AboutStuart Mawle Expertise Now been a carpenter & joiner for the past ten years in the UK. I can give avice / help on carpentry & joinery, health & safety, woodworking machinery, power tools and suppliers. I have served an indentured carpentry apprenticeship with a medium sized building contractor doing a wide range of domestic and commercial work. This has included office buildings, barn conversions, building extensions and renovations. During my career, I spent over three years as a wood trades technician at a college. My job involved joinery work, wood maching and helping CITB carpentry & joinery students` pratical projects. I am a member of Institute of Carpenters
Question i am joining 2 counter tops at aprox 15 degree angle.What is the trick to make them meet in the middle? How do I cut them?
Answer I would first create a templates...usually I would use 4 or 6mm mdf/hardboard for this. Cut strips off that match the worktop width. You havnt in your question indicated whether you are doing an internal angle or external one. You may need to put a rough angle cut on them if it is an internal one. Position the strips insitu, one end should be on top. Using your eye mark the position one the top sheet where the strips meet each other at the longest point and the shortage point. Draw a line between each point. Cut this accurately either with a handsaw or power saw. Re-position the strip and check, if happy then mark and cut the angle on the other strip. In an ideal world these should meet perfectly...if they dont then you need to adjust the mitre, either by re-marking and cutting or just by using a block plane.
Once these are correct then use the strips as a template on the worktop. I always use a circular power saw for cutting...if it plastic laminated worktop then you need the laminate face down to prevent breakout. I run my saw sole plate against a guide, so you need to work out the distance of the solepate to the blade, and use that measurement for setting up the guide, and the template to help get the orrect angle. Clamp the guide, with quick fix clamps, always re-check the everything is set up correctly and you are happy to proceed with the cut.
I would recommend that you make sure your power saw has a newish blade fitted and that the depth is set so that the blade gullets will stick just beyon the worktop thickness. This will ensure a good cut as well. I would always cut the complex joints first before finally cutting the worktop to the correct length. The only thing to mention is I would use worktop joint connector so ideally you need a worktop jig and a router. I hope this helps you. Stuart
