ok i have a question what can i use to cut the grooves in the frames ?

I had so much trouble doing this with a router and mitre box and jig saw.


and all my hard work went in vain. it turned out to be the worst looking frame ever. it is so hard to keep the angle right even with a mitre box. i would suggest u use one of those big benchtop saw to cut the angle. for the groove use a router preety cool but bits r too expensive(dont get cheap one either). let me know what u r doing and will also be looking for other suggestion from people.

I used just a regular old table saw. I cut the wood into 1/2" slats and in the middle of each one, cut 1/4" deep grooves for my freznels to sit in. For the miter cuts I used a simple chop saw with an adjustable fence so I could make them 45 degrees. I was probably a degree off or so, but when I put it all together and glued the joints, it all worked well. The most trouble I had was getting the joints to stay together while the glue dried, I don't have the special clamps to make it easy, or actually any clamps at all. I used masking tape on the corners to hold it together, and once the glue dried they were solid as a rock.

all i have is a miter saw and a circular saw is there a way to cut the grooves using my tools?

By miter saw do you mean a real electric rotary chop saw kind of thing with adjustable angles? Or an unpowered handsaw? If it's a handsaw, you may be able to do it by constructing a sort if holder for the piece you're working on and a guard that would guide the blade across the surface of it in a dead-on straight cut. Even with a perfectly made aparatus though, it would still take a pretty steady hand.

My suggestion is to either break down and buy an el-cheapo tablesaw (which will come in handy for SO many things down the road, including your enclosure) or find a friend who has access to some tools.

You can always just cut three pieces for each side of your frame, maybe 5mm thickness for two and 3mm for the other. Then you can glue them together like the routed result you would like. Then just miter the ends at 45 degrees, glue those 4 sides together, and you have a new frame. You may want to leave the middle piece of the top of the frame out, though, so you can get your lens in. hehe

I don't see it happening with a miter saw (powered at least) or circular saw. A table saw would be the easiest way and could come in handy to cut your enclosure.. but I HAVE a table saw and I chose to use my circular saw and mainly jigsaw to cut the enslorue then use my belt sander why I don't know

alternately you could sandwich 2 1/4" pieces of wood around another thinner piece of wood, or some other spacer.. some washers maybe. this would give you a nice thin groove/slot.

awesome i like your idea! i'll try that one so you say a 3mm depth for fresies? i might have to break down and by the router attachement for the dremel :S

Actually, no ... I meant the route width should be at least 3mm for a 2mm fresnel (expansion). You mileage may vary and too much allows warpage.

The depth of the groove (in this case the difference in widths of the three sandwiched frame pieces) is determined by your enclosure width, the width of the light path you want (12x9" for a 15" panel ... maybe a smidge wider for light growth) and the amount of fresnel you want clamped in the sandwich (maybe 15 mm?).

Also, if you are using lexan or glass for the lamp-side fresnel, be sure and give enough room for BOTH pieces sandwiched in the frame.

A time saving approach also might be to buy the strips of poplar at Home Depot. They are small in depth, strong, and they rip easily with a circular saw (clamp to another board, then push circular saw against the board it is clamped to for a long cut). Two of the poplar boards sandwiched together make a great frame. You can then use some stapled cardboard or some such to hold the fressies in at the corners.

Lots of tool-poor options!

Or build one with things you already have, scrap wood and a circular saw
(is this what they call a shameless plug?)
http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8940

Hey that's pretty sweet. That would definitly solve some problems. It would be a pain to ajust it well enough to cut groves for fresnel frames bot do-able for sure!

Good work.

Actually ... you could put boards on either side of the blade to act as a height adjustment (single height), leaving just enough blade to route out the frame. Build and keep your rig each time, and pretty soon you would have all the heights you would ever use.

The table saw I made (pic in the above thread) uses a circular saw with an adjustable height. I bolted the circular saw's guide plate to the table, so I can use the saw's height adjustment to change how deep my table saw cuts. It worked beautifully for making my frames.