New vent covers

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 2:10 pm

Finished up the vent project yesterday. I had to replace the old vent covers on the skirting beneath our house because the old ones, made of plastic got brittle and began to break up if they were touched, after 5 years in the weather.

This was a fun OPR project - after it finally got to that stage. The hard part was making a template. This took me two tries and about 8 hours each. Scroll sawing isn't my forte!

I used a hand me down Dremel scroll saw that worked good before it's two speed induction motor broke down. Now it will only work on the slow speed. I must say the Dremel Co. was a very good to work with. They had no problem trying to help me fix this 15 year old saw. They sent me replacement switches and capacaters at no charge, except for the first High/Low switch (which was their first diagnosis). They just didn't want to believe the motor went bad.

The routing of the vents finally got to be fun after I switched from a spiral bit to a carbide straight bit. The first 5 vents were made from 3/8" cabinet grade plywood. Yes, this is a test to see if they will hold up any length of time. The last 12 were made from 1/2" MDF. I didn't know they will hold up either, but it is worth a try, as the plywood was a pain to fill the small internal voids and sand the internal openings. The MDF ones were really fun to rout out! I hung a dust collector hose from the headstock (above the OPR) and used the smaller floor sweep attachment on the end. Almost ALL of the MDF sawdust went directly into the DC.

I spray painted the vent covers first with "Kilz" then several coats of external house paint. Stapled the screens on the back and slapped them up.

Here's the results.

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The small box like building you see in back of the house is my shop.

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curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:54 pm

Great looking vents, Chuck! What did you use to make the template? 1/4" Hardboard, MDF, ply...?

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:36 pm

curiousgeorge wrote:Great looking vents, Chuck! What did you use to make the template? 1/4" Hardboard, MDF, ply...?

Really there were template(s) - The first one was from some hardboard scrap about 3/36" thick and covered with a white coating like thin melamine. Couldn't sand out the irregularities in the holes without messing up the edges even worse than the scroll saw. Thought the Strip Sander might be good for this sanding, BUT NO!

The next template was from 3/8" plywood. That is the one I used. I was more careful with the scroll saw.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:53 pm

Now those look great, but bet they were a pain to cut and sand. Was that the design of the old ones?

etc92guy · Post by **etc92guy** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:44 pm

I LOVE routing MDF...Clean, crisp cuts.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet the plywood will hold up longer than the MDF. With all the glue (water and flour?) in MDF, it just hasn't held up to outdoor use.

You need something that will hold up to exposure. My first guess would be some sort of plastic or acrylic that is UV resistant. Or maybe a marine grade plywood?

It looks like you have the manufacturing process down. I'm just not sure on the material.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 7:40 pm

Hi, etc92! I agree with everything you said. Thanks for the tip about Marine Plywood. When searching my mind for materials - it didn't occur to me to order marine ply.

The original vent covers were designed for that purpose. UV resistant? Don't know!

nuhobby · Post by **nuhobby** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 4:06 pm

charlese wrote:Really there were template(s) - The first one was from some hardboard scrap about 3/36" thick and covered with a white coating like thin melamine. Couldn't sand out the irregularities in the holes without messing up the edges even worse than the scroll saw. Thought the Strip Sander might be good for this sanding, BUT NO!

The next template was from 3/8" plywood. That is the one I used. I was more careful with the scroll saw.

Chuck, Great Job, and maybe there were some 'blue words' during the trial and error phase. But I'm sure you were just 'venting.'

john · Post by **john** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 4:14 pm

Chuck:

Glad to see you finally finished this project. Looks good too!

Now what are yo going to do?:D

Have fun

John

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 6:27 pm

What if you made something like this drip cap to reduce the amount of weathering they get.
I hope this link works, it looks a little odd.

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=184524

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 6:59 pm

Roofing and siding people are also very adept at creating flashings that deflect moisture. We use an underground electric fence to keep our dog in the yard. When first installed a good friend in the roofing business stopped by and in 15 minutes created a flashing that has kept the electronics dry for 16 years. Yes they are plugged into an electrical outlet installed just below the bottom run of Cedar Siding. We seldom get more than 3 or 4 inches of rain in a day here. fjimp