In the process of installing a new kitchen and have a worktop to fit also.. there are going to be 2 joins needed and i'd prefer to stay away from the metal joining strips and have a flush join. What i'd like to know is that if anyone has ever used a worktop jig to cut the worktop corners and if its something that can be done by easily or requires a high degree of skill? thanks in advance.
worktop jig
- Thread starter navgeeza
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It can be done by a fairly competent DIY'er but double check and check again before you cut because it could cost you a lot of worktop if it's wrong.In theory the worktops will fit perfect to each other forming a seamless joint but a problem I have had more than once is that the walls of the house are not square and then you need to cut an offset mitre which is not easy. If you can pay to get the two joints done for £ 60 - £80 then I would advise it but if it is something you intend to do again some day then have a go because you will need the practice. It may be worth using your old worktops to do a few test runs and gain a bit of confidence using the jig. Good luck.
Am I right in thinking these joints are not mitred joints at 45degrees as such, except for the part where the two bull noses meet.
I would have thought the worktops when finished must be at 90 degrees and if the walls are not quite square shouldn't that be catered for by other means like removing some material off the wall/top
I would have thought the worktops when finished must be at 90 degrees and if the walls are not quite square shouldn't that be catered for by other means like removing some material off the wall/top
You are correct about the type of mitre being mentioned above but what I mean is that if the wall runs off at more than 90 degrees i.e. runs away from you (outwards), then for the worktop to sit back to that wall ( assuming the units are back to the wall ) the mitre cut needs to be adjusted to suit, so for example if your wall runs out from your corner at 96 degrees then you adjust your mitre jig to offset by 6 degrees. In the other case if the wall runs inwards then a 90 degree cut is fine and you cut the back edge of the worktop for it to sit flush to the wall. I know it sounds complicated and that is why I advise practising first .
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You may be interested in another idea on the market relating to worktops.
After cutting the joint for joining tops either in line or at any other angle, A couple of double keyhole slots is cut across the joints with a router.ie the slot starting and ending with a bored hole about 25mm diam and about 25mm deep the slot being about 10mm wide.
Bolts fitted with butterfly wing type washers and nuts are inserted and tightened to pull the joint together.See them in Wickes/Homebase
After cutting the joint for joining tops either in line or at any other angle, A couple of double keyhole slots is cut across the joints with a router.ie the slot starting and ending with a bored hole about 25mm diam and about 25mm deep the slot being about 10mm wide.
Bolts fitted with butterfly wing type washers and nuts are inserted and tightened to pull the joint together.See them in Wickes/Homebase
I have read your reply and advise you have given regarding the joining of worktops, but am still confused about how the very neat mitre (short one)is obtained? the ones I have seen have not been cut by a jigsaw !.
Have you any ideas
Many thanks, Disco duck.
Have you any ideas
Many thanks, Disco duck.
You use a router to do it properly, but I used a jigsaw with a downward cutting blade, cut both pieces, butted them, jigsawed the line again, sanded, sealed, laminated, siliconed, scraped, sat back, enjoyed, had a beer !!!discoduck said:I have read your reply and advise you have given regarding the joining of worktops, but am still confused about how the very neat mitre (short one)is obtained? the ones I have seen have not been cut by a jigsaw !.
Have you any ideas
Many thanks, Disco duck.
You'll be looking at at least £100 for the router as you need a minimum of 1600w and then a minimum of £80 for a jig. Then there is the danger of messing it up and wasting a worktop. I DID!!!
My advice is get a pro, it costs more or less the same as the jig and saves a lot of hassle!!
My advice is get a pro, it costs more or less the same as the jig and saves a lot of hassle!!
a good trick for doing this - if you can get your head around working from the underside of the tops - is this.
get some cheap hardboard at least as wide as your tops
cut a mitre on one and place it over the other in situ - then mark with a knife the score for the other.
this takes any wall unsquarenes into account and gives you a full size marking template. it doesn't need to be full length.
then write 'top' on the top surfaces of the template
turn your worktops over so you are marking the base and transfer the cut lines from the templates again with a knife (the side marked top faces the worktop, remember)
now the clever bit
with a circular saw set to 5mm less than the thickness of your worktops cut along the score marks -on the bottom of your worktops - making sure that you remove the scored line.
the idea is not to cut all the way through.
you should not see any cut from the top surface of your new worktops.
be careful not to break the thin piece that joins the two halves of your cut.
use a jigsaw with the finest blade you can find to cut through the 5mm joining skin, making sure that you leave the overhang on the worktop part that you will use.
do that to both worktops
put them together so that the fragile overhangs just about meet.
get a sheet of aluminium oxide production paper (carborundum will do too, sandpaper will take longer) fold it in half insert it between the gap and slide it back and forth. the overhang is so thin it will sand away quickly and you will be able to see what needs removing because it will be where the two touch.
it will not take long to get the two worktops married perfectly.
as the 5mm overhang is so shallow it will not become a weakness in your worksurface
---
you are left with a slight groove underneath, deal with this in either of the following ways:
put some masking tape on your precious surface right up to the cut.
pull the two worktops apart and liberaly overfill the grooves with silicon, gripfill, hard as nails, sawdust mixed with pva, anything that sets hard-ish and fills space.
