Its not much. when making your own box I figured out that using a rotorzip with the circle cutter , It makes your speaker hole almost perfect ( try practicing on a 1/4 plywood until the hole is cut nice and tight ). The jigsaw has too many variables (easy to mess up, I had to throw away many expensive MDF boxes because of the jigsaw. I hope this helps people who are starting this.
PLEASE POST OTHER TIPS OR REPLYS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

 

Circle cutter?????????
where? how easy, much, etc. nice clean circles are niiiice

------------------
91 FireBird 305 V-8
no true mods,
ghetto rigged cold air intake,
People dont have a soul, its just something parents made up to frighten little children, like the boogie man, or micheal jackson..."

GheTTo Riggers INC.
We Make Mcgyver look Like Crap

 

THE ROTOR ZIP ITSELF IS ABOUT 70 DOLLARS.
THE CIRCLE CUTTER IS A 15 DOLLAR ATTACHMENT THAT MAKES THE PERFECT CIRCLE POSSIBLE. THEY SELL BOTH OF THESE ITEMS AT THE HOME DEPOT (MY SECOND HOME LOL).

 

I've never used anything other than a skill saw. A little practice and you can accurately cut half way through the pencil line all the way around.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

why risk a mess up when you can be sure that the rotorzip makes an almost perfect cut.

 

I would love to know how you can make a circular cut for a speaker with a "skilsaw".

 

i did...hehe

 

I don't have a 'Skill' saw. Mine is a 'Black & Decker'. lol

.... you draw a circle on the board with a compass, then drill a hole in the board within the circle, then insert the saw blade in the hole and start the motor, then push the saw till the saw blade meets the line, then follow the line all the way around the circle, then turn the saw motor off .... presto ... a circular hole!

 

Yup, what Belker said. Skil saws are specifically designed to cut non-straight lines. That's why the blade is 3/8" deep instead of 3 or 4" deep. When I first started, I was horrible and made very un-even cuts, so what I would do is drive a nail partially into the wood in the center of the round cut-out, and use a string to keep the skil saw at the right distance. But after I did it 44 million times, I got a whole lot better. I've built entire boxes with skil saws, and they've fit together perfectly. It's all about practice. If you're unsure of your skills and don't have a router, cut the hole 1/8" small, and sand or file it to the right size.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

OK , I need some clarification here. This thread started with talk of using a "ROTOZIP",which is a brand name for a hand held rotary tool, to make clean circular holes to mount speakers. Then you, JIM, replied by saying that you only use a skill saw to make all of your cuts, by this I thought you were saying that you only use a "SKILSAW", which is a brand name for a hand held circular saw, to make all cuts including round ones. Then Belker went on to describe the process for using a jig saw, which is a form of hand held reciprocating saw. So what are you using, a jig saw made by SKIL or a circular saw ? If your answer is a jig saw, I would have to ask why you wuold be using a tool that is designed to make intricate cuts, for all of your straight cuts also. Jig saws have a great deal of run out, especially when cutting dense material. Also you said that the blade only extends 3/8", so how do you cut 3/4" material which I believe you would be using to build sub boxes?

 

When I said "skil saw" I meant a jig saw, sabre saw, reciprocating saw, or whatever you want to call it. Apparently there's 50 different names for it. I also meant that the blade is 3/8" thick from front to back, not in height. I'm not retarded. I also don't make a habit of making complete boxes with a jig saw, but one time at school it was all I had, so that's what I used. At home I have jig saws, a router, a circular saw, a table saw, and plenty of other wood tools at my disposal.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah