What is a good way to cut a sheet of masonite that I will be using for fascia and control panels? I was going to use a regular jigsaw, but is that the best way to do it?Thanks!
ChrisVA I was going to use a regular jigsaw,
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
ChrisVAI was going to use a regular jigsaw.
I have used a jigsaw for my hardboard panels. I use a blade with 14 teeth per inch according to my cheat sheet.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
If your cutting to follow scenery along the edge, I use a jig saw.
If you need to cut the sheet into even strips, I bought one of these:
https://www.kregtool.com/shop/cutting/circular-saw-cutting/rip-cut/KMA2685.html
Mike.
My You Tube
It isn't so much the saw. As it is the proper blade. You want a blade specially for venier (very thin) materials. The teeth spacing and shape are set so as to minimize tares and chipping. Use straight edge guides to make clean lines, clamp everything done firmly. And always eye and ear protection.
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I'll probably just cut mine long ways with a circular saw. If the cut isn't perfect, it won't matter because I'll make that side the bottom side.
What I'll be looking for is hardboard with 2 smooth sides for a 2 sided backdrop. Hopefully such a thing is made.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
mbinsewi If your cutting to follow scenery along the edge, I use a jig saw. If you need to cut the sheet into even strips, I bought one of these: https://www.kregtool.com/shop/cutting/circular-saw-cutting/rip-cut/KMA2685.html Mike.
That looks like a very handy device. I should have gotten one decades ago.
I watched the video and another handy idea is the use of foam (?) to support the plywood sheet as you are cutting. I had never thought of that.
To add to the OPs question, when cutting to follow a contour line are you using a fine tooth blade in a sabre saw? Has anyone tried using an oscilating multi-tool?
Rick
Call me old skool, but I used a hand saw for cutting masonite. It worked in making the backdrop and periodic dips in elevation on the fascia.
Best parts of using a handsaw: 1. I have all ten fingers!, 2. gets more uses than a stationary table one.
Just cut some this past weekend for mounting on the wall as a backdrop. I used a circular saw - just cut with the good side of your Masonite down (note - it's also called tempered hardboard - the young fella at HD had no clue what Masonite was). Having a new blade with more teeth will always give you a cleaner cut. My blade is rated a 60 (based on amount of teeth) and designed for finish cutting. I ended up with nice clean cuts but be prepared to lightly sand along the edge.
If you use a jig saw same holds true for blades. Also cut with the good side of the board facing down.
If you use a hand saw or table saw, cut with the good side of the board up.
Also, be sure to prime the surface and the edges before painting. I used a bonding primer to assure decent adhesion and a more durable final finish.
I use the same tools Mike mentions.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Well the very nicest cuts into Masonite that I have were when I let the lumberyard rip it for me, to my measurement specifications.
I do use a jigsaw. Don't freehand it even if your hand is very steady. Clamp a nice long metal straightedge or other very straight item to act as a fence that the jig saw's footplate or shoe or whatever it is called can rub against and run along. That will come the closest to what the lumberyard could do for you.
The blade I use for masonite is one that came with the saw that the package says was a blade meant for metal. Very fine teeth and very little "kerf." It produces a reasonably clean 90 degree angle cut.
Dave Nelson
Most of the fascia on my layout is 1/8" Masonite (smooth one-side) and I used the factory edge from a sheet of plywood as a guide for my worm-drive Skil saw. I used a "plywood" blade, with very fine teeth (also suitable for cutting veneer), and cut from the rough-side of the sheet. This yielded a very clean cut, with just a quick pass with some sandpaper to smooth-out any fuzzies along the edge.When I added the partial second level to my layout, I cleaned-out the 1/8" sheets at my local lumberyard, and had to take one sheet of 1/4", mainly to avoid having to pay for delivery of a single sheet, when the next order of 1/8" material showed-up.
The two strips of fascia at right are the only 1/4" material used as such...
While visiting a nearby hardware store, I asked if they had any plastic door-track for sliding 1/8" Masonite doors, as I hadn't been able to find it anywhere. I was told that I could hunt around in the basement, since that might be the only place it would be, as they hadn't seen any for years - everyone apparently wanted the 1/4" tracks.I did find three packages of the 1/8" stuff and got it for two bucks a pack, quite a bit cheaper than the one package of 1/4" track that I also bought (to use-up the remainder of the 1/4" Masonite that I already had). The sliding doors at the end of the aisle, in the photo above, are the 1/4" stuff, as are a couple at the end of another aisle....
...while these...
...and these, plus some in another aisle, are all done using the 1/8" sliding panels....
