Home DIY

A fence is just a straight edge to use as a guide?

Just realised you said precision. I've got six panels of crapboard and melamine to do.

Pay rive_gauche £6 per panel to come round and do it for you, looks like he's saying it's a piece of (precise) piss.

Can you also score the melamine to make it more likely to crack along the scored line, rather than just randomly chipping off

Precise piss? Like writing your name in the snow?

(Serious face) Is it a good idea to pre-score the laminate too - e.g. Steel rule + Stanley knife - so the saw teeth don't actually cut into the melamine face other than on the waste part?

Damn you iPhone with your sh*tty internetz...
(Great question though ffm)

Alternatively just use a rip blade and whop through them. Buy some wood dado trim and glue this over the rough edges. Paint with desired colour to blend in with cupboard or ceiling.

Yes, scoring the laminate with a nice sharp craft blade will help. Remember to cut into the waste side.

If you've got a steady hand, tape up the laminate and use a sandvik hand saw..

okay so my car has a bubble under the paint.

i took a flathead to it and scrapped it a way to find a very small area of corrosion type stuff. not rust. it was grey. It's solid. I can't easily dent it or chip it away.

i sanded the area down and repainted it with crummy "color matched" auto paint from a can which looks the part. It's just a small area near the wheel well and i'm not looking for perfection. It's a '07 VW jetta that i'm just trying to get to last for another few years.

Anyway the bubble formed again in about two weeks.

So i re-sand it down, this time more aggressively and then use filler in the area of question to try to seal any micro perforations and then I sand it down, repaint it. It looks good until the next rain that i drive in and then immediately re-bubbles. I am sure water it leaking in behind the paint, but i can't seem too correct the problem.

Any advice? I'm thinking of creating a small dent in which to heap up filler. unless some one has other advice.

I cannot get to the inside of the panel easily.

Thanks for the advice, have booked a ladderist to investigate. We have some major work planned on the exterior for later this year (extensive repointing etc), so I'll make sure someone sorts out that piece of plumbing.

ask in the car appreciation thread, someone will have a good answer

I would use a rust treatment like Jenolite which coverts the iron oxide layer into something stable. Then prime before panting. Alternatively, I think you may be able to get a 2-in-1 converter/primer, but I've never used one.

Maybe worth a try:

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/plans-and-policies/factory/terms-and-conditions

All current Volkswagen vehicles are fully protected during manufacture against through corrosion for 12 years from the date of first registration.

The only preconditions are:

The defect must be reported to a member of the Volkswagen Authorised Network as soon as it is discovered and within the warranty period.
The perforation must not have been caused originally by damage, neglect, insufficient care or maintenance or by external rusting.
A member of the Volkswagen Authorised Network must be advised about any rusting as soon as it is found.
All body repairs will be carried out promptly in accordance with the manufacturer's specification and procedures, using only approved parts and materials, so the original level of anti-corrosion protection is maintained.

Would a jigsaw with the right blades not be less harsh seeing as I never wielded a circ before?

I reckon you'd get a better finish with a sharp handsaw than a jigsaw. Jigsaws are only really good for doing curved cuts*.

*imo

I'd never get one straight lines with a handsaw let alone six.

I've only got to cut the bottom off, so the width is 58cm

'Modern' laminates are often not melamine, especially in furniture (i.e.not a work surface) - sometimes it is little more than printed paper with a plastic coating which should cut through cleanly with a sharp craft knife / new blade as described above.

A jigsaw would in many ways be easier to use than a circular saw - certainly less scary and less likely to cause serious injuries / minor amputation if it gets away from you.
It is also easier (I think) to correct any drifting away from the line than with a circular saw - balanced against being more likely to drift in the first place. A hand held circular saw will give a straighter cut provided you can clamp the fence accurately and use it with confidence.
Further issues: most man made boards use a resin that will blunt or foul (or both) a saw blade - jigsaw blades are likely to be cheaper than circular saw blades. Dust control should be considered: circular saws are more likely to produce larger quantities of fine dust which present health and safety issues - even low exposure can be problematic to anyone with asthma or allergies - whereas a jigsaw at modest speed will probably generate larger sized particles.

On balance, a jigsaw might be better than a circular saw if you're new to this kind of thing. To put a level to it, I could allow students to use jigsaws under supervision, but the L.E.A. absolutely prohibited the use of hand held circular saws in school workshops.

tl;dr I'd use a jigsaw.

So laminate blades and decent jigsaw works out at 30 notes.

Have clamps, can use a long spirit as a straight edge, or would buying a large enough framing square be better to use once but keep forever tool.

I'd be looking for corded, pendulum action, variable speed, and dust extraction options, but there's probably as many opinions as there are users.

Clamps and a straight edge will work fine, especially for scoring and doubly so if you're compensating for a floor or ceiling that is not level.

If you're removing enough board to allow for some practice cuts before reaching required size, try following a scored line freehand. Jigsaw blades can bend and cut at strange angles under side pressure - such as pressing against a fence - and this can be easier to see / feel / correct if you're doing it freehand.

tl;dr use a handsaw, i'd have done the job by now

Not disagreeing.
However, I have a need to spend time here being overly verbose and offering unsolicited advice. The alternatives are to start working through MrsE's idea of a job list or watch daytime TV...

On balance, a jigsaw might be better than a circular saw if you're new to this kind of thing. To put a level to it, I could allow students to use jigsaws under supervision, but the L.E.A. absolutely prohibited the use of hand held circular saws in school workshops.

My father in law expressed concern at hand-held circular saws on the basis that you're essentially putting a couple of horsepower through the blade. Put like that it was a bit of an eye opener.

it was a bit of an eye opener.> literally

Have you done it yet?