opinions on my tool checklist

[dndcollect]

after getting dicked around by a contracter and reading this board i have decided that i am going to do this myself.

I want to make bartops so here is the list of tools that i have gathered that seem to be needed, etc.

Drill
Drill Bits
Spade bit (for button holes?)
Hole Saw
Screws
Saw
Jigsaw
Sander
Router
Saw Horses

Also, is there a primer to put on the wood or some kind of treatment before painting?

am i missing anything?

[ScottS]

Why do you need both a spade bit and a hole saw?

What kind of saw? Table saw? Circular saw?

Which router bits are you planning to buy?

What kind of router?

Yes, you'll probably want to use primer before painting. Assuming you don't use Medium Density Overlay (MDO) as your wood.

[dndcollect]

doh, i guess it would be helpful to write what kind of saw. my fault.

a circular saw.

as far as a router from what i have been looking at, i will probably get something that looks like this Home Depot link shortened by saint

I am not going to get that one in particular nor at home depot, craigslist seems to have good deals on used tools.

not sure what kind of router bits yet, any recomendations.

As far as the spade bit and hole saw, I thought that spade bits would be used for the button holes and the hole saw for the holes for power supply fan, etc.

i guess i could just get a smaller hole saw for the buttons? it seemed like hole saws are more expensive than spade bits.

thanks for the help, as you can see i have no idea what the hell i am doing, lol

[ScottS]

If you're not sure you'll use the tools again in the future, you might be able to get by with a laminate trimmer (= small router) rather than a large router. Your router bit selection will depend on what you need your router to do. Do you know? Or are you just buying a router because everybody says they're cool?

A circular saw is a good choice. Even more useful if you make a sawboard for it. See the stickied post at the top of the forum...

Not sure why you think you need to cut a hole for the power supply fans. If you put a computer in a closet, would you start drilling holes in the walls? Generally, a cabinet is pretty big and most MAME games don't put a huge load on the CPU or video card. I wouldn't worry too much about turning your cabinet into swiss cheese in order to improve the cooling. At least not until I'd built the cab, had it running, and had Motherboard Monitor or another tool tell me that the temps were too high.

[dndcollect]

i think i would be using the router to make good edges, and also for spots i want to put T molding, right?

i am going to be using these tools alot because i am going to make many cabs.

i never knew that you could just put the computer in and not make a hole for the exhaust, if that is the case, that is great.   i would love to skip that part.

thanks for the input.

[ScottS]

For T-moulding, you'll need a slot cutting bit. You'll probably also want either a flush cut bit or a template bit, or both.

If the only thing you'll ever do is make bartop cabinets, you can still get by with a laminate trimmer rather than a large router. On the other hand, if you think you'll be doing other types of woodworking a 2.25HP multi-base router isn't a bad investment. I, personally, have the Bosch 1617EVSPK. If I were to buy today, I'd be very tempted to get the DeWalt 618B3 kit with three bases: fixed, plunge, and D-handle.

I'm not saying you won't need to make an ventilation holes, but I'd put the cabinet together and see what happens. If worse comes to worst, you can probably make lots of small holes with your spade bit rather than investing in a larger hole saw. Not that hole saws are expensive, but it sounds like you're trying to keep expenses down...

[Kaytrim]

Hole saws are nice but they get bogged down when cutting MDF.  The dust clogs the teeth and you end up burning your hole instead of cutting it.  Spade bits are better and are easily resharpened.  Also get the ones with the little teeth on the ends of the blade.  They cut through MDF better and keep their edge longer than the flat blades.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[ScottS]

Hole saws are nice but they get bogged down when cutting MDF.  The dust clogs the teeth and you end up burning your hole instead of cutting it.  Spade bits are better and are easily resharpened.  Also get the ones with the little teeth on the ends of the blade.  They cut through MDF better and keep their edge longer than the flat blades.

Even better solution: don't build your cabinet out of MDF! Use medium density overlay (MDO) instead.