Question for scratch-builders.... Options

[Kitten]

How hard is it really to build from scratch?

I'm thinking about buying a set of plans from Earth & Tree and giving it a go. However, I don't have the tools to do all of the cuts necessary. Could I just take all of my wood to a Home Depot/Lowes and have them cut it for me? How expensive would that be? After that would it just be a matter of following the plans and assembling the house?

Just curious as I'd really like to try this, but don't want to get in over my head.

[Debra from Olde ...]

Someone on here said the cuts done at the home centers are oftentimes not too accurate. If you know a carpenter in your area, or someone who works in wood as a hobby, that would probably be a better choice.

[otterine]

Yes, Home Depot will get you within a 1/4 inch or so...anything more specific, you're better off finding someone local.

I am 90% sure my next 1:12 house after the Newport will be scratch built. I found a dollhouse I love, but the company is either out of business or just terrible about answering the phone or e-mail. It's a very simple design - a box with an angled top, so I think I can manage it. I'll be cutting mine with a T-square and a utility blade. Call me crazy, but it does work - though it's a real work out. I've gotten used to cutting 3/8" mdf and plywood with a blade while working on the Newport... Still, I wouldn't recommend cutting a really big house like that.

[Nileke]

I think I would try to find someone local too. Straight cuts shouldn't be a problem. You might even be successful with a handsaw.
However, my Earth and Tree house plan involves some bevels and some grooves. Home improvement shops here, however inaccurate, definitely don't do bevels and grooves. So for me that means either finding someone to do it for me, or take my chances with my hand tools.
By the way, the aforementioned bevels in my house plan aren't 45 degrees, so a table saw with an adjustable blade won't do the trick.

[mesp2k]

Wish you all lived closer, I'd be happy to cut up some wood & make some sawdust, Yeah! LOL!

Tiffanie, I usually buy 4'x8' sheets & have Home Depot cut them in half, or in quarters (ez'r to manage, carry & cut. ) Buy a Bosch jigsaw, you'll thank me. (< to Brae also.) It would do all the cuts & cutouts you need to build a dollhouse, (it does bevel cuts also < for Marianne.) If you've never used a Bosch jigsaw, it's a totally different animal than the $19.95 special you got at Wally World.

Or maybe a softer material than wood, some kind of foamboard, Gator board, whatever - never used anything but wood myself so not sure if they cut easily, warp, how to glue or fasten...etc. My Home Depot sells 1/4 luan floor underlayment, it's pretty cheap - might be easy to cut with a hand saw? Watch out for the splinters!

Dori Krusz, 'Building Miniature House & Furniture,' builds a strip wood frame (1/4" x 1/8") sandwiched between 2 sheets of mat board. She claims it's very strong & lightweight. The mat board can be cut with a craft knife & the strip wood with a craft miter saw/miter box.

Northeastern Scale Lumber shows something similar to the hollow wall construction.

Here's the Georgian dollhouse she built from scratch. She says the technique works for most any style house. She made all the furniture too...and all without power tools!

[otterine]

Thanks for the info, Mike! I've not purchased a power saw of any kind since it seems like an investment in something that will sit idle most of the time. For my scratch build house, I will need a total of 6 pieces cut. For the Newport, I needed four doorways and four additional wall pieces cut. It just seems like money that could be better spent elsewhere if I can manage most of it by hand and maybe find someone to cut the ones that are more cumbersome.

[pdlnpeabody]

I haven't read Dori's book, but she's right. Woodframe construction cuts out a lot of weight, is sturdy (I caught myself leaning all of my 190 lbs on the 2nd floor deck of the B&B while working on it more than once) allows for internal wiring and the thickest material you have to cut through is 1/8". The B&B was built with a ruler, an exacto knife, a modeler's hand saw and a soldering iron.

[mesp2k]

Thanks for the info, Mike! I've not purchased a power saw of any kind since it seems like an investment in something that will sit idle most of the time. For my scratch build house, I will need a total of 6 pieces cut. For the Newport, I needed four doorways and four additional wall pieces cut. It just seems like money that could be better spent elsewhere if I can manage most of it by hand and maybe find someone to cut the ones that are more cumbersome.

Brae, once you start scratch building you might like it, LOL!

[otterine]

I'm sure you're right, Mike. For now, though, I'll stubbornly cut wood with a utility knife as needed, swearing and sweating the whole time!

[pdlnpeabody]

Try it, you'll like it. . .and I can quit scratch-building anytime I want. . .

[Kitten]

Thanks for all of the info everyone...very helpful.

I'm thinking my best bet is to try and find a good carpenter in the area and hope that he/she will do for a price in my budget. I'm not sure hubby will want me to invest in one of those saws, and not sure I could even cut the pieces without severing a finger.

[Kitten]

So wait....my dremel wouldn't work for the cuts I'd need to make??

I just got the Dremel Trio, but haven't played around with it enough to know if it would do the job.

[havanaholly]

The Trio will work great for door & window openings, better than trying to maneuver your wall pieces around a scrollsaw or bandsaw. DH cuts replacement pieces for bashes for me on his table saw. I have Dorie Krusz's book and intend to use her method when I build my Craftsman Bungalow.

[Sherry]

Larry does the large cuts for me on the table saw. But I've discovered most of what I need, I can cut with my scroll saw. Supposedly you can't cut a straight line with one...but I'm here to tell you that an experienced seamstress can do it very easily! You can get scroll saws pretty inexpensively, but I recommend one with a light and a vacuum for the sawdust. Once you learn to use it, you'll be surprised how much you rely on it.

[havanaholly]

I use the bandsaw for my straight cuts on pieces larger than a foot long and for wood thicker than 1/4", otherwise my mini tablesaw works dandy for that. I love my scrollsaw for curved cuts ans squiggles for furniture, but I can also make straight cuts with it. The scrollsaw is lovely for tiny bits. But for interior cuts it's really a PIA to drill the holes, undo the saw blade & thread it through the hole and connect it back up to make a cut I can do using the Trio.

[otterine]

I am definitely an experienced seamstress! The scroll saw is the only saw I've seriously considered getting. You can get stands for them, so it seems more compact and easier to store...and you could do more with it in the long run, I think, like building furniture and doing fancier work. If I ever do get a power saw, the scroll would likely be the one.

[havanaholly]

DH can't remember why he got his, any more, but because I use it we're both glad we have it!

[otterine]

Here's something fun...looks like mom is buying me a scroll saw for my birthday! Any suggestions on specifics I should look for? I want to get a stand for it...not much room in the garage for a worktable.

Edited to add: I just found this thread... http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/i...showtopic=25738

and this one: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/i...showtopic=25681

Now, I am torn between power tools!

[Sherry]

If you get a scroll saw, get one with the dust bag and hose on it, and a light over the blade. I'm on my second one, and for a few years, DH and I each had one. Finally decided that was kind of silly! But between the planer, lathe, 2 table saws, 2 belt sanders, 2 routers,chop saw, etc, etc, we can pretty much build anything we need. I'm lucky to have a husband and son who love tools, but I still want the Trio for my own! They may have the tools, but getting them to do things for me is a different story!

[havanaholly]

That's why I got DH to show me how to use his.