Creating an oak Dado

[wizer]

ok so technically this is to do with my wainscoting nightmare/project. But I thought it warranted a new thread as its also to do with making mouldings in general.

I want to run an oak dado all around the top of the wainscoting to tie in with the oak furniture we have ordered. The MDF comes 18mm above the top batton, leaving a gap. I thought this would make it easy to secure the dado. So this is what is swimming around in my head:

If I had some 40mmx40mm oak I think I could probably make this up using the TS and Router Table. Thing is will 40x40mm oak cost the earth? I do now have a dewalt p/t but it's still in the box. I'm not sure I have enough time at the moment to work out how to use it.

I'd really apprecieate some comments on this. 3 weeks til meltdown :shock: :-s #-o

 

[markymark12]

Hi

I see where you are coming from however how good are the walls, you could end trying to scribe 40mm of oak around all the lumps and bumps [hard work :?] is the top of the mdf dead level no steps? you would better of to use something to block in the back and let it over the mdf, it would also help hide any shrinkage, unlikely i know but it is a better job.
If you have not decoratered i would scratch out the plaster behind as against scribing it in to have it all shrink away and crack. Bloody heating :evil:
Hope that helps. Mark

 

[MooreToolsPlease]

2" oak usually runs about £28 a cubic foot. so not too pricey.
I would take out most of the rebate out on the table saw, leaving about 2mm in each direction to be taken off on the router table.
Use a big cutter, something like a 1 1/2" diameter, it should do the job fine.

 

[ByronBlack]

Tom - the planer is very simple to use, just whip it out and get to it man You'll be pleased when you have it setup, I would be lost without my p/t now. Also, depending on how much oak you need there's a chap on ebay who sells a lot of small runs of oak for quite cheap, i'm not sure of you timber dealer situation over your way, but this may be an option if you have to buy in larger quantities form a yard.

 

[WellsWood]

Wizer, if it's only enough for one room you need why not make it up out of two pieces to eliminate the wastage. In other words, stick a 1x1 to a 2x1 if you get my meaning. You could go one step further, if I read your drawing correctly, and simply take the MDF wainsscott level with the top batten and plant on a 2x1 Oak lip. Secured with plugged screws through the top into the batten it would look exactly the same but use half the timber.

 

[engineer one]

i agree with mark, make it a built up moulding, seems less of a waste of material. and also whynot use the cheap material where it cannot be seen??

paul :wink:

 

[Alex]

Hi Wizer, I don't know if you've done this already but here's another way. I'd take 2"x1" bullnose the edge/or round over like yours. Cut a slot down the full lengths to take the thickness of the wainscot board about 8mm deep. My prefered method for doing this multi passes on tablesaw using feather boards to keep it in line, you'll need to do multi passes unless you use a dado cutter to get the width of your wainscot. You could rout this on the router table but i've found cutters tend to burn when dadoing on a router table and free hand you won't get a nice even slot. Don't laugh but here is a pic, This is my first attempt on sketchup And always do a sample piece first, checking you get the distance between the wall and the back of the wainscot.Find the biggest gap between wall and wainscot and use this measurement for the slot.

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Now to fasten, I'd attach a cheap bit of pine just shy of the distance between wall a wainscot to the bottom of your dado moulding. Now check the top of the wainscot is level all around, if not chalk line and biscuit machine 8) Now place moulding on wainscot checking that the wainscot pulls the dado nice and tight against the wall (now you see why the pine strip had to be smaller than the gap,on mm or 2.) Scribe the back of the moulding if the wall goes out. Now if you've done all this right the moulding should hold it self nicely and all you need do is put fastenings below the moulding, through the wainscot and into the pine strip behind.

Hope this helps
Alex

 

[wizer]

thanks for your replies, I have been mulling it all over.

The batton is not dead level all around the room and plus its too low. So i'm going with the pine stuck to oak idea.

My current worry is scribing it in? How on earth do I do this? Jigsaw?

 

[WellsWood]

.....The batton is not dead level all around the room and plus its too low. ?

Hi Wizer, do yourself a favour now while you can and corrrect this. I think you'll be making yourself a lot of unnecessary work later unless you have a good datum line (in the form of a level batten at the right height) to work to.
As far as scribing goes it depends on what decor is going above the dado, but I'd be surprised if the wall was too far out for decorators mastic to cope. If it really is that bad maybe you should be looking at the plastering with a view to correcting that rather than scribing to it. If scribing really is the only way forward, once marked up clamp the dado in a workmate or similar and hit it with a belt sander.

 

[Anonymous]

Wizer

The molding will be easy on a router table and the oak should not be too expensive. I got some part seasoned for £11 per cu ft, and seassoned wood should be £30-40ish if you are buying a couple of cu ft

Jigsaw should be fine for the scribing if a lot of material requires removal, however, if the wall is pretty close, try a block plane

 

[wizer]

Thanks Tony

When ordering the Oak, do I just ask for 2x1" oak and then the total linear length? Or should I work it all out in Cu Ft?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Tony

When ordering the Oak, do I just ask for 2x1" oak and then the total linear length? Or should I work it all out in Cu Ft?

Depends on the place. I try to order in 1" by 6" boards and ask for a price for the lot at the local yards (can't be bothered to calculate cu ft), but at Yandles and Good timber, i look at the boards they have, figure out if they'll do what I want, and ask the price of each one individually.

By the way, I posted a wood pricing calculator I knocked up a couple of years back that might help you

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4306&sid=788bf73400ca1a2f5435f103813e49e5

 

[wizer]

Thanks Tony. Ordered the oak today from SL Hardwoods. Pcikup on Friday hopefully.