Worktop radius?

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philpolish

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Hi all in the middle of fitting a worktop. My question is that I have bought a worktop that has a smaller round over on both top and bottom edges. The old worktop had a larger round over on one edge. I have just bought a worktop jig cut cut a mitre to join it . Can anybody tell me if I will have to adjust the jig to account for the smaller radius and has anybody got over this problem. I do have a spare bit to practice on but would be nice to hear from anybody who has come across this.

Thanks in advance
Phil.
 
For a conventional worktop jig, the worktop radius is completely irrelevant.
Practising on a spare piece isn't necessary, it is absolutely essential
John
 
Never used on of these jigs myself but when seeing the trade advertisements they never seem to display different sizes or that different jigs are required for thicknesses. Suggest checking out the manufacturers webs site, they might give support.

BVut 45 degrees is 45 degrees whatever thickness?
 
The jigs used for worktop joins can handle both 28mm and 40mm worktops, as already suggested. The element to check is whether your straight bit is long enough to complete the through cut. Only take off a few mm at a time and never more than 10mm at one pass. The cuts are made in order that the joint is both tight and attractive, but this requires a little practice, so a few pointers may help:

1) When using the router, you MUST follow the jig instructions regarding cutting direction, otherwise you will get tearout of the laminate finish where the cutter exits the workpiece.

2) The use of butterfly bolt fixings on their own is usually sufficient, although I prefer to add two rows of biscuits to assist horizontal lining up (to make sure both surfaces are coplanar).

3) Whilst it is perfectly possible to calculate the position of the joint along the workpiece, I prefer to cut the join first, then offer up to discover the actual length before cutting off the excess.

4) Prior to cutting the joints, both male and female, I also run a trimming cut across the ends to remove the dinged shoulders so often found due to knocks in transit.

5) Make ABSOLUTELY sure that you've got the workpiece positioned with the correct surface facing up when positioning the jig. Make sure that your clamps will not impede the path of the router.

6) When considering which way round to cut the joint (i.e. which piece will have the male or female joint), bear in mind where this will come in relation to the base unit sides. This can affect the ease of access to the butterfly bolts. Consider also where the sink cutout will come, particularly if it's a full cut-out for the draining board.

7) When tightening the bolts, make certain that both parts are absolutely flat.

Any other questions, drop me a PM.

Ray.
 
Ray":q9g19vmz said:
Any other questions, drop me a PM.

If you don't mind, if there are more questions/ answers I'd be interested in seeing them on the open forum.

Interesting and useful so far...

Cheers

Tim
 
Agree with Tim re 'open forum': this is one of those techniques that I want to fully understand prior to expensive error generation!!
 
"If you don't mind, if there are more questions/ answers I'd be interested in seeing them on the open forum."

OK, that's fine - fire away!

From my experience with a worktop jig (from Hafele, BTW), I can add a few more words of warning:

Whatever you do, allow the router to come to a complete stop before removing it from the jig, especially if it's a heavy router. The long cutters required to go through 40mm worktops tend to stick out quite a bit more than usual, so if you're not careful you could ding the jig (not that I would, of course!).

Finally, if you're just trimming worktop with a straight-edge clamp or similar, think carefully about which end to start from and which side of the clamp you should ride against. I know that this sounds a bit basic, but without thought you could have the finish piece on the "wrong" side, which will lead to laminate chipping on the leading edge (naturally, this wouldn't apply to me!).

Experience isn't what happens to you - it's what you learn from what happens to you!

FWIW. HTH. JMTQW. :)

Ray.
 
Being a cheapskate in these matters, I was wondering if anywhere there are published designs for worktop jigs?
I'm only ever likely to do a couple of kitchens for myself at most (unless I live a lot longer than expected) and the price of commercial jigs seems a lot for such use.
 
Hi Argee I wondered when I wrote my first post if anybody would understand my question and I have just read the answer. It wasnt about the worktop thickness it was about the round over on the front edge. My old one was a 40mm thick with large round over on front edge just on top. The one I have just bought is also 40mm thick but it has a smaller round over on top and bottom. Have I been a bit clearer in my explanation?
Thanks for your comments and everybody else.
Thanks in advance
Phil .
 
Hmm: to return to the original question: John, I hestitate to query you on this sort of matter, but if I understand the question properly, I think there may be a problem:

Dick - are you saying that the 2 top pieces to be joined have different shaped/sized roundovers? That's what I interpret your second post to mean - it looks as though you're replacing one piece, but mating the new to an in place older one.

If so, while I agree with John that this is irrelevant to the function and effect of the jig in getting the joint right, I think you will have a noticable step change in profile at the tip of the joint... Anyone able to confirm?
 
philpolish":1bn8h713 said:
I wondered when I wrote my first post if anybody would understand my questionl
Hi Phil
I understood first time round too. And John's answer is all there is to say about it really!
The jig mitres the radius part at 45º, so it doesn't matter how large it is.

The only issue comes if you are trying to join a new bit of worktop to an old bit with differing radii. Then this joining method won't work.
 
Well Phil in answer to your question

IT WILL NOT WORK for you, as the different front edges will not match up when you will do the mitre (nor on an inside and outside mitre), the bull nose need to be the same on both worktops used. so what can you do

Make sure that all the worktop you use has the same bullnose - work top isn't expensive, so either replace everything or find the existing matching worktop

Mcluma
 
Hi all again
Both worktops have the same radii. The old one had a large roundover which is the norm as i thought. When i bought a new one it has a smaller roundover top and bottom front edge. What I am asking is are the worktop jigs calculated by the roundover on the front of your worktop to give you the cutting distance or am I just thinking about something I dont need to be. Thanks again
Phil.
 
Phil, I'm sorry mate, but the key point is the 'front roundover issue', and I'm still not clear what you mean...

Both worktops have the same radii.

The old one had a large roundover which is the norm as i thought. When i bought a new one it has a smaller roundover top and bottom front edge

These 2 statements don't seem to go together: either the radius/roundover is identical, or it's not. If not, I reckon they won't look good at the front edge, whatever you do. If it is, they will. Can you tell us in simple terms whether they are identical or not?

If not - it may be easier just to cut a couple of offcuts, and try the fit by trial and error...
 
philpolish":2svdjmnj said:
What I am asking is are the worktop jigs calculated by the roundover on the front of your worktop to give you the cutting distance
No, they're not. The jig just mitres the radius part regardless of its size.
If you are joining two worktops with different radius roundovers they will not meet very well. If the two lengths that you are joining are the same, then it will be fine.
 

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