On the remainder of the layout, I used 1/8" Masonite for both the kick-panels at the bottom and the lift-off panels shown below...
...which hide all the junk which is stored beneath the layout. Some of it is layout-related, but a lot of it is seasonal stuff that needs to be stored in the winter, along with Christmas decorations, tools, and other supplies.
Masonite is an affordable choice not only for fascia, but also to make your layout room look a little tidier.
Wayne
For following the curves of my scenery on the facia I used a jig saw with a reasonably fine blade, as others have suggested. For straight cuts I used to have a panel saw, basically a small, 5 1/2" circular saw, but it's size made it easier to handle and it had a fine plywood blade. Unfortunately it died.
Good luck,
Richard
Wayne,
It's high time you paint those raw masonite facia's. That could look so much nicer if they were painted a muted color that compliments the layout. See Rob Spanglers layout for what I've talking about! Ok, maybe you are ok with it but you show lots of picture of it to the public and bleh - or is it a "work in progress" and not done yet. That I can understand.
Presentation man! Presentation.
I don't know about that? Maintenance-free is what you want to keep when you have it. Any time you paint something you create up keep for yourself from scuffs, blemishes and stains.
That Masonite has an earth-tone color, natural on its own resisting blemishes, scuffs and stains. I think it looks just fine as I'm timid to paint things that have their own natural neutral color.
I think your fascia and cabinets under the layout look great Wayne I do see the time and craftsmanship involved with them and I'm not prone to painting brick either
TF
riogrande5761It's high time you paint those raw masonite facia's.
I agree, and if I had time to do so, would like to get it done. However, I'm doing work (model train stuff) for friends, and it's taking time from getting a lot of the scenic stuff that needs to be done before fascia painting, as plaster-on-screen can be rather messy. So yes, it is a work in progress, even though there's little progress at the moment.I'm also having some thoughts about removing the layout, too...not too serious yet, but it's difficult to gauge when the time will come that it has to be done.
Track fiddlerI think your fascia and cabinets under the layout look great....
Thanks, TF. I've seen so many layouts where the under-layout clutter detracted from the layout, even if the layout itself was outstanding, that I didn't want to repeat that mistake.
However, while most of the household junk is out-of-sight, there's a lot of layout-building junk on the partial upper level, which is only partially (a fairly small part) somewhat "done".
doctorwayne I'm also having some thoughts about removing the layout, too...not too serious yet, but it's difficult to gauge when the time will come that it has to be done.
I'm also having some thoughts about removing the layout, too...not too serious yet, but it's difficult to gauge when the time will come that it has to be done.
Rich
Alton Junction
doctorwayneto make your layout room look a little tidier.
Doc Wayne, Sure like the nice clean look of your under-layout storage area and valance, really helps draw the eye to your beautiful model railroad and scenery.
Seems that Masonite has become the catch-all name for any hard board. Though similar to today's tempered hardboard Masonite as I recall was a denser and much harder material, less flexible and darker in color. In the early 60s my father used Masonite to make sliding doors for his homemade rumpus room and garage cabinets. The backs of most console televisions and radios were made of that stuff, forget driving a nail thru it, but a piece sure came in handy to protect the kitchen floor when moving the ol' refrigerator.
Regards, Peter
Don't you ever dare start to remove your layout Wayne. It is too beautiful with all the craftsmanship you put into it all these years and it shows like a piece of art.
I do believe your layout is what keeps you happy. Please don't ever start thinking like that and start dismantling It.
As Spock once said to Captain Kirk. "There are alternative measures that can be taken Captain"
Thanks for your kind words, Peter.
I'm pretty sure that the first Masonite I bought (before the layout in my photos, above) was actually Masonite. However, I noticed when buying some a few years later, it was referred to as hardboard. I still call it Masonite, but I'm guessing that maybe the rights to the Masonite name have expired. Regardless of the name, it's useful and affordable stuff. I recall, when I first posted photos of the coved corners in my layout room, that several viewers asked if I had used "tempered" Masonite (because they thought it to be easier to bend) and I was baffled enough to hop in the car and drive up to the lumber yard with which I've dealt with for years, just to ask someone in-the-know, what the heck Tempered Masonite was. Turns out that it's Masonite somehow treated to make the smooth surface harder than regular Masonite (this was still at the time when Masonite had a smooth side and a somewhat patterned back side - I like it better than the smooth-both-sides stuff...but don't know if it's still available. Regular 1/8" hardboard is very flexible, and some of my unpainted layout fascia has been bent into an 8" radius.Later, I did buy some tempered Masonite and have used it on four different work benches, and it's lasted very well on three of them.The fourth bench, in my 155 year-old, storey-and-a-half double garage, has had a much harder life, partially due to pervasive dampness and invasive rodents, and also my habit of picking up spent appliances and outdated hardware from family and friends, and then dismantling it on the bench, segregating the various metals, until I have enough to make a trip to a nearby scrapyard.
