If you go the hole saw route use a small bit to drill a pilot hole the entire way through. Then drill 3/4 of the way through from one side and then switch to the other side to finish the hole. That way no tearout/splintering/blowout. If you cannot do the double side method then clamp on a sacrificial piece onto the side that will blowout and drill through and into the scarficical piece. The sp will keep pressure on the melamine thus reducing the potential for blowout.
Has anyone here ever cut somewhat larger holes into Ikea MDF (or whatever their particle board is)?
I bought a Galant printer cabinet for my UPS, NAS and possibly other components and I have a feeling its going to get too hot in there, so I need to cut some holes for cabinet coolers. I don't need the lines to be perfect, I just want to make sure it doesn't create massive cracks.
The cabinet is put together, so I was thinking of just using a jigsaw, but I'm wondering if something else will do a better job?
I've cut holes into Ikea Besta for exactly the same thing - I think both they and Galant are veneer over melamine. I used a variety of hole saws sizes.
The cutting side cuts pretty clean - I recommend using a hole saw size that uses a drill bit pilot as it minimizes the "skating" as the hole saw takes bite.
The exit side tends to suffer a lot of "tear out" which you could minimize by drilling from the other side using the aforementioned pilot hole and hole saw.
Thanks for the suggestion guys, although a hole saw is not going to do the job as I need to cut more of a rectangle...a fairly large one as well at 14" x 5". So I think it needs to be with something like a jigsaw or perhaps a Fein Multimaster type thing.
Taping it off sounds like a good idea. I don't necessarily need the edges to be perfect, as part of the cooler over overlaps the actual cutout, but hopefully it can avoid some giant splinter in the veneer.
Thanks for the suggestion guys, although a hole saw is not going to do the job as I need to cut more of a rectangle...a fairly large one as well at 14" x 5". So I think it needs to be with something like a jigsaw or perhaps a Fein Multimaster type thing.
Taping it off sounds like a good idea. I don't necessarily need the edges to be perfect, as part of the cooler over overlaps the actual cutout, but hopefully it can avoid some giant splinter in the veneer.
If you want to stop by the shop tomorrow we could take the festool tracksaw for a rip!
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Haha, as tempting as that it would be to see a sweet Festool in action, unfortunately the unit is already assembled, so I don't think a tracksaw wouldn't really work.
V, the Dremel is a good idea too. I think in reality it will have to be something of that handheld nature.
I'll let you guys now how it went.
Last edited by Table 5; 01-01-2016 at 08:46 PM.
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I need a motion sensor light for outdoors where the sensor isn't attached to the light fixture. Do those exist? I need to place it about 10ft from the light. Oh, also would like it to have 2 sensors....
I need a motion sensor light for outdoors where the sensor isn't attached to the light fixture. Do those exist? I need to place it about 10ft from the light. Oh, also would like it to have 2 sensors....
Yup, google remote motion sensor. Plenty of wireless and wired options.
Haha, as tempting as that it would be to see a sweet Festool in action, unfortunately the unit is already assembled, so I don't think a tracksaw wouldn't really work.
V, the Dremel is a good idea too. I think in reality it will have to be something of that handheld nature.
I'll let you guys now how it went.
If you need one of these, there is one a block away from you:
I'm having issues with my dishwasher where they dishes are just not getting clean. I checked out a few things and it looks like the drain hose is very dirty, and likely not pumping out all the dirty water before it bring in new water for the next wash / rinse cycle.
My issue is I don't really know why this is happening. I've got the high loop installed under my sink so I don't think that's the issue. Is it possible the drain hose is too long? I need to buy two standard ones from Home Depot (10ft I think) to make it reach from the dishwasher to the sink. That's the only thing I can think off, but I don't want to try a somewhat difficult solution (where I simply extend some plumbing behind the dishwasher so the drain hose is shorter) if that's not the issue.
EDIT: I did replace the dirty drain hose about 6 months ago as I thought it was just the fact that the old owners hadn't done that in a long time. However, it's just as dirty again in that short amount of time.
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Much like a sports ticker, you may feel obligated to read this
I'm having issues with my dishwasher where they dishes are just not getting clean. I checked out a few things and it looks like the drain hose is very dirty, and likely not pumping out all the dirty water before it bring in new water for the next wash / rinse cycle.
My issue is I don't really know why this is happening. I've got the high loop installed under my sink so I don't think that's the issue. Is it possible the drain hose is too long? I need to buy two standard ones from Home Depot (10ft I think) to make it reach from the dishwasher to the sink. That's the only thing I can think off, but I don't want to try a somewhat difficult solution (where I simply extend some plumbing behind the dishwasher so the drain hose is shorter) if that's not the issue.
EDIT: I did replace the dirty drain hose about 6 months ago as I thought it was just the fact that the old owners hadn't done that in a long time. However, it's just as dirty again in that short amount of time.
This is where Google/YouTube will be your best friend. A couple things I'd look at would be:
1) Run the dishwasher and listen to the motor, if it sounds labored or any other odd noise, that would be a good starting point.
2) Check the drain leading to the hose for any clogs or build up. With all the water going through it I'd imagine calcium build up could be an issue, causing dirty water to slosh around instead of rinsing.
3) Always rinse off your dishes (if you dont) before putting them in. Sauces and especially bacon grease are terrible on any plumbing.
Good luck!
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Originally Posted by oilboimcdavid
Eakins wasn't a bad coach, the team just had 2 bad years, they should've been more patient.
Thanks for the suggestion guys, although a hole saw is not going to do the job as I need to cut more of a rectangle...a fairly large one as well at 14" x 5". So I think it needs to be with something like a jigsaw or perhaps a Fein Multimaster type thing.
Taping it off sounds like a good idea. I don't necessarily need the edges to be perfect, as part of the cooler over overlaps the actual cutout, but hopefully it can avoid some giant splinter in the veneer.
Don't know if you've already made the hole, but when I was making an MDF stand a few years ago I used a combination of a hole saw and a router to get some nice results. Used the hole saw to make large holes at either end of the rectangular-ish hole I wanted, then used the router with some clamped-on guides to create straight cuts between the edges of the holes.
Maybe not the best tools for the job, but I worked with what I had.
I used 4 holes in the corners of the large rectangle in the top, 2 at the ends of each of the narrower holes. Interestingly, the large hole is for the same purpose you need: ventilation. I custom built this as a computer stand for my very large 800D case with fans set up to pull from the large grill on the bottom. Holes in the back for cable management.
So I just installed a humidifier on my furnace yesterday, since the humidity level in my house has been down in the mid-low 20's during the winter. The instructions are pretty detailed about what level to aim for, and I was wondering how often most people adjust the humidistat based on the temperature outside, or even if some just set it and forget it?
