Dimensions confermation and wood cut...

Rich Leffler

New member
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3
Location
Spokane, WA
Hi you guys..... I need a " 3/4" thick piece of wood cut to the correct dimensions so that the top of the plaque should be a specific "critical dimension" when routed and prepared for finishing.

The TOP dimensions are: 8.5" X 10.375"

One of my questions is .... What is the "Overall" dimensions of the the wood needed to achieve the top critical dimension of 8.5" X 10.375". If I add a 1/2" on all 4 sides for the Routing I come up with... 9.5" X 11.38" Is this correct for the planed, ready to route 3/4" thick piece of wood?

I have attached a couple photo jpegs for you to look at.

Also, Can you tell me what Router bit this is in the attachments used on a 3/4" piece of wood? I thought it was a "Roman something".... Roman Ogee

And finally, Is there anyone on this forum that could cut and plane a 3/4" piece of stainable wood and route it with the Router bit style (see attachment). And get it ready for ME to stain and varnish with shipping to Spokane, WA 99205?

Thank you for your time!
Reesche
 

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Rich, Looks like a simple project to me.
See if this ready made plaque at your local Hobby Lobby would fill the bill.
Hey Ted..... simple project yes BUT..... the dimensions have to be exact on the TOP measurements. Hobby Lobby is really standard measurements. Take a close look at what I said on my original message. I do not have the tools to do the cutting, routeing etc. Reesche
 
So just a few questions,

What species of wood are you considering?
What environment will the wood be in?
What finishes are you planning to use?

If the dimensions are critical, you'll need to put some thought into those questions, as wood being a natural product can expand and contract in various conditions, causing the critical dimensions to be not so accurate.

I'd like to help, but I'm between shops right now.

Also, if you could, please do not repost posts. Thank you.
 
Darren.... something that will take a Medium Cherry stain.

Indoors.... used to transfer plastic finished models around with
 

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Hey Ted..... simple project yes BUT..... the dimensions have to be exact on the TOP measurements. Hobby Lobby is really standard measurements. Take a close look at what I said on my original message. I do not have the tools to do the cutting, routeing etc. Reesche
Rich, you have two "top guns" trying to help you. I know Ted personally, no need to be short with him. Looks to me he was offering an option to a person that doesn't have woodworking tools that would be most economical. If that option would not have worked, bet he would have offered more help. Be careful of who you are curt to, we are a family here and you are included, a youngster, but family.
 
Rich to expand on what has already been said wood may not be the best material for what you are trying to do. AS was stated Wood moves depending on humidity, temp and age of the wood. If you were to make the piece in Sept to the "EXACT dimensions" the wood will NOT necessarily be the same dimension in April. Here is an article that will explain what we are trying to tell you.

if you expect wood to hold the tolerances you stated then you are looking for the Holy Grail and good luck with that.
 
To put the movement problem in real numbers if you used Black Cherry (which is relatively stable) and had a seasonal moisture variation from 12% <-> 7% (which would be well within "probable" for your area) you would have around 0.12" of shrinkage/expansion on the 8.5" dimension (the 10.375 would have some shift but being end<->end not very much, generally inconsequential).

This was using the woodweb calculator which isn't perfect but is generally pretty close: https://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/calculators/calc.pl

This also means you have to be a smidge careful about how you'd fasten things down to it to account for 1/10" of movement, that is gluing down a non-flexible plastic topping might eventually lead to glue failure. Somewhat flexible fasteners or slots through the wood so the top can float a bit would also work.

The other alternative would be to make a frame and fill it in with a panel. I suspect your best option for that might be a local picture frame shop as they have some (sweet!) tooling to put the frames together really fast and easy compared to most of us more general woodworkers. What you're looking at there is a simple "roman ogee" and I don't think most frame shops would have to much trouble sourcing that in cherry. You may be able to leave the center just open and clip the part you want onto the frame from underneath? (I'm not sure how stable the bit you want to put on top is..) or maybe just back it with a bit of 1/4" plywood and then clip it onto the frame.

In practice the flat panel is a pretty easy project for basically anyone with a router table assuming you can deal with the movement issue. The exact dimensions of the outside will vary a smidge depending on the specific profile of the bit used and how deep of a cut you take (if you take a slightly deeper cut you can "shrink" the inside dimensions a bit). If i was doing it I'd just get "close" then sneak up on it some by taking a couple slightly deeper cuts.

If you want to go with the solid panel I suspect that shipping and overhead probably makes getting someone out of area kind of overly expensive, I guess it fits in a medium box flat rate which is about $16 so not terrible but for a simple board... that starts landing into the price to make it. The other advantage of someone local is you can work with them to get the details right on how you want them easier than back and forth over the internet (no offense hopefully to some of the folks who DO that really well.. y'all rock.. I'm just not good at it).

A bit of searching and here's somewhat abbreviated local list:
You might also ask the local woodcraft store (https://www.woodcraft.com/stores/spokane) or on the spokane woodworking FB page (https://www.facebook.com/Woodworking-Spokane-111723110205730/) if they know anyone nearby who can hook you up.
 
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