New vent covers
Posted: 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.
[ATTACH]4854[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]4855[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]4856[/ATTACH]
The small box like building you see in back of the house is my shop.
[ATTACH]4857[/ATTACH]
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.
[ATTACH]4854[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]4855[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]4856[/ATTACH]
The small box like building you see in back of the house is my shop.
[ATTACH]4857[/ATTACH]
