Cutting out doors/hatch--need advice...!

[kayakrguy]

Hello everyone,

Back from our 3 week stint of teen sitting in the great Northwest. Beautiful country, of course, 75 dedgrees today in Portland-Seattle, supposed to hit high 90's-100 here in 'Joisy' for the next 3 days! Ugh!

I can't wait to get to the walls, which are my next step. I will get a new Jigsaw today, my old Craftsman 2.2 amp just isn't up to this job!

I need advice about Doors and hatch. I do not have a plunge router so I will have to jigsaw the door. I assume this means drilling a hole for the blade to start. Any suggestions about WHERE the hole should be relative to future construction issues--eg. tight seals etc??

Second, is there any advice about the SHAPE of the door--does any shape have advantages re: leakproofing, ease of construction, durability in use etc.

I know these sound kind of simple minded....but this kid is ummmmm challenged when it comes to woodworking....learning as I go!! Of course, teen sitting makes you kind of loopy, too. <g>

Boy, it is good to be back!

Jim

[Boodro]

Hey KG , good to be makin sawdust again huh?
I made my doors rectangular, easy to cut , easy to seal , easy to trim. No curves to worryu about. Just make sure to make the doors big enough for easy access & egress! Mine are 36" tall 30: wide. I'm 6' 3" .
You can cut them easily with a jig saw. If you have a hard time cutting a straight line freehand , use a good straight edge, like an aluminum piece clamped down to help guide the saw. You can actually start a cut with the jig saw , just lay the front of the shoe on the board & tilt the saw forward enogh that the blade is raised off the wood. Make sure the blade is in line with the cut mark, then start the saw & slowly lower the blade into the wood taking care to control the blade so it stays on the line. It sounds harder that it is, just practice on some scrap & you'll see.
The hatch is just as easy to cut, its just curved . The jig saw will cut it fine. withou knowing your profile, I can't give much help. Just take your time & do not hurry. If you need help just holler here & someone will help. Pics also are a HUGE help when trying to answer a question. Good luck. Just the way I did it.

[Ira]

My curved top is giving me some problems as to trimming and also finding a little splash awning at the top, but I'll figure it out.

As far as starting your cutting, I would just drill in one of the corners and stick the saw in and start cutting. When you add your hinge, the door and/or openings will have to be rasped/sanded down anyway, also to accommodate certain opening trim that you may use.

I guess the main point is, you don't have to be too afraid about cutting anything "way off the mark." Like I said, there can be a lot of sanding and rasping in getting the door to fit properly anyway.

[oklahomajewel]

Boo... I wish I'd known that trick before!!

My walls are a 1/4" ply and then 'sandwiched' so I just drilled holes and cut out the door openings with my jigsaw, then when making the doors this weekend, I just spent $10 and got another piece of 1/4" ply and cut them out. I'm glad I went with the square doors, mine are about 29x30.
Same reasons as Boodroo... KISS method! haha

The smell of cut wood is one of my favorites!!!

julie

[Miriam C.]

Hello everyone,


I can't wait to get to the walls, which are my next step. I will get a new Jigsaw today, my old Craftsman 2.2 amp just isn't up to this job!

I need advice about Doors and hatch. I do not have a plunge router so I will have to jigsaw the door. I assume this means drilling a hole for the blade to start. Any suggestions about WHERE the hole should be relative to future construction issues--eg. tight seals etc??

Jim

Jim,
My B&D took care of my jigsawing. Everything that was bumpy got taken care of with a belt sander. Just put both sides together and sanded away.

The door opening I drilled a few of small holes inside the line and stuck the blade in. I am going to frame around the door with milled boards so they will be straight enough to follow with the sander to get the ply evened out.

Not worried about the window opening because It is inside the trim. You can clamp a board down to give you a line to follow on your straight cuts.

Good luck
Aunti M

[mikeschn]

I do not have a plunge router so I will have to jigsaw the door. I assume this means drilling a hole for the blade to start. Any suggestions about WHERE the hole should be relative to future construction issues--eg. tight seals etc??

