1mm recess for inlaying A4 steel plate?

[Tasky]

Afternoon all,

Something I'm struggling with in a current Newbie project is how to cut a recess in my oak panel for a 1mm thick A4 sized piece of sheet steel... and I would welcome any suggestions the forum might have!!

Until I manage to win the hand routers I'm bidding on, I'm limited to a couple of dovetail saws and basic chisels - I thought to put some 'lanes' in with a knife (after cutting in the border, of course) and then carefully chisel each lane out one at a time. Sort-of like chiselling out for a jewelry box hinge, but much bigger!
What do people think?


Once that's done I'll need to secure this steel 'page' in place - I don't think I could chisel a press-fit recess out accurately enough yet and I expect the wood would expand and the sheet would drop out anyway...
From other threads, I understand epoxy of some kind is the suggested glue, although I'd ask if there's a particular brand to look for?
Another idea I had was bending a few mm of the corners to 90º and filing them sharp, so they cut into the wod and hold it - Not sure if that'd go deep enough to hold, or if it will split the wood, though?

 

[skipdiver]

Use one of your chisels to make a poor man's router.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_2a_FwjAgk

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^ good luck with that over the size of an A4.

 

[dzj]

Glue plate to substrate and veneer around it.

 

[sunnybob]

If ever there was a job for a 1/4" router.......
DONT try to bend the steel. You wont get a sharp crease and it will look terrible.

use double sided tape to stick it to the wood. Use a scalpel type blade to score around the plate.
take the plate away and use a stanley knife or equivalent against a straight edge to make the score deeper.
At this stage I would use a router and then a very sharp chisel to square the corners.
Failing that, a lot of patience with the widest sharpest chisel you have.

rough sand the down face of the steel, use the same grit to sand as much of the lower wood surface as you can.
use 2 part epoxy designed for wood/ metal.
Use large flat weights to hold it down level while it cures.

 

[nev]

How about the largest forstner bit you have in a pillar drill with a depth stop to remove the bulk and then the sharp chisel to remove the waste between circles and do the edges. you'll obviously have lots of divots from the point of the drill but if the plates being fixed in it shouldn't really matter.

 

[MikeG.]

You know that steel and oak aren't happy bedfellows?

 

[ColeyS1]

Don't suppose you'd like to saw and reglue the panel to help with stability? You could smiley face up and down the grain then [WINKING FACE]

If cutting the panel was an option, you could glue 4 pieces up with a hole the size of your panel in the middle.Then glue and screw some bits of wood around the inside to form a rebate.
Coley


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[skipdiver]

^^^ good luck with that over the size of an A4.

Yeah, should have paid more attention to the opening post. :roll:

 

[James-1986]

I might be able to help you out, I've got a Wadkin LQ recessor and live in Reading.

 

[Tasky]

At this stage I would use a router and then a very sharp chisel to square the corners.
Failing that, a lot of patience with the widest sharpest chisel you have.

Yeah, it's that router bit I'm trying to work around...

use 2 part epoxy designed for wood/ metal.

Any particular brands to look for?

Use one of your chisels to make a poor man's router.

I have been debating this.
My main concern is setting it to rout just 1mm depth. I may try this on a bit of scrap, see if it's any good for me...

Glue plate to substrate and veneer around it.

I haven't the first clue about veneering and I don't think I can saw/chisel that size of veneer.

How about the largest forstner bit you have in a pillar drill

Have no forstner bits, have no pillar drill. Hand tools only.

You know that steel and oak aren't happy bedfellows?

Yes... but this requires a magnetic plate. Steel sheet is the best option.

If cutting the panel was an option, you could glue 4 pieces up with a hole the size of your panel in the middle.Then glue and screw some bits of wood around the inside to form a rebate.

Cutting is not an option, as this was cut from a single large, solid board!

I might be able to help you out, I've got a Wadkin LQ recessor and live in Reading.

I will try with the hand approach, but may give you a shout if things really aren't happening.

 

[Ttrees]

What about a pound shop 2" chisel?
I was happy to find out, the one I have has some better steel a tiny bit down.
If you found the timber troublesome you could make it into a scraper instead.
I find it handy tool to have none the less.

[edit] There is another way to rout it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b3CWkHHSYE

Tom

 

[ColeyS1]

Jigsaw an a4 size hole, then add the beads/battens to form a rebate

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[sunnybob]

If you dont want to buy a router (are you mad?!) then maybe a forstner bit, but if dont have a drill press with an adjustable depth stop I wouldnt go there.
Many careful hours with a large chisel seems to be your way fowards..
As far as 2 part epoxy, I use bison brand because its in all the shops. But stay away from the "universal" because its universally bad. Look for a wood metal mix. Spread it thick and use big weights to hold it down overnight (it will expand slightly to fill gaps, so you need to stop it raising the steel plate).

 

[ED65]

Until I manage to win the hand routers I'm bidding on, I'm limited to a couple of dovetail saws and basic chisels

If you have a grinder you can make a very serviceable router in one evening from an Allen key, a couple of pieces from the scrap bin and a screw. The chisel router is also an option but it can be tricky to get one to work reliably and oak is a tough wood.

Knifed lines and chisel work might be possible, but I don't think you'd want to try this method first time on the finished item. Would it be okay to loose a bit of thickness from the overall piece? Doing this by hand I'd be inclined to cut the recess deeper than needed, then plane down the sides until they're the height needed.

From other threads, I understand epoxy of some kind is the suggested glue, although I'd ask if there's a particular brand to look for?

Doesn't matter. Pound-store epoxy is about as good as any branded one for this kind of thing.

Polyurethane glue is also good for bonding metal to wood if you have some. Contact adhesive would work well also.

If the sheet were a material other than steel you could actually use PVA for this, and as long as you could keep it clamped or weighted down for an extended period.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

As far as 2 part epoxy, I use bison brand because its in all the shops. But stay away from the "universal" because its universally bad. Look for a wood metal mix. Spread it thick and use big weights to hold it down overnight (it will expand slightly to fill gaps, so you need to stop it raising the steel plate).

Expanding epoxy? Really? :?

 

[Tasky]

If you dont want to buy a router (are you mad?!)

Well, I am mad, yes, but that's beside the point...
I am trying for routers, but keep getting sniped on eBay. A powered one may also be on the cards once I get some scratch, but both currently elude me.

As far as 2 part epoxy, I use bison brand because its in all the shops.

I was thinking Evo-Stik Rapid Epoxy?
What about mirror adhesive - I'd have thought glass would be as problematic as metal?

If you have a grinder you can make a very serviceable router in one evening from an Allen key, a couple of pieces from the scrap bin and a screw.

I have a small Dremel™..... Might even have some cheap Allens I can sacrifice!
I was also debating the poor man variation with the sharpened screw head, as I could probably get that set to 1mm with some ease?

Would it be okay to loose a bit of thickness from the overall piece? Doing this by hand I'd be inclined to cut the recess deeper than needed, then plane down the sides until they're the height needed.

Alas, they're already planed to exact thickness.

 

[ColeyS1]

Could you give us a clue what the metals for ?

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[Woodmonkey]

A katsu router can be had for 30 odd quid and will do the job admirably in about 10 minutes.

 

[Tasky]

Could you give us a clue what the metals for ?

Magnetic plate, for sticking up various templates, game boards, reference charts, diagrams, notes, etc...