How to make a bevel? (woodwork content)

I have a shelf made from 18mm thick plywood, with one edge slightly curved. However this curved edge also need to be bevelled to a specific angle.

Ideas?

Router if you have one.

EDIT: that’s to rhyme with doubter, not looter. 😛

Router with bearing angle cutter. Will be able to get all of your standard angles.
Failing that a plane.

Marcel.

And if you don’t…. mark the extents on the edge and the face and spoke shave?

Mol, if you don’t know what a bearing angle cutter is, it’s a bit with a bearing (sometimes these cane be changed for different radius bearings) that means you don’t need a straight edge or a stead hand – the bearing sits against yr workpiece and you just move the router along it.

EDIT, you’d need a sharp spoke shave to do it neatly on ply. 🙂 I’m not sure mol will have one of those at his disposal.

I did think of doing it with a plane carefully, but I did not realise routers could do it. Presumably I have limited choice of angles though..?

Knock herself out mol.

If it’s just a one-off, I suspect you could get a cheaper bit than what trend would charge.

In my experience unless it’s pretty top quality routing plywood is a nightmare as it just splinters and chips. If it’s just big standard plywood from one of the big DIY sheds don’t expect a nice sharp even look!

With plywood try the router on an off cut first, with the wood grains at different angles you can end up with splintering.

Damn. Too late.

It won’t be visible. Thinking I may be able to rig something up with my electric plane.

If you didn’t know that a router could do it then you probably lack the experience not to mullah your shelf when you attempt to use the router.

The obvious answer is a very sharp block plane although this confuses me :

“However this curved edge also need to be bevelled to a specific angle”.

If it’s a curved edge it won’t remain so when you do a bevel, presumably ? I also find the need for a specific angle a little strange.

But anyway, if it’s 18mm ply then the chances are that the finish will look ropey whatever way you do your curve/bevel. I would recommend gluing and pinning a timber edge which will be easier to form a curve/bevel on and will have a nicer finish. Don’t hit the nails though.

if you don’t have a router already use this as an excuse to go get one. They’re great for all sorts of stuff and this is right up their street

If you use a plane you should be able to set up a jig of sorts with some long bits of wood running along the length of your shelf to keep an even and straight angle.

I think an electric plane is as likely to mash the edges of the ply as a router might be. If you’d be happy to freehand it with a planer then a safer bet might be to scribe the edges of the bevel on the face and side and use a sander.

It won’t be visible.

Gets more confusing.

Thinking I may be able to rig something up with my electric plane.

When you come to the end of the edge it will cause a lot of splintering so you will have to stop before that and do it from the other side.

IMO doing that and only taking off just a little at a time (otherwise too much off will affect where they meet) and at “a specific angle”, and on 18mm ply, would require a fair amount of skill, good luck.

And be careful – electric planers are surprisingly dangerous, specially when doing small fiddly stuff. People give circular saws a lot of respect because of all those scarey looking teeth but are much more blase about innocuous looking planers. I know a few stories where people have come unstuck.

The plane scares the shit out of me too, all I have to do is imagine what it would do to skin.. 😯

If you didn’t know that a router could do it then you probably lack the experience not to mullah your shelf when you attempt to use the router.

I have lot of experience in creatively solving a problem without the tools that would make it easy 🙂

the reason the finish is not important: if you have ever been inside a caravan of a certain age you will almost always see a shelf above the front windows. This is actually a structural component, and it has to be screwed to the front of the van which slopes, hence bevel. But the bevelled edge can’t be seen as it’s buried behind the walls.

A hand plane might do it, but I cannot imagine the ply not splintering badly..

But the bevelled edge can’t be seen as it’s buried behind the walls.

That makes perfect sense – thanks for clearing it up for me 🙂

Now I understand the job a little better I would probably recommend using a circular saw – which can be adjusted to the precise angle. A fine blade if possible and pushed very slowly.

Unless of course you meant that it is the ends of the shelves that are “curved” rather than the edge itself being curved, I hadn’t thought of that. In which case then you are back to the router – even an electric plane won’t give a chamfer on a curved piece of wood. A router will though.

EDIT : “A hand plane might do it, but I cannot imagine the ply not splintering badly.. ”

A block plane is very much easier to control for a job like that than a smoothing plane. But the blade really needs to be very sharp if you are going to do the chamfer/bevel on ply.

Use the electric plane set a zero depth and angle it down the bevel as you move the plane along the edge (won’t tear the board this way). Finish with block plane.
Ignore scaredy cats with no sense of adventure; safe enough if work is clamped down.

Yes – the front of the van bows out, so the edge with the bevel need to be curved.

