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Step 16The top, step four - trimming the MDF edging
When the top is done, we want the edged MDF and the oak countertop to have exactly the same dimensions, and for their width to exactly match the width of the base.I could see three ways of doing this: 1, join the MDF to the countertop and use my belt sander to sand down their joined edges to match the base; 2, join the MDF to the countertop and use a hand plane to plane down their joined edges to match the base; or 3, use a flush-trim bit against a straight edge to route the MDF to the width of the base, then join the MDF to the countertop and use the flush-trim bit to route the countertop to match the MDF.
Problems? 1, I've never used a belt-sander without sanding more than I had intended to; 2, I don't have a jack or a smoothing plane, and have never used one; 3, I'd need a flush-trim bit with a 1-1/.2" cutting length, and those are available only for 1.2" collets, and the cheap plunge router I bought only had a 1/4" collet.
I asked around, and was told that the router would give the best results, and I was pointed to a great deal on a fixed-base router with a 1/2" collet. So I chose option 3. If you choose the same, you want to trim the edges of the MDF layer prior to joining it to the countertop. In other words, now.
Put the MDF on the floor, bottom up. Flip the base and place it on the MDF. Line up the base on the MDF in the posiiton you feel best, then mark the position of the legs. Sorry, I have no picture of this.
Flip the base upright, put the MDF on top of it, then use a straightedge to draw two straight lines joining the outside edges of the legs and extending the width of the MDF. I used the countertop as the straightedge. We cut it with our cutting guide, which is based on the factory edge of a sheet of 1/4" plywood, so it should be straight enough. Use a carpenter's square to transfer these lines onto the ends of the MDF.
Put the countertop on the base, put the MDF on top of the countertop, and line up the marks you drew on each end of the MDF with the countertop below it. When you have it lined up, clamp things down, and route the edge of the MDF using a 1-1/2" or longer flush-trim bit, with the depth adjusted so the bearing rides on the countertop. I clamped a couple of scraps of doubled MDF at each end to give the router base something extra to ride on at the ends.
Edge-trimming endgrain can result in tearout at the right side, so route the short edge before you route the right long edge. Routing the right edge can then clean any tearout that occurs on the short edge..
Problems? 1, I've never used a belt-sander without sanding more than I had intended to; 2, I don't have a jack or a smoothing plane, and have never used one; 3, I'd need a flush-trim bit with a 1-1/.2" cutting length, and those are available only for 1.2" collets, and the cheap plunge router I bought only had a 1/4" collet.
I asked around, and was told that the router would give the best results, and I was pointed to a great deal on a fixed-base router with a 1/2" collet. So I chose option 3. If you choose the same, you want to trim the edges of the MDF layer prior to joining it to the countertop. In other words, now.
Put the MDF on the floor, bottom up. Flip the base and place it on the MDF. Line up the base on the MDF in the posiiton you feel best, then mark the position of the legs. Sorry, I have no picture of this.
Flip the base upright, put the MDF on top of it, then use a straightedge to draw two straight lines joining the outside edges of the legs and extending the width of the MDF. I used the countertop as the straightedge. We cut it with our cutting guide, which is based on the factory edge of a sheet of 1/4" plywood, so it should be straight enough. Use a carpenter's square to transfer these lines onto the ends of the MDF.
Put the countertop on the base, put the MDF on top of the countertop, and line up the marks you drew on each end of the MDF with the countertop below it. When you have it lined up, clamp things down, and route the edge of the MDF using a 1-1/2" or longer flush-trim bit, with the depth adjusted so the bearing rides on the countertop. I clamped a couple of scraps of doubled MDF at each end to give the router base something extra to ride on at the ends.
Edge-trimming endgrain can result in tearout at the right side, so route the short edge before you route the right long edge. Routing the right edge can then clean any tearout that occurs on the short edge..
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