# Kitchen Worktop Template



## jonoperth (Jul 28, 2010)

Hi, Im contemplating buying a template to join my kitchen worktops together but as im not going to use it that often is it worth the $$ outlay? Is it worth trying to make one?

Jon:no:


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

I made one some years ago, just for making the post formed joint, simply a piece of 18mm mdf about 300mm wide and 700mm long, put angle cut at 45deg. on one end for about 70mm and use it, it works very well no joint visible at all.


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## jonoperth (Jul 28, 2010)

Thanks I will give it a go and see how.I get on


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

A half decent one will cost you circa £100 (US $ 150) here. Worthwhile for the pro, but otherwise probably not. Before the jigs were available it was common practice for a mason's mitre joint to be cut by "hand" using a router and home-made jig like Derek says. 

Regards

Phil


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

hi Jon

I don't know about availability in Oz but these ones are available in the UK and whilst the material that it is made of is unlikely to be the same phenolic stuff the ones are made of for the guys using them every day, it will be perfectly adequate for someone doing the occasional one.
Silverline 633488 900mm Worktop Jig: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Mine came from these people off eBay and was similar in price.
Topform Products Ltd- Quality Installation & Worktop Products, Mitre Jigs, Wax & Adhesives

These look a good deal but only in the UK
KITCHEN WORKTOP JIG | eBay UK

This guy is offering what looks like a used Trend Jig andsays he will post worldwide.
600mm KITCHEN WORKTOP JIG | eBay UK

Cheers

Peter


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## jonoperth (Jul 28, 2010)

Thanks for the links. I will let you know how i get on


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## jonoperth (Jul 28, 2010)

well ive made a template. I will upload a picture and let you know how i go


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## jonoperth (Jul 28, 2010)

here is the finished article


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Looking good, Jon


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

jonoperth said:


> here is the finished article


Can't go wrong with something like that can you, and if you are only doing a one off then it makes so much sense.


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## geoff_s (Apr 14, 2012)

I've been looking for plans for a masons mitre jig with no success.
Your design looks very simple so I might give it a try on some melamine board before I attack the real benchtop.

Any particular measurements used or was it just cut to suit the router guide bush?

Regards
Geoff


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## r67 (May 8, 2012)

Geoff,
Search on Google for "Usinage d'onglet pour plan de travail" and download the pdf from the site "Les copeaux de jean-marie" (I would post the url, but as I'm a new member I cannot - PM me if you cannot find this and I'll send you the link). It's in French, but it is clear from the photos how the template is made.

This technique uses a template cutter with a bearing on the shank. Very simple and can be used with any 1/4" router - just remove the excess from the waste side of the cut (I did this using a circular saw - from the underside of the worktop - for the straight part and a jigsaw for the angle). Then trim to the template using the template bit. Got a perfect invisible joint using a 850W Makita router.

This is more straightforward than making a template for use with a guide bush, as the inside and outside curves on the template need to have a different radius i.e. you will need to subtract the offset between the cutter and the bush for the inside curve (male part), and add this to the outside (female) curve to end up with the same radius cut on both worktops. In the method shown above, the radius of the corner in the joint will depend on the radius of the template bit. 
Ron


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## geoff_s (Apr 14, 2012)

Ron,
Thanks for the link, just what I was after.
I'll give this a try once I buy a new router - my 20year old Hitachi TR12 met with an accident involving a concrete shed floor :sad:

Regards
Geoff


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## mabsalom (Apr 2, 2013)

Ron, that's a great tip, and of course thanks too to Jean-Marie who published the guide for making the template. On the counter I'm doing the walls are very much out of square (~110 deg.) and Jean-Marie's guide looks reatively easy to modify for this one-off. 

I.e., instead of a 45 deg leg, make it 55 on the template (half the angle). Cut the female (ending up with the long cut parallel to the back and the short leg at 55 deg, place the two countertops in postion, the male on top of the female and trace the female cut onto the male. Remove the male, position the template the to the trace and make the cut. Does this make sense?

Regards,
Matt


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, Matt.


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

Excuse my ignorance but why not just use the aluminium strips that are designed for such a purpose?


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## IC31 (Nov 16, 2012)

I do have to admit that joining this forum last fall has opened a new vista for me in woodworking terminology used outside of the US. Usually after reading through a thread understand fairly well what it's about. But in this case, not a clue beyond a faint glimmer.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

IC31 said:


> Usually after reading through a thread understand fairly well what it's about. But in this case, not a clue beyond a faint glimmer.


Hi Dave, that just cracked me up! 

I suppose it's all to do with Europe and the UK, together with some other English-speaking parts of the world (where there are Brits and/or Europeans) taking a completely different approach to making and installing kitchen worktops (or in your parlance, "countertops"). We tend to use ready-made post-formed laminate-covered chipboard core countertop materials and joint in situ rather than taking templates away and making bespoke worktops in the shop. This is cheaper, there is less risk of damaging a worktop but most of all it's much, much faster. A mason's mitre joint done properly is nearly invisible:










_Above: A poorly executed mason's mitre joint - the line is obvious although the joint itself is nice and tight
Below: A well executed mason's mitre joint_










The reason we use them is to save material - worktop comes in standard lengths of 4.1 or 3.1 metres, depending on the manufacturer, so you just don't have the material to make a conventional full mitre joint and waste nearly 4ft of worktop material (2ft each side). The joint has to start with a mitre cut to allow for the profile front edge of the post-formed worktop (see here). the metal joiner strips shown by Hilton are used on lower-cost jobs and public housing, etc because they are quick to install and require minimal tools/skill. Personally I don't think they look as nice and most private kitchen jobs use the proper mason's mitre joint - and in any case doing a good job with the mason's mitre sorts the men from the boys!

