I need to screw down plywood on top of my bathroom floorboards as tiler will not tile on chipboard. It's 6mm plywood. Just need some help on how to cut the plywood round the shower quadrant
I would just make a paper or cardboard template. Have you got a roll of old wallpaper? Carefully measure where the ends of the quadrant start and finish. Then use a jigsaw or a blade type handsaw to cut the plywood.
I've got an decent jigsaw but actually only ever used it for metal as joinery is not the type of work I like to undertake but I reckon I can do this. Will any jigsaw blade be ok, what's a good wood blade for a fine cut as I can think of a couple of other jobs id like to take care of.
A fine metal blade is not ideal for cutting plywood but you will get there eventually. I would use a medium toothed blade.
mark a 25mm line down the sides of one corner of the sheet material, to form a cross in one corner of the sheet. then put a pin in the cross centre. using a length of string and a pencil, mark an arc on or about the dimensions of the shower quadrant. use your nice new jigsaw. This should give you the basic cut, which you present to the shower quadrant to see if its about right. The whole sheet will be out by approx 25mm. But you can scribe onto the sheet and align to the walls quite nicely. This isnt the stage for high accuracy as it will be covered by tiles.
Probably not the quickest but I would line the board up on the nose of the shower curve. Mark the sides of the board visually where you can see the board will pass giving a couple off mm either side. Now measure back from the board with either side. Square up. Let's Say it is 500mm. Cut a piece of Batton 500mm then hold pencil on to Batton and run round with the timber. Only up to your edge lines. Allow excess then scribe in. Not sure if that makes sense. Quicker would be the cardboard idea. Or even use off cuts to make a template.
If it's a proper quadrant, you need to square out from both sides of the shower base where it meets the wall, mark where they cross on the floor, take those measurements(should both be the same) to the ply from one corner, then draw an arc using the string and pencil from the corner of the ply, and arc to your measurements. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
don't use a pad saw, you wont find one thats any good for cutting wood nowadays, and a metal cutting blade on 6mm ply will be fine too!