Best way to cut speaker holes??

[dewman]

Anyone have a good way to cut high quality speaker holes? I have a plunge router, but didnt know what kind of tool I could buy or make that would serve as a nice guide for cutting perfect radiused holes. Any suggestions?

[Tinman]

Circle jig. Easy to make. Easier to buy. Any experience with that router?

[Distortion]

I agree.. Router and circle jig..

http://www.woodcraft.com/images/family/web3582big.jpg

[chaz]

You can buy circle cutting jigs but it's pretty easy to make your own. Just take some good stable stock (I used 1/4" birch ply) and make a new oblong shaped base plate for the router that extends out about 9 or 10" to a small rounded tip end. Remove the old base and use it as a template to mark the mounting holes on the new one. Then make an opening big enough for your bit and collet to pass through beneath the router. Attatch it to the router. Then measure out from the lowered bit on a straight line out to the tip end marking 1/2" the desired diameter cuts. Drill a small hole at each for a hold down screw (I use a #10x3/4" oval head screw and a finish washer). Mark the center point of the opening to be cut in the work piece and secure the screw down at that point, and you're ready to go. Watch the cord! Use a spiral carbide bit, and don't try to take it all the way through in one pass. I also round over the cut opening edges later with a small diameter bit. Hope that helps!

[Mustake]

Rotozip with hole attachment

[sundaypunch]

Rotozip with hole attachment

Ditto on this. I have one and they are great.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/right-tool_1937_144223631

[NyteOwl]

Circle jigs at Parts Express (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=365-260)

[CudBucket]

The best way is a router and circle jig. I hate RotoZips. Next to a good router, they're toys.

[Distortion]

The best way is a router and circle jig. I hate RotoZips. Next to a good router, they're toys.

I have to agree.

[suhr_rodney]

Dewman.... what are you up to? :nono

[Denyle_Guitars]

If you're going into production or cutting hardwoods, you can try a shaper or router table with a pattern following bit and a template.

[Tinman]

If you're going into production or cutting hardwoods, you can try a shaper or router table with a pattern following bit and a template.

That's what I do. Use the circle jig to make your template, then use the template on the baffle itself. Its a good practice to cut away most of the waste with a jigsaw before you rout with the template. Less dust, easier on the router, easier on the router bits. I try not to leave more than an eighth of an inch to rout, but I'll leave less if the jigsaw is cutting cleanly.

Why would you ever use a rotozip if you have a router?

[dewman]

well I have a sears router with plunge base. got few nice bits too, so thats ok. are circle jigs generic- that is will they fit most routers, or should I get the sears one? also are they around 25-30$?

I'll just be cutting 1/2" baltic birch ply, only 2x12 holes for a new baffle. I can jig the center out roughly and then trim up with the router, or route the whole thing out using the circle jig.

[dewman]

anyone make a homemade circle jig? looks pretty straightforward potentially...

[sundaypunch]

The best way is a router and circle jig. I hate RotoZips. Next to a good router, they're toys.

Well, that is true. If you are looking to cut one hole spending money on a router & accessories isn't probably the best plan. If it is something that you plan on using often it's definitely the way to go.

[sundaypunch]

anyone make a homemade circle jig? looks pretty straightforward potentially...

Just get a piece of scrap and nail it to the baffle where the center of the hole will be. Do it in such a way that the scrap can rotate. You just need to improvise a method to attach / clamp it to your router so you can swing it around and cut the proper size hole. Practice on a piece of scrap, it shouldn't be that hard.

Or just spend a few bucks on the jig.

[hasserl]

I do mostly electronic work, not cabinet work. But occaisonally I've had to cut a new baffle. I'm sure a router and circle jig would work fantastic for this, but I don't have one. Nor a Roto-Zip. But i do have a jig saw, have had it for many years. I admit it, I'm a minimalist. Or a cheap SOB. BUt here's what I do and I've had great results.