Hopefully your now better informed (or even more confused). If so there's a nice relaxing video by Trend, here. All part of the day job for me 

Regards

Phil


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## IC31 (Nov 16, 2012)

Phil P said:


> Hi Dave, that just cracked me up!
> 
> I suppose it's all to do with Europe and the UK, together with some other English-speaking parts of the world (where there are Brits and/or Europeans) taking a completely different approach to making and installing kitchen worktops (or in your parlance, "countertops").
> Regards
> ...


Phil - that 'glimmer' just became a very bright halogen light after your explanation and the video.

I sure could have used that template or similar years back. While in no sense of the word am I a pro kitchen craftsman(I built power plants instead), have done/redone one (or baths) in every house I've lived in and been lucky to 'make do' and not have any significant waste or mistakes, hence it took me a long while to build counters.

The US is leaving the laminate(Formica/Wilsonart) topped work tops/counter tops behind and using some of the wonder materials like Corian along with granite or tiles of some sort. The post formed counter tops are still a decent choice as well for many DIY'ers. Our current home has my installation 18 year old Formica counter tops, it's beyond tired, and my summer project is to build new ones with granite tiles - though my tile saw will have to suffice for that. 

Thanks for another lesson and a further update on Brit terms - you seem to be very good with teaching us colonials the "other" English :yes4::yes4::yes4:


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

IC31 said:


> The US is leaving the laminate(Formica/Wilsonart) topped work tops/counter tops behind and using some of the wonder materials like Corian along with granite or tiles of some sort.


Hi Dave

In the eighties and nineties we had a "country kitchen" look which required solid wood worktops and there is still a small market for them (these days with painted "Shaker" doors), although they do tend to be high maintenance. High end kitchens went to Corian or granite over here in the late 1990s, but Corian has dropped off quite a bit in recent years because of the really low cost of granite (from India and China in the main). Tiling has never really been that popular here, possibly because of the time factor. When you see it these days it's often up to about 30 years old and looking very tired. As for concrete, you just don't see it, yet.

Regards

Phil


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## IC31 (Nov 16, 2012)

G'day Phil,
I think I mislead you somewhat when I spoke of tile - and I know what you mean about English tiled counter tops as a daughter that lived near Leeds had one topped with the ~4" ceramic tile. What I'm talking about are the 8 to 24 inch sizes - I'll be using the 12/13 inch size as our counters are currently at 23 wide. I recently did one of the bathroom tops with 8 and 13" porcelain tile - nasty stuff to work with. We simply cannot afford granite tops at $80 to well over $100 a square foot for at least 70 square feet along with other required work


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

Still don't know why such an expensive jig is required to simply cut an angle. I know you have to take into account the post form edge but seriously?

There are plenty of kitchen installers here who I doubt have these fancy templates.

I've actually never seen one here hence my original query but I'm not in that business so I may just be clueless.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

IC31 said:


> We simply cannot afford granite tops at $80 to well over $100 a square foot for at least 70 square feet along with other required work


Wow, that's expensive, Dave. One of my family recently had a small kitchen done, 3 pieces 2.7 metres x 610mm (or about 9 x 2ft - circa 54 square feet in all) for just over £1200, fitted with cut-outs for the sink and the gas hob. At £0.66/dollar that's under $35 a square foot, fitted. It isn't the world's best granite but at prices like those you can maybe see why much of the domestic Corian work _over here_ has dried up 



cagenuts said:


> Still don't know why such an expensive jig is required to simply cut an angle. I know you have to take into account the post form edge but seriously?
> 
> There are plenty of kitchen installers here who I doubt have these fancy templates.


Hi Hilton

Before these jigs appeared I did some mason's mitre joints by hand with a squared-off joint. The male side of the joint is really easy to do, just two saw cuts - the female side can be a royal PIA to get right, especially if the laminate is old stock and brittle as the inside corner has to be cleaned out in 38mm thick chipboard with a chisel. Trade quality jigs generally cost circa £100, they save around 15 to 20 minutes per joint over manually cutting mason's mitres (and most kitchens I do seem to have a couple) and they are pretty foolproof. That puts your payback time at around 8 to 10 kitchens , or less if you ever had a chip-out on a manually cut joint (with worktop lengths at £100 to £150 a pop) - but more importantly because kitchen replacements are pretty much always "back to the wall" installs it saves you time. For chippies over here it's a no-brainer

Regards

Phil


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

Yes fair enough Phil, makes sense.


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## knatten (May 26, 2013)

Good day, can you help, looking to make my own worktop mitre jig for once off work. Cannot afford professional unit.


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## knatten (May 26, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestion. Will give it a try.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Derek, you look like you really know what you're doing, so my reminding you that the mitre isn't _necessarily_ exactly 45degrees would be superfluous...


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