# How to cut non-standard angles?



## Jdurg (Sep 7, 2008)

I am brand new to woodworking and for my first project I decided to make a poker table. It's an octagon table with the playing surface 48" across with the chip trays extending out from that. It sits on an octagon base with four Empire Style table legs extending out for stability. Because the base is not readily seen, any imperfections in my cutting weren't going to be too big of a deal. 

I made the base out of white pine boards I bought from Home Depot and cut with a 22.5 degree angle on a table saw I borrowed from a friend. I had a tough time getting the 8 pieces glued and screwed together, but with a bunch of interior supports and patience, I did get it done. There are crossbeams at the bottom and top of the base for strength, and the bottom is sealed with plywood. The legs are attached by bolts through the sides of the pine boards. I then installed the base and top molding (White pine also) and used vertical red oak molding to cover the imperfections in the octagon base. The four Empire Style Table legs were attached, then the pre-stain was applied, the Vermont Maple colored stain, and then the final Polyacrylic coats for a great shine. Frankly, for having no woodworking experience I think it came out great. :icon_cheesygrin:

The playing surface was made from two 2'x4' plywood boards where the corners were cut off to give me a perfect octagon. They were joined with 1x3 wood boards and gave a nice, level surface. I used my router to round over the edges so the felt wouldn't tear, then put some foam and high grade casino felt over the top of it. The table top was attached to the base with metal angle brackets and it's very secure.

Here's where things got interesting. :sad: I had falsely assumed that the 2'x4' measurements were accurate and that for the chip trays I could just cut them all the same and it would all be fine. Well, it isn't. Not all the sides are equal and what's worse is that the angles aren't realy all 22.5 degrees. Still, the small gaps will be covered by the corner pieces I need to cut to put in the cup holders. The bottoms are also made out of high grade oak plywood. I've already stained it and it looks great. (I'll apply the Polyacrylic once ALL of the pieces are on except for the interior boards which will be stained and polyd before attaching them so I don't get poly on the felt).

In the picture below, you'll see the stained oak and the interior trim already cut. I need to get a router table to round over the interior edge and then sand off the burn marks from the cutting. Again, there are small issues with the corners where each board meets, but the cup-holder pieces will cover those. (The cup holders are sitting on the corner with the white paper being used as the templates. I've already cut those pieces from solid oak board and cut them bigger than needed since I'll need to make adjustments on each one once the interior trim is atached).

This is where my question comes in. To cover up the exposed edges of the plywood and the inside of the cup-holder areas, I plan on putting a 4" oak board on the outside that will butt up against the plywood and will be flush with the tops of the Cup-Holder pieces. These pieces need to fit PERFECTLY together otherwise a gap will show and it will look crappy. The problem is that these angles aren't exactly 22.5 degrees so I can't cut them all out before hand.

What is the best way to handle this? I assume that I will need to measure each and every corner's angle, divide that by two and somehow cut the odd angle. What tool can I use to do that with confidence? The red oak is a BITCH to cut and I can't afford even the smallest of mistakes.


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## Handyman (Jan 2, 2008)

Jdurg My good friend that does mostly trim work has a little trick for this. He has a hand full of scrap pieces of wood cut at every angle from 0 to 99. He has two sets, and he has every one labeled. If he is cutting a 90* angle ( like base boards), he take a few of his pre-cut scraps and puts them together to see whats make the best fit. Then setting his Compound miter saw to that angle. I laughed at his the first time I saw him do it, But looking at his trim work I had to eat a little crow. All of his cuts almost disappear. 90*of his trim work is stained oak, so seams have to be tight. He made his angles using the miter saw.


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## Jdurg (Sep 7, 2008)

That's a good idea. Lord knows I have plenty of scrap wood. (Since I had never taken a shop class in school and never touched a power tool until a few months ago, I did a LOT of practicing on cheap wood to get the feel of everything.) I figure that once I get the first board attached and cut right, the other 7 should go pretty smoothly.


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## Tweegs (Sep 8, 2007)

Just finished the bottom section of a Dutch door for the chicken coop this afternoon.....don't ask.

The door frame is about 3" out of plumb, which made for some very odd angles in the door. Yea, I know, should have just fixed the frame, but it was too late to do anything about it by the time I started thinking. Happens a lot these days.