If you can find any the absolute best thing here is one of the new polyurethane foaming adhesives, they are rock hard (stronger than the wood itself), completely waterproof (even set underwater) and are easy to clean off with a stanley blade where they have not been under pressure.
push the two worktops back together in situ and clean off the ooze from the masking tape (but leave the tape itself until you are done).
better clean any ooze underneath off too
or
use a dispenser gun to inject a flexible filler in from underneath later. use masking tape on the surface anyway.
it is a good idea to use some fixings underneath, either drilled metal plates or thin ply wherever they will not get in the way.
get some cheap hardboard at least as wide as your tops
cut a mitre on one and place it over the other in situ - then mark with a knife the score for the other.
this takes any wall unsquarenes into account and gives you a full size marking template. it doesn't need to be full length.
then write 'top' on the top surfaces of the template
turn your worktops over so you are marking the base and transfer the cut lines from the templates again with a knife (the side marked top faces the worktop, remember)
now the clever bit
with a circular saw set to 5mm less than the thickness of your worktops cut along the score marks -on the bottom of your worktops - making sure that you remove the scored line.
the idea is not to cut all the way through.
you should not see any cut from the top surface of your new worktops.
be careful not to break the thin piece that joins the two halves of your cut.
use a jigsaw with the finest blade you can find to cut through the 5mm joining skin, making sure that you leave the overhang on the worktop part that you will use.
do that to both worktops
put them together so that the fragile overhangs just about meet.
get a sheet of aluminium oxide production paper (carborundum will do too, sandpaper will take longer) fold it in half insert it between the gap and slide it back and forth. the overhang is so thin it will sand away quickly and you will be able to see what needs removing because it will be where the two touch.
it will not take long to get the two worktops married perfectly.
as the 5mm overhang is so shallow it will not become a weakness in your worksurface
---
you are left with a slight groove underneath, deal with this in either of the following ways:
put some masking tape on your precious surface right up to the cut.
pull the two worktops apart and liberaly overfill the grooves with silicon, gripfill, hard as nails, sawdust mixed with pva, anything that sets hard-ish and fills space.
If you can find any the absolute best thing here is one of the new polyurethane foaming adhesives, they are rock hard (stronger than the wood itself), completely waterproof (even set underwater) and are easy to clean off with a stanley blade where they have not been under pressure.
push the two worktops back together in situ and clean off the ooze from the masking tape (but leave the tape itself until you are done).
better clean any ooze underneath off too
or
use a dispenser gun to inject a flexible filler in from underneath later. use masking tape on the surface anyway.
it is a good idea to use some fixings underneath, either drilled metal plates or thin ply wherever they will not get in the way.
I am proberly to late to add anything to this but will.
A lot that has been stated is wrong.
To make a mason's mitre you need, 1/ a jig, 2/ a powerful router 3/ a 30mm bush 4/ along reach 1/2 inch cutter and finally the skill to do it.
It is most certainly is NOT a diy job, it takes a lot of expierence to turn out a joint, and is one of the most difficult jobs to do in a kitchen.
As a kitchen fitter with 35 years behind me, I have seen some terrible joints, some by so called skilled men.
I take with me a £350-00 router, £125 jig and the above skill and in some places I still battle to get a good job done.
A lot that has been stated is wrong.
To make a mason's mitre you need, 1/ a jig, 2/ a powerful router 3/ a 30mm bush 4/ along reach 1/2 inch cutter and finally the skill to do it.
It is most certainly is NOT a diy job, it takes a lot of expierence to turn out a joint, and is one of the most difficult jobs to do in a kitchen.
As a kitchen fitter with 35 years behind me, I have seen some terrible joints, some by so called skilled men.
I take with me a £350-00 router, £125 jig and the above skill and in some places I still battle to get a good job done.
Hello Skilled Fitter
It`s never to late for expert advice. When you say JIG i presume you mean "jigsaw" . The 30mm bush and the long reach 1/2" cutter are the router bits that cut the mitre I also presume .
Am I correct , Please let me know.
Many thanks.
Disco Duck.
It`s never to late for expert advice. When you say JIG i presume you mean "jigsaw"
. The 30mm bush and the long reach 1/2" cutter are the router bits that cut the mitre I also presume .Am I correct
, Please let me know.Many thanks.
Disco Duck.
No by jig I mean routing jig, I don't know how to put pictures on here, if I could you would then be able to see for yourself.
The bush fits on the router base and slides in the groove on the jig, each make of router takes it's own bush.
The long reach cutter is needed for the final cut. To cut through a 38 mm worktop you would generally 3-5 cuts ( depending on condition of cutter),if you have used the jig correctly you are left with 1mm on the length which you take off in one pass using the full length of the cutter.
There are ways to make up for small errors in the finished joint but under kitchen fitting law, if I told you I would have to kill you right away.
Feel free to ask anything you want about kitchens, sad as it is, it's the only thing I know about.
The bush fits on the router base and slides in the groove on the jig, each make of router takes it's own bush.
The long reach cutter is needed for the final cut. To cut through a 38 mm worktop you would generally 3-5 cuts ( depending on condition of cutter),if you have used the jig correctly you are left with 1mm on the length which you take off in one pass using the full length of the cutter.
There are ways to make up for small errors in the finished joint but under kitchen fitting law, if I told you I would have to kill you right away.
Feel free to ask anything you want about kitchens, sad as it is, it's the only thing I know about.
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