Jim

Jim,

Cutting out the door is easy with a jigsaw. And no need to drill holes for the blade either. Just start the jigsaw on an angle... and feed it in as it nibbles away at the wood...

Do you want me to look and see if I have a picture?

Mike...

[cnicoll1]

I cut my doors out with my circular saw... I marked the outline of my door measured over an inch and a half.. (the distance between the saw blade and the edge of the foot on the saw) and screw a piece of wood as a straight edge ... just plunge the blade down and run it alone the board....cut out your corners with the jig saw... this method is used to cut plywood on jobsites when you make cabinets and stuff... gives you a perfect sdge every time....

[Arne]

I'm with Craig. Straight edge for a guide, plunge the circ saw down. I did something I'm not sure I would do again and that is I cut enough to free the door, leaving cuts past the door on one side, which I filled with bondo.... the jig saw blade is not as wide as the circ saw blade.

Bottom edge I cut on an angle so any water would run out.... curve doors are nice, but after a week all you really care about is getting in and out...

[madjack]

I am a curved door kinda guy...don't like that truly evil point on the corners of the trim...everytime I look at one, my skin crawls...too many accidents in my convoluted past...
madjack

[sid]

This is from another thread going on right now by Jimbo.......

Biggest and questionably the most dangerous mistake that I made was with the doors. I let myself get talked into "Square doors" because it would be easier to trim. Once I got them trimed up, it sure was easy but I had created a lethal campgroud weapon for middle of the night falls. The aluminum angle met at a perfect point that would split you open if you fell on it. I was like running with scissors, not a good idea.

Of course, the plus side was that if a bear attacked, all I had to do was open the door real fast and it would have gutted it. It also made cleaning fish super easy.

Needless to say, that was the final straw for me. When I do the trailer for two, I plan to use rounded doors.

I'm for rounded doors too, as long as you don't make the radius too tight. I found them rather easy to build and the safety factor is much better. Plus, we just like the looks of them.

[cnicoll1]

I thought of cutting my doors square... But went for the rounded door for just that reason...I used a staight edge and the cut the corner and radius uot with the jig saw....used a drum sander on the round parts to even out the cuts.....

[cnicoll1]

the reason being safety... of course

[madjack]

....actually we just like the rounded look better...more classy to me...if you look, we also matched the curves on the door to the curves of the profile...the added bounus was not having to worry about that aforementioned EVIL POINT...and the thought of ripping my arm(or other parts) open onit......
madjack

[kayakrguy]

Everybody...thank you!

Boy, I learn a lot here. The info about cutting with jig/rotary saws is great.
I'm going to practice both on some scrap I have.

Square vs. Round: I'm not clear about the 'lethal points' re: square. Does that mean the corners? Wouldn't making the door bigger solve that?

Also, the 'lethal trim' question isn't clear to me.
Is that metal weather stripping on door and jamb? Are those more likely on a square door? Why?

I agree that from an aesthetic point of view Round is nicer looking. My MAJOR concerns, shape aside, are 1) not ending up with a 'Leaky T' 2) door stands up to use/abuse--without making it like a bank vault.

So, what are 'lethal points' and 'lethal trim'. I like the idea of built in fish cleaner, bottle opener etc....just on on the door <g>

Thank you again everyone,

Jim

[kayakrguy]

Whoops....went to the Jimbo thread site and read reference to lethal doors and saw cubby pics...aha! lightbulb goes off--lethal refers to corners on the DOORS!...right?

Have ordered my aluminum angle, waiting for delivery--two local stores were out and Home Despot prices were OUTRAGEOUS--$30+ for 8'x1" !

Got my spars--some pine, some poplar (for hatch hinge ets)

Have to attend wife's family's reunion in Seneca Falls NY this weekend so won't get too much done practicing/build wise.

Will cut spars today; wife read this thread and said, 'round the corners!'
In the end, some stuff gets simplified real quick! <g>

Jim