  It didn't come out perfect but it's good enough.  I realized that no one will ever see these corners because I have to use some black posterboard for the "real" bezel.  This MDF frame just goes around the outside of the monitor - I have to cover the monitor frame (which is about 3/4" all the way around) so I'm going to use black posterboard for that.  Here's some pics of what I was talking about.

Here's the corner still rounded:


Here's the finished corner:


Here's the finished bezel frame:


Not perfect but not too bad either!

[spacies]

Great job 

There is a saying:

Blind man, galloping horse, dark night.

It means it looks good enough from here, but I am umpteen 1000's of miles away so from here it looks perfect!

[javeryh]

Thanks!  Here's an excrutiating detailed description of what I did if anyone is interested:  www.bellasarcade.blogspot.com

[javeryh]

For the lazy:

I was able to find a little bit of time over the weekend to get some more work done on the arcade cabinet. I finished making the last cuts on the bezel panel (cutting out the rectangle for the monitor). This proved to be a little more difficult than it sounds because I had no way of getting into the corners to make a perfectly square cut. I ended up eyeballing it and sanding - it came out OK but it will eventually be covered by the black posterboard bezel I'll be making to hide the monitor casing.

The first thing I did (after laying out the rectangle using a t-square and pencil) was to drill pilot holes in the corners. I picked the largest bit I had and drilled 4 holes about 1/8" inside of the lines. Next, using the holes I just cut as starting points, I used my jigsaw to connect the holes - again staying about 1/8" inside of the lines. You can see the pilot holes and the crooked lines I made connecting them in the picture below.



At this point I had a rough cut frame that needed to be cleaned up:



The next thing I had to do was use my router, flush trimming bit and a straight edge to remove the extra material and make a perfect rectangle. This is where I had to get creative with my router set up and my use of shims and clamps. As you can see by the pictures, I had to raise the work piece quite a bit to get everything set up properly. It worked though! This is what I love about home projects - there is always a solution to a problem if you stare at it long enough.







I used a piece of 1"x2" wood as a straight edge and I set it up so I could run the router and flush trimming bit along the inside edge of the bezel cut out. I repeated this process 4 times (once for each side) and I ended up with a perfectly cut rectangle - except for the corners.





As you can see by the next set of pictures, after making the 4 cuts around the bezel, I was left with some material in each of the corners that the router bit could not reach.





In order to remove the excess material, I used the jigsaw, a steady hand and some sandpaper. I wanted the corners to be as square as possible but they will eventually be covered by the black posterboard bezel so I'm not too worried if there are small imperfections in the corners.

This is the final result:





Not too bad, eh?

[NiteWalker]

Looks good. I read the entire blog. Good stuff.  You're documenting it really well which is a help to everyone. I'm sure your daughter is going to love it.

[DrewKaree]

I must be missing something here.

What is the purpose of this piece if you're going to ALSO use the posterboard bezel? 

It seems like this is duplication and/or excessive engineering.

[ChadTower]

Wow, looks like it took longer to document than to do the work.

I'm interested in the answer to Drew's question, too.  I think I'm missing something.

[javeryh]

Thanks for the knid words guys.  To answer the question of why I'm doing this in addition to the cardboard bezel maybe this picture will help:



I need a piece of wood to frame the monitor and give the piece of posterboard a place to rest.  I made some brackets out of MDF that will hold the monitor in place so the monitor is exactly level with the MDF bezel.  A 1/4" piece of glass will go over everything when it's finished and be held in place by the slightly raised control panel (hence the rabbetted lip in the front) like this:



I'm not too bright though when it comes to these types of projects (I'm learning!) so maybe I missed something completely obvious that would have saved me a ton of time and effort.  That wouldn't surprise me at all...

[ChadTower]

No, it looks like your design is fine, we just don't call that the bezel.  At least I never have.  I've always considered the bezel to be artwork on top of that monitor framing piece.

[javeryh]

Ahhh, I see... yeah, I just didn't know what else to call it so I've been referring to it as the "bezel panel" - maybe "monitor frame" would be more accurate?

[ChadTower]

That what I usually call it.. the wooden component of the monitor frame.  Technically it's something like "the cabinet monitor support frame", I think.

[DrewKaree]

Lemme see if I'm following you.

You're going to drop your monitor down into that opening, and the metal frame surrounding the monitor is going to rest on that, keeping the monitor from falling through completely.  Yes?  Or at least that's what it looks like is gonna be happening

[ChadTower]

Yep, that's how a lot of cabs work.  The metal monitor frame screws to that, that screws to the wooden rails inside the cab.  When you remove the monitor from the cab, you pull that wood frame out with it.  Ideally that frame would have a couple of cutouts along the edges to use as handles.

[javeryh]

Lemme see if I'm following you.

You're going to drop your monitor down into that opening, and the metal frame surrounding the monitor is going to rest on that, keeping the monitor from falling through completely.  Yes?  Or at least that's what it looks like is gonna be happening

Not quite...  I created a sort of box for the monitor to sit in (I'm using an LCD monitor, vertically).  Imagine the rectangular hole is the top of the box (only the top is missing).  When the monitor is in place it is completely flat/flush with the panel.  If the box wasn't there the monitor wouldn't have ANY support and would fall right through.  Like the pic... sort of.  I'll post pics of the real deal when I get a chance.

[DrewKaree]

NOW I've got you.  I didn't realize you were using an LCD (or bother to look ).  That's why nothing was making sense to me.

[ChadTower]

It's not that different from the way a lot of CRTs are secured, though.  Dynamos are like that for easy swapping.  Now that I think about it, I think that piece is called the monitor shelf.