Thread: Speaker Rings

do a google for "Router Circle jig" you find tons that you can make yourself. Or contract the manufacture of your router, most likely they make one that fits your router.

Make yourself:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/plansnow/routercircle.html

Store bought:
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product...outer%20circle

that would have made my life so much easier... i used the jig saw, its a good circle but not that good.

If you don't have a router and only plan on doing small things you could look at get what is called a laminate trimmer. Which is a small router used to trimming mainate countertops. You might have to do multiple passes. Also a roto-zip, I haven't tried it on MDF, they also come with circle cutter.

I made these two rings for 12" speakers last night on a whim. I made the "jig" from another piece of MDF... just took the base off the router, drew holes where the screws went, and drilled pilot holes into the mdf for the new jig base. I used a 1/4" straight bit, and it took two passes to go through 3/4" MDF. I found that trying to cut it all the way through on the first pass was just too much for my router.

Originally Posted by TimmyM

Also a roto-zip, I haven't tried it on MDF, they also come with circle cutter.

Rotozip = no good for 3/4 MDF. Really hard to get smooth circles, hard to set the circle jig perfectly, and will make you go deaf if you dont wear earmuffs. Much better off with router or jigsaw.

Matt

a router can make you go deaf too....we have two, a regular table type router and a hand heald one.....the regular one spins at something like 20-25,000 rpm, the hand heald one runs at like 30-35,000 rpm.....the hand heald one will HURT your ears....ringing for hours....lol

it's mostly in the speed, ane a rotozip tends to move pretty fast....for 3/4" I will back Matt 100%, not such a good idea....lol

Originally Posted by Red GTi VR6

a router can make you go deaf too....we have two, a regular table type router and a hand heald one.....the regular one spins at something like 20-25,000 rpm, the hand heald one runs at like 30-35,000 rpm.....the hand heald one will HURT your ears....ringing for hours....lol

it's mostly in the speed, ane a rotozip tends to move pretty fast....for 3/4" I will back Matt 100%, not such a good idea....lol

I have not used my router for circles yet (either tomorrow or Thursday will be my first time), so I cant really say how loud it is. But generally, its a good idea to wear earmuffs anyway. Of course, it might not be "cool" to wear safety stuff (such as earmuffs or goggles), but really, its stupid not to. Cant really say how long the rotozip would make my ears ring, being they have been ringing for 10 years now (thanks to a day with a wood chipper).

Dont get me wrong, you CAN use a rotozip for boxes. My brother and I have made 8 subwoofer holes in all with them, but their is just no way to get them perfect, and on half of those cuts we broke bits.

The only questions I have with the router is how much material should I cut at once, and is it safe to plunge cut with the bit, or is it better to ramp it in? Of course, ramping in would be hard to do, being I am not a CNC machine...

Matt

i think the rotozip is crap. i used to use a board attached to the bottom of the router with holes spaced out for different sizes but then i bought the casper circle jig and its the greatest. in 3/4" mdf i use 2 passes to get through.

I wouldn't be caught dead wearing earmuffs while working on this stuff....hearing protection though is another story....

every time the power tools come out we wear masks and eye protection, and if needed hearing protection.....to not is just stupid....even with that gear on I've had a few close calls....had a brad go through the wood and mounce off the cement and hit me in the face....that was NOT cool

for 3/4" MDF, we usually make 3-4 passes with the bit, just plunge it down 1/4 of the way each pass and go for it!