Use a scrap piece of 1 x 2, long enough to extend past the baffle so you can hold onto it. Position it on the baffle so it will guide the jig saw at the correct diameter for the hole you're cutting. Connect it to the baffle with a small bolt, drill both the guide and the baffle with a drill bit that is sized so the bolt will be snug in both the guide and the baffle, but will still turn. Voilla! Instant circle jig. Take your time and it does a fine job. A little sanding afterwards smoothes things out. A sanding drum attachment for a drill motor makes the sanding process easy. Check out the pics beow:

http://img59.exs.cx/img59/2661/mvc001l7ol.jpg

http://img59.exs.cx/img59/5056/mvc002l3cq.jpg

http://img161.exs.cx/img161/998/mvc003l5xg.jpg

[chris_d]

My technique is pretty massively lo-fi. A while back, i made a real quickie offset router base to make doing roundovers on cabinets easier.

I have only needed to cut holes for 12" speakers so far, so i figured out how far from the bit the fulcrum needed to be and drilled a little hole at that point in the base. I drill a similarly small hole dead center in the speaker location. I set up the router for like 1/4" depth of cut, put a pin through the router and baffle, lift up the router, turn it on, drop carefully it in to the baffle, and rout the circle out.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7734/supaloficirclejigwx5.jpg


For a cleaner cut, i rout a 1/4" deep circle on one side, then flip the baffle over and rout at increasing depth until the circle is free and the hole is done. That way it doesn't chip out on the bottom like it might if you only rout from one side.

There are certainly better ways, but i haven't seen much simpler ones. I am not doing commercial production, so it doesn't have to be dead-on perfect but i have been happy with the results of this technique so far. YMMV, but it might be cheap and easy enough to give a shot if you have a bit of thick plexi around.

-chris

[straticus]

That's what I do. Use the circle jig to make your template, then use the template on the baffle itself. Its a good practice to cut away most of the waste with a jigsaw before you rout with the template. Less dust, easier on the router, easier on the router bits. I try not to leave more than an eighth of an inch to rout, but I'll leave less if the jigsaw is cutting cleanly.



Ditto. :)

[dewman]

I have the router- just not the circle jig, and was wondering if I could make a cheap one from angle iron or something similar. I'll try to find a cheapo offset base- somehting like that will clearly work for my limited application- cool ideas guys, kep em coming.

[chris_d]

I have the router- just not the circle jig, and was wondering if I could make a cheap one from angle iron or something similar. I'll try to find a cheapo offset base- somehting like that will clearly work for my limited application- cool ideas guys, kep em coming.

If you don't want to make your own, here is a $20 offset base, which , IMO is a great thing to have, sespecially for roundovers, and other edgework:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10651

Alternately, and more specifically for circles, here is an actual circle jig for a little more:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2013

Rockler is a nationwide chain that makes decent stuff, but your local woodworking shop will have probably a couple of options for you.

If you choose to try my lo-fi offset method, you might look into using a nut/bolt and washer setup for the fulcrum hole, instead of my nail/cotter pin(or as in the above pictures, the handle from a drum brush-hate playing the drums with them-a much better use here, IMO), to aid in stability, accuracy when making the cut. If you have a plunge router that would work better, i don't have a plunger so i need to have some play in the joint to allow starting the router out of the wood, then easing it in for the cut.

-chris

[slipperyfingers]

I have made a circle jig out of a piece of 1/16" scrap laminate I had laying around. Basically, I took the router base off and used it as a template for the screw holes to attach the laminate to the router (of course you must cut a hole for the bit to protrude). I used a nail hole measured out from the edge of the router bit that determined the radius of the circle. I don't have a plunge router, so I just kept going around lowering the bit a little at a time until I was through. I forgot to mention, I used a piece of MDF board clampled to the baffle so I could cut through cleanly. the cool thing about using laminate is that it is flexible, and let me ease the bit into the baffle to get started.

-SF

[zdogma]

I just draw a line with the compass and cut it freehand with the jigsaw. Took two or three tries to get the hang of it, but now they're as neat as can be. Depends on how much you use the saw I guess. I have also the roto zip with a circle attachment, but I wasn't as happy.

I'd love to try the router, but don't have the cash.