Can a Vecturo be used for Fine Woodworking?

Speaking of Thinking Outside the Box, have you ever had one of those projects that balloons from one thing to another?  [scared]

In December I woke up to the sound of a Squirrel inside the living room wall scratching at the sheetrock. I knew the point of entry was somewhere inside the boxed step of my split-level deck, but I could never figure out how they were getting inside the step until then (they were in there once before a couple years ago).

I pulled the stair tread to inspect the damage. It would be major surgery to the deck to repair it from the outside, so I blocked off their point of entry so I could tackle it in the spring. Nevertheless, I sheepishly put my hand in the hole and felt the nest made of wall insulation, and worst of all, the bare electrical wiring they had chewed through.

After a couple months of silence, they figured out how to get back in last week. This time I could hear the little bugger chewing on the electrical junction box--seeking the warmth of the house. I couldn't put it off any longer and decided to cut the drywall and fix it from the inside.

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I grabbed the round blade and depth stop shoe for Vecturo, drew layout lines on the wall, and cut out a large square from the sheetrock. It was no big surprise that it made an easy cutout that would be simple to replace and patch. I fixed the exterior hole, patched the wiring, and replaced 4 feet of insulation that had been pulled out to make a nest.

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I started mudding the patch, and that's were the project turned South.  [eek] Between the Fireplace Surround Build and the squirrel, I now have drywall patches on all 3 walls of the living room.....time to seriously consider repainting the 20 year old walls.

The biggest impediment to repainting was the daunting task of removing the 9" wallpaper border around the 9-foot ceiling. That's when the epiphany hit me: how would Vecturo handle this with the knife-blade?

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I was totally shocked!! As fast as I could move the tool, it sliced the paper right off the wall. It took longer to move the ladder than it took to slice the area I could reach with the ladder. It was quite literally 1-second per blade swath. No tears, no scraps, no strays. What was left underneath was perfectly smooth and flush to the paint below it. I could have painted right over it, but I knew the sheen would telegraph through the paint because it was smoother than the painted wall below it. So I skim-coated drywall mud before painting.

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Rick

Looks like there are some mouse droppings in there. If so, be super careful in the handling of that. Those little bastids carry nasty viruses.
 
That's quite an adventure Rick.

I don't have the knife blade for my Vecturo.  Based on your experience, I just ordered one.
 
Cutting hinge mortices is a breeze with the Vecturo.

Jig was made for router use on the other 8 hinges. Vector was already out for other cutting.

Tom
 

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tjbnwi said:
Cutting hinge mortices is a breeze with the Vecturo.

Jig was made for router use on the other 8 hinges. Vector was already out for other cutting.

Tom

I tried doing what you suggest and it worked well.  Thanks for the tip.
 
I was making a set of tea trays. Bases were Cocobola and the handles were Ebony. The handles needed a cutout 4 fingers wide and with enough room to slide fingers into the cutout. I cut each end of the cutout with a Forstner bit and scribed a line tangent to the holes defining my cut line. I made the scribed line deep enough to capture the Vecturo's blade. I then finished the cutout using the Vecturo and its plunge base. I did what machinists call a pecker cut where you plunge a little and then back out to clear debris. Being Ebony, the cutting wasn't really fast, but the cuts were clean. Wrapped sandpaper around a dowel to finish the job. Neat tool.
 
Frank Pellow said:
tjbnwi said:
Cutting hinge mortices is a breeze with the Vecturo.

Jig was made for router use on the other 8 hinges. Vector was already out for other cutting.

Tom

I tried doing what you suggest and it worked well.  Thanks for the tip.

Glad it worked out for you Frank.

Tom
 
I had to cut the 45 for the top stair tread return (the top one with the miter clamp on the left edge of the tread) with the Vecturo in a custom sized and stained maple stair tread.
 

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I have used the Vecturo perhaps eight to ten years before it came out - in the form of the Supercut of course. :)

I have the fast blade change model that the Vecturo is based upon but I think the Vecturo has a better position for the on/off switch and the blade change is smoother (requires less force) than on the Supercut.

I have used the Supercut literally hundreds of times of the years - window rot repair and hardwood flooring as well as general tasks.

I do not consider it a Fine Woodworking tool as the risk of marring is a little too high considering it is an oscillating tool. I find that the Japanese teeth blades have worked best for me though the can kick a little in Oak or similar hardness wood.

I find that the low speed is only usable for cutting metal, nails and drywall but for wood I tend to turn it up a notch. I would definitely not use it for finishing touches on anything visible when it comes to Fine woodworking and I do feel fairly comfortable with the machine. I have used it for mounting hinges but for the most part I start out and finish with a really sharp chisel.

The Plunge base is something I am considering as it fits the Supercut and it feels solid - but I am used to plunging the Supercut along a scribed line and I usually go in at a slight angle until the blade bites and then keep working the blade in at a slight angle before righting it up. Especially on Melamine or similar where the blade easily slips. Sometimes I score slightly and after that is done the plunging is a matter of staying focused.

Sometimes I go a month without using the Supercut and sometimes it comes through as a saviour on site. It is one of the tools I really like bringing along. It shares a Systainer with other specialty tools but I won't leave home without it. I have not used it in the shop very often though. 
 
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