Need Advice on Getting Piping Straight

[wattsup]

I've tried to get straight piping but haven't been able to get the hang of it. Either it's a little uneven in places and/or my corners come out a little weird. I've tried laying it out using a jig with a routed groove in it, but still isn't quite straight. I tried growing an extra pair of hands, but that's not working too well for me either . BTW I just have a standard hand stapler I'm working with. Anyone have any tips?

[JMFahey]

Been there, done that ... like everybody else

All I can repeat is the age old truth: "practice makes perfect" .......

No magic tricks, just work slowly and with lots of patience.

[Structo]

Having adequate clearance on the front panel is the first order.

Cut the tang back where it goes around a corner and cut it long before final trimming where the piping meets together.

[rp]

I'm pretty good with my hands, and getting pipping straight defeat me and I bagged it. Guess i should try again, and again, and again... Blah. I thought you were supposed to develop patience w/ age, another let down.

[rooster]

I've found this to be a very easy task actually. But not with a staple gun. I use a clever magnetic nail holder, a small tack-like nail with a medium sized head, and a hammer. Works every time, with a slight learning curve.

Start the piping in the middle of the panel, one nail. Then position the piping to the first corner of your run and add another nail (tension it slightly). Then fill in the nails as needed, lining up the piping as you go. Next move to the next corner, add one nail and repeat as above, etc. when you return to the starting point, tension the piping and make your cut. Then nail the piping end at this joint and fill in the rest.

If this sounds easy, it is. The key here - by using the nails/tacks - is that you can place the nail into the solid part of the piping edge. Using staples actually creates the opportunity to put a staple into the split part of the piping edge. This means it won't stay where you wanted it.

Note: If you have a pneumatic small crown staple gun shooting 1/4" staples, then you can skip the nails. I use nails because I only do this very once in awhile. Eh, not a cabinet making biz here.

[wattsup]

Nice thanks guys. Must practice now...

[amplifiednation]

The way to do it - is to start at your center point, put a couple staples in there. Then stretch the piping taught to the nearest corner and put a couple staples right at the edge of that corner. Then since you stretched the piping tight to those two points - it's naturally straight! You can then run the rest of the staples along the piping edge while lightly holding it to the baffle.

Turn baffle, staple edge of corner, pull tight and staple to next edge, staple middle, repeat

I use an pneumatic upholstery stapler.

[IMG817]http://i.imgur.com/A0H8PQ7.jpg[/img]

[amplifiednation]

Here maybe this will help.

I did this cab this morning

Start with baffle and piping
[IMG3264]http://i.imgur.com/iSHsmSS.jpg[/img]

Staple at center point
[IMG3264]http://i.imgur.com/T9BiJ1X.jpg[/img]

Staple at edge
[IMG3264]http://i.imgur.com/yVqAWP8.jpg[/img]

Staple through the middle (piping will be straight) gently hold the lip against the edge of baffle
[IMG3264]http://i.imgur.com/OP8TS3V.jpg[/img]

Repeat through the whole baffle
[IMG3264]http://i.imgur.com/sxhnr34.jpg[/img]

Completed baffle
[IMG2448]http://i.imgur.com/fntcEG8.jpg[/img]

Completed cab
[IMG702]http://i.imgur.com/dCAaNst.jpg[/img]

[wattsup]

Oh wow thanks! I've looked all over and that's the best example I've seen. You rock Amplifiednation!