Home DIY

Yes, if you're not in a rush that type of filler is best in my experience. My results usually lack character though!

We use Milwaukee with 5ah batteries and they have never let us down

I'd pull it all the way out and fill the outside as if you leave it part way out sooner or later the wind will catch it and pull it out leaving an unfilled hole.

I think this is something called a 'TV aerial'

Actually I think you'll find that's a coaxial cable. There may well be a TV aerial on the roof ;)

If you're not going to have a TV socket in the house why leave the cable running up the outside? I don't think dealing with the hole would be a big deal?

@nefarious @Airhead @Bobbo thanks for the replies it's been helpful to read through them all. It's going to be for squaring doors, and for the majority cutting sheets of veneered plywood for wardrobes, units, shelves etc. I think I would have just gone for the Bosch but It feels like I might miss the lack of scoring? this is a can of worms

I have the Mafell, love it, never use the scoring function. It sets the score line a few tenths of a mm in from the cut line so when you go to line up a panel, butt joint or whatever, there’s a tiny gap.

With the correct sharp blade you don’t get any breakout anyway so I’ve never really seen the point.

Weird, I'd never noticed the offset of the blade when scoring. I only use it on (cheap) melamine. It leaves a very clean edge, even using the correct melamine blade I find it still needs scoring.

You can set the Festool up to do it easily. I would consider the Bosch if these weren't money making tools. Of course there weren't any options when I bought mine.

What @dbr says.

The scoring function is designed for very fragile laminates. These days laminates that are that fragile = cheapest of the cheap (so bad it's really hard to find them anymore). With pretty much any plunge saw as long as the front rubber piece of the rail isn't worn and is placed so that it is sitting on the work piece not the offcut (hope that makes sense) you're good.

With good quality boards a bluntish blade won't make too much of a difference, to give you an idea; one of the incidents that made me stop taking on apprentices was when I was doing some floor to ceiling book cases in specialist veneered MDF (about £350 per 10' X 6’ board) My apprentice somehow managed to put the saw down onto my rails and cut through them blunting the blade in the process. I couldn't find anyone nearby that had a replacement blade or rails in stock and was dreading making my next cut, but as long as I let the blade do the cutting instead of forcing it the cuts were all prefect in almost every way, the only issues being the cuts took longer and the end grain of the MDF was more prone to burning.

OK, this isn't a money making tool. I just want to not feel frustrated with the result at the cost of 200£

This is helpful, I think you've sold me the bosch! Backwards and forwards etc etc

The blade change on the Mafell is lovely, but you won’t miss it if you don’t have it😉

Seriously though, I rarely change from a 48t Freud blade. If you’re cutting panel products neither will you. Only time I swap if I’m ripping solid timber (like a glued up table top) or cross cutting ply or timber at an angle, then it’s a low tooth count blade.

Get the Bosch and spend the extra on tracks. I have a 1600mm and a 2700mm made from two sections - works for all my needs in the workshop and on site. They’re Bosch rails (but I have a Mafell) same rails, different logos. All made my Mafell. The joining system means the long one in two sections is never not straight.

while we're on the topic - what's the use case for plunge saw vs table saw? have been mucking about having a go at making some cabinets from scrap wood over the last few weekends, and while with a bit of patience/faffing I can get consistent enough straight cuts with a cordless circular saw (originally bought for knocking out quick raised beds at the allotment) - it runs out of grunt when I try and cut case mitres - I appreciate it's not really the tool for this job.

Am I right in thinking that the purpose of the plunge saw + track is that you can make single cuts on far bigger sheets? Whereas table saw you're more limited by size of table/rail but easier to make consistent repeated cuts?

What I'm really asking if if I want to start making slightly nicer home furniture bits, is a table saw the right thing to go for?

I'm on the first floor and could only reach the cable from the adjacent window to the left. Getting at the hole itself is a ladder job.