Screwfix cheapo brand router currently £33.

Yeah router is best then. Although you could do it very slowly bit by bit with a very sharp block plane and some sandpaper imo (spokeshave if you’ve got one and know how to use it). Electric plane is out.

If you get a router make sure you practice plenty first on scrap timber.

A jigsaw with an angle adjustable baseplate will do the job.

£33 router will handle a 45deg (or whatever)bevel on 18mm plywood? 😯

Have you considered a belt sander in place of the plane , maybe at 90 degrees to what you would use that plane? This would give the cirve as well as the bevel…

course grit 40 belts as well

cut roughly to shape first ideally with a jig saw or if not with what ever

Do you know how you’re gong to get the correct curve on the plywood yet?

He’s already done it : “I have a shelf made from 18mm thick plywood, with one edge slightly curved”.

Ah, so h just needs to bevel it.

I’d also go with a block plane. Maybe this one:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-nx60-premium-block-planes

http://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-nx60-premium-block-planes

From £289.96 Inc. VAT

If you’re only going to use a block plane once you might as well get the best

This is STW. Don’t we all need, nay, deserve the very best?

Are you asking how to cut the bevel or how to establish the amount of bevel required along the length of the shelf?

The actual cutting can be achieved by as suggested above, with a jigsaw angled to the smallest angle and then use a block or smoothing plane to fine tune.

As far as marking it out, or establishing the bevel along the shelf, then that can be done by creating station marks at regular intervals along the length and so long as the caravan is set up level, use a spirit level held vertically and touching the top of the shelf line at each station mark and measure the gap between the level and the bulkhead at the depth of the thickness of the ply you’re using, ie 18mm if your using 18mm ply. Transfer each measurement to the underside of your ply shelf that already has the horizontal curve cut. Join the dots and get jiggy and planing. Or you could use the shelf itself, although I imagine it’s going to be tricky to hold the shelf in position for you to do this and mark accurately.

If you need to establish the curve of the shelf, then fix a straight edge horizontal and level along the length of the bulkhead and again, with station marks at regular intervals, measure the distance between the bulkhead and the straight edge and transfer these dims to your bit of ply.

It’s like boatbuilding but won’t need to be as accurate 😀

£33 router will handle a 45deg (or whatever)bevel on 18mm plywood?

Why wouldn’t it, assuming I can find the correct bit? Is there such a thing as a router with adjustable base plate? Cos if I can’t find the correct angle bit then the router won’t work.

Re the measuring, I have the original shelf which is simply a bit damp/soft at one end so I can easily use it as a template and cut the new one with a jigsaw. I could possibly buy a new jigsaw.. But I do also have a bandsaw…

Probably missing something here but couldn’t you put the bevel on a thin straight piece of wood and then attach to the curved ply.

Buy a plane sharpen it properly and fire in you will be surprised how fast it goes!

Then post in here… http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/manly-things-youve-never-done

A proper sharp block plain won’t chatter or rip the ply as long as you think about the direction.

The bevel will change along the length, so yes, you can use your bandsaw, just tilt the table at the smallest angle.

You could also, as hobster suggests, use a cleat that has the shape and bevel cut on that if it’s all going to be hidden.

I’d just use a belt sander. 😉

given it’s hidden I’d just go with the jigsaw blade and adjust the foot on the tool to get the right angle approach. Use a fine toothed blade for minimal splintering and either follow the curve freehand or use a second curved bit of wood as a guide.

These are good as guides if you’re using a bearing cutter (and I expect for the jigsaw solution).

http://www.axminster.co.uk/fisch-flexi-curve

rough ply, hidden edge?

wood rasp or rough file
belt sander + 40/60 grit belt

if you’ve already cut the curve, I wouldn’t bother jigsawing.
routing would be ok but as mentioned would chip a lot, maybe not an issue if the edge is hidden

spokeshave or block planes would work but unlikely to be particularly lovely to work with on DIY shed quality ply, would be ok on better quality stuff

edit:

But I do also have a bandsaw…

just use the bandsaw.

These are good as guides if you’re using a bearing cutter (and I expect for the jigsaw solution).

http://www.axminster.co.uk/fisch-flexi-curve

That’s cool – I’ll have to get one!

Rasp – this is a good idea. Saves me £50 at the very least. I may even have one.

I’ll measure the angle, calculate how far in the top edge needs to be from the bottom edge, mark it out and work to that. I may even post pictures 🙂

If it ends up being a bit rough I’m sure some mastic will help 🙂

Probably missing something here but couldn’t you put the bevel on a thin straight piece of wood and then attach to the curved ply.

No, it’s the curved edge that needs the bevel.