I’m building my control box and will be making the face board out of 1/8" masonite. I have limited wood working experience.
What type of saw blade should I use on the masonite so that the cut is clean?
I planned on having my box be 14" x 30" with the masonite supported from underneath by using 1/4" x 1/4" cleats to form a ledge around the interior perimeter of the box, and held in place on the top with 1/4 round braded into place.
Will 1/8" masonite span 14" x 30" without sagging, or should I plan on having one or two small support beams under it?
Not an expert on masonite. If it were me, cut with fine tooth jigsaw. Turn smooth side down [I cut most things like plywood and etc, #1 side down]. This is because the teeth will be “ripping” upward. Some of the gang will be along and help. Good luck.
I would use a fine tooth blade designed for veneer (approx 6TPI). Move slowly. Otherwise it scorches the masonite. It gives off strong fumes while cutting I should add. A 14" span could suffer some sag depending how many control swithes you mount to it. I would put one there for the sake of it. Especially if you plan to drill holes in it after it is mounted for drilling support. Masonite is difficult to nail through unless you drill pilot holes. It’s best to use screws anyway. Masonite likes to warp and is likely to pull the brads out (another reason for a center support). 1/4" cleats are gauranteed to split if you nail into them. You can use flathead screws and countersink them. Pilot drill the cleats for the screws or they will split the cleats. For switch mounting and pilot holes, I would drill with cobalt bits at a slow speed. Again, high speed will torch it.
Next to sheet metal, masonite is an excellent surface for a control panel. It is smooth and holds switches nicely without crushing. It also paints nicely as long as you primer it. You can sprau paint it. If you brush it, use paint conditioner such as Flotrol for a smooth finish.
I think you’ll need some sort of support for the masonite. I made a frame around the perimeter of my panel. Used some good square 1" by 2" firring strip material. Used 3/4" wood screws on about 6" centers to attach the masonite. It made a nice edge and gave the panel some strength. Mine was a little smaller than yours, it was for my old HO layout. I reused this material for the present O gauge layout! Actually it is a bit smaller now.
Thank you for all the responses! I’m glad I asked before jumping into this.
I was going to glue the 1/4" x 1/4" cleats to the box frame (made from 1" x 4") rather than use screws. I have a lot of wood clamps so securing pieces while gluing isn’t a problem. I figured that screws would split the 1/4 x 1/4 cleats. These cleats would be about 3/8" below the top of the box’s frame to allow for the height of 1/8" masonite and 1/4 round.
I was thinking of floating the masonite on the top of the wood sub-frame rather than securing the masonite to the sub-frame. I was thinking that the 1/4 round placed on top perimeter of the masonite would hold it in place as well as provide a nice finished look.
I suppose I could also glue the masonite to the sub-frame, and/or glue the 1/4 round to the frame rather than try to brad it into place.
Thank you again. All the responses have been a help.
3railguy is right about the veneer blade on a skill type saw being the best. You can also put a strip of 2" wide masking tape on the board before drawing you line. Place it so the line (and your cut) goes right down the middle of the tape. You can put it on both sides too, that will get the cleanest cut.
Test this first on some scrap. I used painters tape tape on my last project, and it removed a bit of the masonite when I removed the tape. The tape is a grat idea on plywood.
When you said “1/4” round braded into place" I thought you intended to nail brads through the masonite into the cleats. Masonite is dificult to nail through unless you drill holes through it first. Otherwise the brads are subject to bend when you drive them. The glue should prevent it from warping. Glue alone may or may not be strong enough. Hard to say. I would prefer to screw it with no glue because it makes it easier remove the panel for making wiring connections or changes. Some hinge the panel for this reason. Or you might make changes to your track plan and want to replace the panel altogether to avoid gaping holes.
As others say, experiment with the saw on scrap. Saw power and blade quality varies.
Gorilla Glue will hold it fast, but brads through your 1/4 round trim would also work.
Your 1/4 x 1/4 cleets should also be braded. If you use a nail gun with the thinest brads you can find, you should be OK - just test it first. If you are using Pine I would reconsider and use Poplar as it is a denser wood and will hold the brads better and resists splitting.
As for cutting the masonite - you are going to want a blade made for cutting METAL. I would not cut this on a table saw as the blade rotates much too fast and may cause the masonite to burn. I would use a sabre saw with a metal blade, with the power to the saw OFF (unplug it) I would apply painters tape (blue masking tape) to the underside of your sabre saw (if it doesn’t have a non-marring plate). Then place the saw next to the material and clamp a straight edge to guide the sabre saw along the cut. Do not use too much pressure and you will be fine.
Bosch makes Clean Metal blades and this is what I’ve used without problem. I’ve cut 16GA steel, masonite, and aluminum with them without problem - well the aluminum clogged the teeth so I ended up using a hacksaw for that.
I’ve just used regular metal cutting jigsaw blades out of the craftsman multi=blade packs to cut tempored masonite with no problem. I never really gave it much though since I could cut my guide line with some precision. I’m no shop tech, but with variation of blade speed, I thought I was making pretty good cuts.
3rail I was looking for a good circular saw blade or table saw blade for cutting metal. I found these http://www.metaldevil.com/ they cut cool as the blade is designed to not transfer heat to the material. They make them in various diameters, but for the price of 1 10" blade I bought a new DeWalt sabre saw and still had enough left over to buy 4 5 blade packs!
Thank you all for your thoughts. It has been great reading them.
I have a hand held Skill jigsaw, so I can get some of the blades recommended. I can also borrow a circular saw if that would be better. I will use tape!
As to how to secure the masonite, you all shared some very good points to think about. I would have never thought of half of these points. Thank you. I didn’t realize that brads would require pre-drilling, so that option is out.
At this point I am leaning towards gluing everything in place. I’m going to be using pan head screws and a probe to switch the turnouts. So I am thinking that it would be best to keep the number of screw heads visible on the panel to those used for the turnouts.
Why don’t ask Lowes or Home Depot just cut it to size for you? They cut other types of lumber for me. I have never asked them about masonite, but they did cut some plexiglass for me several years ago because I didn’t have the tools.
They should be able to cut it on their panel saw. For a while, they wouldn’t cut MDF or masonite because of the chemicals used to make the board, but I haven’t had any problems with that for a couple of years now. You get two cuts free, and other cuts after that are .25. Usually, they will just keep cutting for free.
If that’s the kind of metal blade you guys are talking about OUCH! It didn’t cross my mind. I have one in my cut off saw and it was 200 bucks (14"). Dewalt I think. I don’t know what they cost for a circular saw. He’s cutting a piece masonite so I figured a $12 fine tooth veneer blade in a circular saw would be fine. And they do work fine. Straighter than a jigsaw no matter what you use.
If the masonite is to be held in place by quarter-round on top, you could cut it with a can opener and it wouldn’t matter, since the edge will be well hidden.
Have you thought about providing for turning the panel over for maintenance?