Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Negativecreep0 on November 09, 2005, 03:37:06 pm
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well fellahs does anyone know if Home Depot does custom cuts on wood if you pay them. I have arched shaped i want cut out perfect that i cant seem to do with the jigsaw.....
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They won't at my local home depot.. but it's just as well. I don't want the people there making custom cuts anyway. They have a hard enough time cutting a piece in half so I can get it home.
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I'm pretty sure, that in Canada, they only make straight cuts...that could be an Ontario thing though...not 100%...
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Don't think so.
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Nope. They only do straight cuts.
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Straight only.
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and they mess up the straight ones for me
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Just straight, but they suck anyways...
The 2x8 they cut:
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Do you have a photo or drawing of the profile in hand? Maybe we could give you some advice in cutting it yourself if we know what it looks like.
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Jigsaws blades bend and can cause crooked cuts.
Use a router with a 1/4" (I think) rotozip bit.
Thats what Ive done when I wanted to cut curves. Cuts like a hot knife thru butter.
Or, you might just get a rotozip tool. Ive not used one. The bits are
a little thinner, and prone to bend a little - unlike the larger 1/4" size that
will fit the router. However, even a little flex is not bad compared to the
flex and trouble with jigsaws.
Rotozip bits cut much faster and less effort required than using a standard router bit, or jigsaw.
Though, just about anything you use will most likly need a good sanding
and final shapeing with sanding tools. (unless you have a perfect rail guide template) A simple drum sander attachment that will fit a drill may work ok. Finish with hand sanding.
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Home depot in Ontario Canada will do 3 straight cuts with a panel saw or radial arm saw. More than 3 cuts will cost you. Straight cuts only, and like others said above, I just have them break the panels down so I can get them in my vehicle. I make sure that the cut I tell them to make is at least 1" off of the actual cut I'm going to make. It helps if you draw a little layout of a 4'-0" x 8"-0" sheet, or whatever you're getting cut and mark the home depot cut line on it and draw down some dimensions to locate it. Hand the drawing to the saw operator.
Incidentally, they are supposed to have only the employees who have taken a safety course operate the saws. On a Saturday, you could wait an hour or more just for cuts. Seems that at our home depot the saw guy is also the fork truck guy, so when he's taking stock down off the racks with the fork truck, nobody is getting material cut.
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Rotozips, and routers to some extent, have a mind of their own when doing freehand cuts. Routers are good for cutting arches and the like if you have a hard template to use as an edge guide.
I have found the easiest way to cut arches in 3/4" thick stock is to use a good jigsaw (one with orbital action), rough cut to just ouside the line, and then use a portable belt sander to take the arch down to the line. I've done a lot of them this way, and you couldn't tell they were done on a CNC machine (well, almost.)
-gary
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straight cuts only
that is if you mean jagged = straight
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I'll try to explain this as best I can without having an actual picture to post.
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pointdablame try the homedepot near elizabeth. and everything has only 3 cent sales tax.
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Here in Los Angeles they do 3 straight free and charge you for any additional cuts. I had to cut everything else using a hand saw!!
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Rotozip works, but you need to go slow and steady or you get this: :-[
(http://www.jarvisweb.net/MAME/images/cab/3_web.png)
Fixed it, though and the t-molding hides the rest ::)
(http://www.jarvisweb.net/MAME/images/cab/4_thumb.jpg)
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I like the idea of the compas arm for cutting arcs of circles.
If you want to cut other kinds of curves, you can cut a template from 1/4" MDF and then use it as a guide for the router. Cut the template a little big and sand it to the right size. Or use Bosch blads on the saw and go real slow... Or even use 1/8" MDF and cut it with a coping saw. Man, that would take a lot of time, but you could get a perfect cut.
Bob