# router template help



## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

I am trying make a cutout that matches the alum speaker terminal plate (4" X 4") shown in the photo, i want to mount it on the inside so i have the 3/4" thickness of the wood to protect the terminals that stick out, but i want the cutout to come out nice.
First time making a template of any kind, my thought was to use a jig saw to get it close and use the template along with a flush trim bit (top bearing) to make it clean, the one thing i am unsure of is how the corners will come out, will they come out complete/clean?
thanks Pete


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

have you got some of the same materials to practice with ?
that is how we learn things: always practice on similar materials
before we mess up the good stuff.

.


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## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

no real need for a template unless your going to make a bunch of these
to make a square, 4 pieces of scrap screwed or clamped down will do the trick
this is the setup i used to route out for harbor fright diamond plates
just measure from bit to base, clamp everything secure and route away


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

pjoseph said:


> I am trying make a cutout that matches the alum speaker terminal plate (4" X 4") shown in the photo, i want to mount it on the inside so i have the 3/4" thickness of the wood to protect the terminals that stick out, but i want the cutout to come out nice.
> First time making a template of any kind, my thought was to use a jig saw to get it close and use the template along with a flush trim bit (top bearing) to make it clean, the one thing i am unsure of is how the corners will come out, will they come out complete/clean?
> thanks Pete


Here is what I think I read:

"I have a 4 inch square black terminal plate and a 3/4 inch thick piece of wood. I want to make a clean square hole in the wood that matches the black terminal plate. The black terminal plate will be recessed inside the clean square hole to protect the terminal pins. I plan to use a jigsaw to cut out most of the hole. If I make a template and use a router with a flush trim bit, will the corners come out clean?" 
-> Is that right?

Here is my answer:
The corners will come out clean, but rounded. You will need to mark the corners and use a chisel to square them up. The chisel work takes practice and skill to get seamless, perfect results that line up with the routed sides. You can avoid the chisel work by making the square template hole a little larger and fitting the terminal plate inside the rounded corners, leaving borders around the edges.

That said, I am scratching my head to understand @_Ogre's response above. My guess is he is saying that you don't have to make a special template. I assume there was chisel work to make the inside corners of the recess in his photo. The outside square corners of his diamond plate holders can be made by a router without chisels.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

So your mounting the plate on the inside of the cabinet?


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Rebelwork said:


> So your mounting the plate on the inside of the cabinet?


I think he/she intends to mount the terminal plate on the inside of the cutout in the 3/4 inch wood. The wood surrounds it and protects the posts on the terminal plate. That's my guess.

Hopefully he/she will clarify.


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

i appreciate the replies i did not read them all before giving it a shot with my jig i made in original post, this was on a scrap piece. The corners came out a little larger which i am assuming is because the radius of the bit i am using is too large. Will look at it closer in the morning getting late,


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

You just need a smaller bit. If the hole is cut through, how will you mount the plate?

I've built a a lot of speakers, trying to understand your setup..


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

Rebelwork said:


> You just need a smaller bit. If the hole is cut through, how will you mount the plate?
> 
> I've built a a lot of speakers, trying to understand your setup..


I have not glued the last two parts of the box so it is still open i plan to mount a piece of 3/4" MDF from the inside to mount it, i know its a bit more work but i think it looks a lot cleaner plus less likely to break recessed some.


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

just a pic of a speaker i built while back,


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

is anyone able to determine what size bit i need to make a perfect fit based on the drawing, i am not 100% sure how to read those measurements.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

If the router bit you used was too big, would dropping it down one size be correct.

What size bit did you use?


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

Rebelwork said:


> If the router bit you used was too big, would dropping it down one size be correct.
> 
> What size bit did you use?


i need to check, i know its not a 1/2" so im assuming its 3/8" which leads me to believe i need a 1/4" one


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I've got two MTX home speakers that I bought at a pawn shop with damaged boxes. I already have two so I'll just recreate the factory box and cover both with Macassar veneer I've been holding onto.

I built a couple end tables from some old Fisher speakers I bought in the late 80's. Turned out alright but the box where to tight and woofers were over worked...


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

That is awesome i have thought about building a table / sub


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## WoodyWeekends (Mar 27, 2020)

pjoseph said:


> is anyone able to determine what size bit i need to make a perfect fit based on the drawing, i am not 100% sure how to read those measurements.


The bit should be 14mm in diameter because the corners are 7mm in radius.


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

WoodyWeekends said:


> The bit should be 14mm in diameter because the corners are 7mm in radius.


14mm = .55" so a 1/2" bit? I know the bit i used was smaller than 1/2" and it came out too big i would think a bigger bit will make it worse or am i missing something?


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## WoodyWeekends (Mar 27, 2020)

pjoseph said:


> 14mm = .55" so a 1/2" bit? I know the bit i used was smaller than 1/2" and it came out too big i would think a bigger bit will make it worse or am i missing something?


The way I see it is that the cut radius is smaller than the bracket radius so you need a bigger bit.


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

I already have a 1/2" bit so i could do another test run today after work...


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

There are different radius and bearing bits. Have to check online catalogs like Amana to see what's offered...


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## pjoseph (Jun 7, 2009)

yea thinking about it now a 1/2" flush trim with bearing will not be able to get as deep into the corners. i will find out soon enough.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

You can buy radius gauges that will measure the radius for you. An acceptable trick is to take your drill bit set and use it for comparison by holding each bit against the curve until you find the closest match.

I did a web search for R7, and found radius measuring gauges on Amazon. Several say things like "R7 - 14.5" which I interpret to mean 14.5 mm = 0.57 inches. (R7 may simply mean radius = 7mm. A 14mm diameter is 0.55 inches.) You might try a 1/2 inch router bit on a test piece. It may be the closest available router bit match for your curve. If it isn't good enough, you could try sandpaper around a dowel to fix it by hand.

I found other references to R numbers with wildly varying measurements (in feet, for example). Your R7 may refer to an entry in a table to look at. Is there a table of radii that is not shown?


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## sanchez (Feb 18, 2010)

Since you are routing the inside, using a top bearing bit, a larger bit won't reach as far into the corner, and so it makes a larger radius. A smaller bit gets closer to the corner of the template and makes a smaller radius (the corner is too big).


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## ducbsa (Jul 6, 2014)

9/16" bit is only .011" bigger than the 14mm, so I would use that.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

I would have suggested a 9/16 inch diameter flush trim router bit, but searched and could not find one. I could not find a pattern bit that size either. 

... but @ducbsa gave me an idea: Use a 9/16 inch Forstner or brad point drill bit to drill out the corners, cut out the bulk with the jigsaw as before using the holes as starters, and finish with your current router bit to do the sides.


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