Most of this stuff often goes out as garbage, so I'm pleased to be able to take it to a recycler, and don't mind making a little money, too. Maybe I'll make enough to put a new top on that workbench.
Track fiddlerI do believe your layout is what keeps you happy.
Yeah, I think that it does, but I do sometimes get too involved in it, to the detriment of familial considerations.
I have to admit I wiped a tear away from my eye.
I call it enthralled Wayne, when I get involved way into my hobby. Sometimes we get wrapped up in doing the things that we love to do. I do not believe there is anything wrong with that. Sometimes our loved ones have to accept the things that make their other loved ones happy.
You need not feel any remorse or guilt that you have something that you love to do. At that point maybe your loved ones should give you a little more room
I have seen your work and it is beautiful. I would only hope your family appreciates it as much as I do.
Original Masonite was very water resitant, we used to use it for underlay on vinyl floors. Moved to California and could not get it anymore because of the chemicals used to make it.
Luan is no longer used for underlayment for linoleum floors. As it ages it tarnishes and stains the felt on the underside of the linoleum causing it to yellow. Now they suggest some high-grade quarter inch plywood for underlayment.
Who knows? Siding fails every year after year, even cement board. What will they think of next?
When I need to use Masonite for an application, I use it as there is no substitute.
And I cut it with a fine-tooth jigsaw blade unless straight cuts are involved I use a table saw.
hbgatsf To add to the OPs question, when cutting to follow a contour line are you using a fine tooth blade in a sabre saw?
To add to the OPs question, when cutting to follow a contour line are you using a fine tooth blade in a sabre saw?
Maybe I should have posed the previous posts about fascias like this:
Have you considered painting your fascia a complimentory color. It could have the effect of greatly enhancing the layout when viewed standing back.
Many layouts have been displayed, such as David Barrows CM&SF and Rob Spanglers wp8thsub, and complimentry paint REALLY makes for a nice overall look. David and Rob recognize this displays their layouts to a good nice visual effect.
Anyway, take it for what it's worth. When I"ve viewed layouts with painted fascias, it's hard not to notice how nicely it enhances and frames the layout, drawing the eye to the scenes.
hbgatsfI guess I am dating myself. When I had Wood Shop in Junior High a jigsaw was a stationary floor saw. With all this talk of using a jigsaw I had to do a search and see that the term jigsaw and sabre saw have become interchangeable. Rick
Don't worry. I took woodshop in Jr. High as well, way back around 1974. But we had a full set up there with a professional grade table saw, band saw, power table sander, table jig saw etc.
Our shop teacher wisely impressed on us to respect the hazards of those power tools. He showed us a dent in the metal door in-line with the table saw, where it once caught and launched a peace of lumber like a missile at the door (missing the student thankfully). He rammed a peace of wood into the power sander showing us how much it took off in just a second - that could be your finger! And of course the band saw - yikes. That could take fingers off in a fraction of a second.
When I got into the hobby later, it was commonly discussed in magazines how some would use what was called a jigsaw to cut cookie cutter layout table tops. It's also referred as a Sabre saw, and I tend to use that name to avoid confusion with the table top jig saw.
Track fiddler Luan is no longer used for underlayment for linoleum floors. As it ages it tarnishes and stains the felt on the underside of the linoleum causing it to yellow. Now they suggest some high-grade quarter inch plywood for underlayment.
Starting when? My current home was builtin 2006 and we pulled up the linolium around the master bathroom toilet to fix a leak and some rotted wood. The entire master bath floor is underlaid by luan.
We do plan to pull it up and tile the floor. My wife is a pretty skilled tiler. She had to fix the terrible job done by a contractor in our shower floor and so she ended up doing our basement bathroom as well.
riogrande5761Maybe I should have posed the previous posts about fascias like this: Have you considered painting your fascia a complimentory color. It could have the effect of greatly enhancing the layout when viewed standing back....
Jim, I wasn't at all offended by your comment, and totally agree that the layout would look better with the fascia painted. I won't, however, paint the sliding panels or the lift-off ones, nor the kick-panels...as long as they're hiding the mess, they're good enough as-is.