Resolved it from inside by pulling it to me slightly, cutting it and then shoving it back in with a screwdriver. Feels otherwise pretty well stuck so can't imagine it's gonna shift due to wind.

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Keeping the saw questions going...

I've got a around 200m of old pine boards that need ripping down by 20-25mm. Am I going to run into problems using a circular saw+rip fence or am I better off borrowing a table saw for the day?

This is the kind of job that would make me feel like I 'need' a table saw. Not that a circular saw can't do this, I've fitted floor with it before, but the amount of faff required to set up and get every single cut accurate.. I couldn't imagine doing it for 200mm of board.

Office room at my house is 1.8m wide. If I was to put some batons onto the wall to make a desk the width of the room how would I stop it sagging? What top would I have to use?

Was thinking batons to be bits of wood screwed to the wall.

@kboy

:)

I'd imagine supports on each side + a long support along the back of the desk top should work. You might need something at the front as well depending on the thickness of the desk. We use an 18mm birch ply top and it sags a tiny bit between two supports that are 140cm from each other

I think this has been discussed upthread here, or in the 'working from home' thread as well

Could something like ....https://www.screwfix.com/p/heavy-duty-bracket-black-300-x-300mm-2-pack/78941?tc=FA8&ds_kid=92700058173294173&ds_rl=1244072&gclid=CjwKCAiAsOmABhAwEiwAEBR0ZqAzMT0o0keat-92P7pyGreU0A_CHFOeSeIQz1Cm_HPCF4lXGS3IlxoCn6gQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

At the back do it?

I’d do it on a table saw personally. Obvious question but I take it they’re not tongue and groove?

Plunge saw can be taken around easily. Can cut sheet material with a mitre accurately. Is slow for repeat cuts and fiddly for cutting strips.

Table saw is less portable. Less convenient for cutting big sheets (unless you have a big panel saw/sliding bed). Much easier for ripping timber to size. Much better for repeated cuts.

Also; using a plunge saw in a tight space can be a pain IME, where it would be dead simple to just fire stuff through a table saw.

They both do similar jobs but there are certain jobs where each one definitely makes more sense to use.

Edit: I've said pretty much the same as @nefarious just in a more long winded fashion.

Plunge saws excell at breaking down sheet goods.

Some sites will drop a pallet of ply etc in the middle of where it needs to be and other than lifting the top sheet up to put bearers under it so that you don't cut into the second sheet you can process it there without the manual handling risks associated with moving a full sheet about the place. In addition to this processing sheet materials in a table saw can be dangerous and tricky, it's also very easy to get wrong (unless you buy a very expensive saw with a large sliding table). It's also possible to buy what festool call an mft (you can make your own without the festool hipster tax) that is designed to allow you to make precise, square, repeatable cuts quicky and efficiently Peter Millard shows how to do this well in a lot of his videos.

Table saws are excellent at ripping timber stock down to an accurate width. They also have a use with sheet goods; once you are trying to cut something that is thinner than the rails it's tricky and easy to fuck up so a tablesaw with a good fence will work wonders.

I forgot to mention with the plunge saw chat before a regular circular saw that can run on tracks is much cheaper than a plunge saw, much more versatile than a plunge saw and can do everything a plunge saw can. The main reason that I have my plunge saw is that the dust extraction is sooooo much better than a normal circ saw so if I'm working in an occupied house I'm causing fewer dust issues.

Nah, square edge

Use batons at side and along back. Batons are better than brackets as provide wider support and are less intrusive for knees etc.

It's quite a wide span. I'd expect most 1-2" ply boards to sag over time, due to their own weight. An IKEA table top might work as they're quite light. Kitchen worktop might he ok but again, is quite heavy and is designed to be fully supported underneath.

Any board could be stiffened along the front edge by running a strip of 1"+ profile angle iron between the side batons.

This may help give you an idea of the issue
https://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

How about something like this?

2m of 25mm square steel tube x2 would set you back £32 at Wickes.

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