Really long story short, the door has a floating center panel surrounded by a frame. I measured the angle at a corner, cut one frame piece at exactly half that angle. Now one would think that the mating angle would be the same, but noooo, I should be so lucky. I experimented with scrap from the numberous attempts made prior, adjusting the angle until I had a good fit.
Gave up using the RAS, damn near put it to the curb, switched to the table saw sled for much better results. The sled has better markings on the miter guage, the source of my problems methinks.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Most of the woodworking supply stores sell an angle finder made out of plastic. It has fine graduations on it. Place it into an inside corner or outside corner or whatever you are trying to figure out an angle on and then read the scale. It has several scales. It will give you the acute angle(<90deg) and the obtuse angle (>90deg). It also has a scale which gives you half of the actual angle you are measuring. This is the setting you would normally need for your saw. I use it quite a bit now and it is very accurate. I have also cut scrap angles of varying degrees to test fit. That also works. I like the angle finder better. It eliminates a lot of trial and error.
Mike Hawkins:smile:


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## Jdurg (Sep 7, 2008)

Thanks. I'll have to look for one of those.


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## Geoguy (Feb 22, 2008)

I have no advice. Handyman, Tweegs, and Firehawk are really sharp guys and seem to have it covered. I do have one comment:

Dude!,,, you picked one heck of a project for your first!! Congrats!, there's nothing quite like jumping off in the deep end for the first time. Keep after it - the table looks great!


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## Jdurg (Sep 7, 2008)

Thanks for the kind words. I'm just impressed myself that I was able to build it as much as I have. I never knew I had the ability, and the fact that I don't own any super expensive tools or even high quality tools makes it all the more impressive to me. When I first got the table top on the base and the chip trays attached, I just stood back and admired it for a good ten minutes.

Looking around in other threads, I saw one that had a link to a Hitachi Reconditioned tool seller. I saw a GREAT 12" compound miter saw with fine tuning adjustments for the bevel angle and a laser guide on there for only $189. (Normal price was close to $500!) While I can only do my heavy spending at the end of the month (as my middle of the month paycheck pays the mortgage, utility bills, etc.), I may just have to put this on my credit card and pay it off over a couple of months. (The card has only $500 on it and I typically pay it off at the end of every month. This purchase will be worth carrying a balance on it.  )

Edit: Well, I just checked my cc balance and saw that it was only at $300. I forgot that last week I had made a $200 payment on it. So what does this mean? It means I went and got the Hitachi C12FCH 12” Compound Miter Saw with Laser Marker for only $192! I currenty have a cheap, $40 10" Chicago Electric compound miter saw that is about as accurate at cutting angles as Stevie Wonder is at playing darts. With this new miter saw, I think I will NO problems making these cuts.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If you have use of a CMS, or a SCMS, cut two samples at 22.5 and fit them and see which way it needs to go for a good fit. You may need only 1/2 of a degree one way or another. It is trial and error.


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## LaurelLaneWoodWorks (May 12, 2008)

Tweegs said:


> Just finished the bottom section of a Dutch door for the chicken coop this afternoon.....don't ask.


I just have to ask.... chicken coop? Dutch door? We MUST have pictures...

BTW - Good luck with your poker table. I think it's great that you picked a project that you will use all the time. It's a nice feeling to use something you have built yourself.

Mike


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## Terry Beeson (May 29, 2008)

Tweegs said:


> Just finished the bottom section of a Dutch door for the chicken coop this afternoon.....don't ask.


Home-made fly tying material, Tweegs?


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## Jdurg (Sep 7, 2008)

LaurelLaneWoodWorks said:


> I just have to ask.... chicken coop? Dutch door? We MUST have pictures...
> 
> BTW - Good luck with your poker table. I think it's great that you picked a project that you will use all the time. It's a nice feeling to use something you have built yourself.
> 
> Mike


Thanks. I actually played on the partially finished table last night, and it held up to the abuse of a bunch of drunk guys playing cards. I can't wait for this thing to be finished. It will serve me VERY well, and the guys I play poker with who are VERY honest and critical said it was one of the best tables they've ever seen and can't believe I actually built it. :laughing::tongue_smilie:


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## mmwood_1 (Oct 24, 2007)

Jdurg,
This seems really simple to me. You rough cut your pieces at 22 1/2 degrees, and about 1/2" longer than needed so you have a piece that's easily handled. then you lay it in place, mark the inside and outside corners of the angle, connect the dots and cut. Secure your first piece with screws or clamps or whatever, and move on to the next one. Go all the way around like that, and always cut to the outside of your pencil mark. It's easier to cut more off.
By the way, why is it so hard to cut the oak? Is your blade dull? I assume you are using carbide tipped blades. They should slice through easily. I'd recommend very sharp blades, and that will make cutting your oak a pleasure.


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