How to get a flat bottom?

[dance]

Hi

Hope you like the title.

I am trying to make one of these (it's an iPhone stand)

and I'm doing wellish...I made the cuts for the phone on my TS with the blade at a 25deg angle. It's got the material removed accurately but the bottom of the cut is ragged and it's an awkward space to get into to sand.

Do you reckon I need to get in there with a router bit? I guess I'd need to fashion a block to raise the workpiece to the correct angle...

Could it be done with a chisel?

I can post a pic of my WIP if it would help.

Thanks!!

 

[Penny]

How about a flat file?

 

[marcros]

i would be interested to see the WIP.

I guess that it depends on how many you are making. One or two, I would get a chisel in from the side and flatten it out, particularly since you have made them. If you hadn't, then a base to tilt the router, or a block to tilt the work on the router table would be my suggestion. If you thought about it, you could probably manage by sticking a piece on one side of the router base with double sided tape.

If you were making lots, then a grooving saw blade would be ideal. I bought a cmt one for 30 odd quid which cuts a 6mm (from memory) groove with a flat bottom. obviously it wouldn't be worth buying that for a one off.

how wide is the groove. Am I right in thinking that it is only a couple of inches long? Are you making several and then slicing each one from a larger piece?

As Penny says, a turnip file would also work on wood for a task like this, although carefully with a chisel would give a better finish. A final thought- try a rip blade in your saw if you have one- the bottom should be flat on that blade, but if it is wider than the kerf, you will still have a step between cuts.

 

[blackrodd]

A router bit seems the best idea, but would a dremel with a sanding band clear?
As It's just the bottom of the groove that needs a clean up by the look of it.
HTH Regards Rodders

 

[dzj]

I think they make many meters of this at once and then cut them to required length. The groove is cut with a fixed width shaper cutter.
If you're making just a piece or two, paring away the saw marks with a chisel should give good results.

 

[PAC1]

If a one off then a chisel, grooving plane, shoulder plane, file or sandpaper depending on what you own.
If production then a grooving saw blade or grooving block for the spindle

 

[johnwc812]

Hi,
An easy way out would be to flatten any-which-way.
Then glue on a strip of baize or felt.
(it would also protect the bottom edge of the iPhone)
If you were making several as gifts or to sell,
then various selection of colour felts could be applied.
Cheers John

 

[custard]

I'm guessing at the dimensions but you might struggle with a router, it's not the depth of the groove that could be the problem, it's having the plunge depth to clear the back of the stand. You could redesign it to make the back section (the part behind the groove) co-planar with the bottom of the groove. That would remove the problem and give you a bearing surface for the base of the router at the same time.

In any event, there are plenty of alternative options,

-use a dedicated rip blade on your saw, these have flat topped teeth which will give you a much cleaner bottom cut than the ATB teeth which I suspect you have
-design the item around the tooling you have, so for example size it so that your shoulder plane fits into the groove, you could then shim it narrower if needed with a contrasting timber
-build the item up from two or three components, this is the way complex moulding used to be made and in effect what you have is a short section of a complex moulding
-cut a few pieces of hardwood that accurately fit the groove, then glue abrasive paper onto the edges (working through the grits), in effect you're making a perfectly fitting file and the hardwood backing makes it less likely that you'll dub over the ends of the groove (which would look pretty amateurish)
-unless you're handy at paring you'll discover than getting a really clean, flat surface right the way across with a chisel is harder than it looks, of course it can be done, but you'll need to be surprisingly proficient to pull it off so I'd suggest practising first before leaping in with a chisel
-the version in the photo you posted looks like it may have tiny chamfered edges, if so that's a nice touch. And it's those small details, beautifully executed, that you need to prevent it looking clunky and homemade. Maybe think about a bit of inlaid stringing or some other subtle detail

Good luck!

 

[dickm]

What are the dimensions of the stand? Don't have an iPhone, but have been asked to make one as a present for family member and not sure of best slot width. And had been puzzling about easiest way to make a tidy groove that depth, like the OP, so there's some useful ideas here.

 

[custard]

What are the dimensions of the stand? Don't have an iPhone, but have been asked to make one as a present for family member and not sure of best slot width. And had been puzzling about easiest way to make a tidy groove that depth, like the OP, so there's some useful ideas here.

I'd made a waney edge, slab topped desk for a client. Because it had no drawers he requested a small desktop drawer unit for pens and stationery, but he also wanted it with a "passive speaker" built into the top for his iPhone, so he could make hands free calls and listen to iTunes music without amplification. I'd never heard of these before and was a bit sceptical, but I googled "passive speaker" and incorporated a slightly more elegant version of this into the design.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/proje ... ve-speaker

I was wrong to be sceptical, it worked amazingly well, amplifying sound to a level I would never have thought possible. Maybe something you could think about for your project?

 

[sploo]

What are the dimensions of the stand? Don't have an iPhone, but have been asked to make one as a present for family member and not sure of best slot width. And had been puzzling about easiest way to make a tidy groove that depth, like the OP, so there's some useful ideas here.

I'd made a waney edge, slab topped desk for a client. Because it had no drawers he requested a small desktop drawer unit for pens and stationery, but he also wanted it with a "passive speaker" built into the top for his iPhone, so he could make hands free calls and listen to iTunes music without amplification. I'd never heard of these before and was a bit sceptical, but I googled "passive speaker" and incorporated a slightly more elegant version of this into the design.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/proje ... ve-speaker

I was wrong to be sceptical, it worked amazingly well, amplifying sound to a level I would never have thought possible. Maybe something you could think about for your project?

Not sure if "passive speaker" is the right nomenclature for that. A passive speaker is simply one whose drivers are powered by the audio signal coming out of the amplifier. By contrast, an active speaker takes a line level input and has built in amplifiers for each driver. They have a number of advantages, but are obviously costly and more complex.

The design for the phone is probably technically some sort of chamber / resonator / baffle / horn (I'm not sure quite what the right term would be, but you do see such designs even with boxes that contain drivers). Clever idea though, and beats cupping your hand behind the phone, as I do occasionally.

 

[novocaine]

Passive amplifier is the usual term.

 

[sploo]

Passive amplifier is the usual term.

For that phone accessory? Seems like a reasonable choice of terms. I suspect that some well designed horn or box with a tapered interior (transmission line) might also work well, and boost appropriate frequencies.

 

[novocaine]

yep, nothing new in this world though, same approach as a gramophone. we used to use a bowl or a glass with a pair of headphones for the same thing when camping. made one from a record (was something really nasty so didn't mind destroying it) way back when for use with a samsung phone, was cool then, now I think it's annoying.