# Newbie question regarding cutting speaker hole



## apilon (May 18, 2006)

Good evening ,

I am pretty new in the DIY world, and my first challenge is to build the SWOPE HT speaker system. Unfortunately there is not much detail regarding the diameter that need to be cut for the speakers. 

So how do i determine the proper inside and outside dimension that i need to draw and cut to fit the speakers?


Alain


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

Go to the vendor site, Parts Express in this case, and follow the specifications tab. The PDF tells you to go to the mfr's web site, where you'll find this:
http://swanspeaker.com/products/products.aspx?cid=9&sid=57&pid=192

The drawing at the bottom shows a 116mm hole with a 140mm recess 6mm deep. Do the same thing for the tweeter and you'll get a similar result. However, it never hurts to actually measure your parts when they come. 

Paul shows the driver layout on his web site for this design. He likely assumes that you can get the driver dimensional data as I describe above. 
http://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/swope-ht

Welcome; I hope you have fun,
Frank


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## 1Michael (Nov 2, 2006)

Rule #1 Never Ever Cut Holes Without Having The Driver In Your Hand.
Rule #2 Wait for the driver to arrive Before Cutting any holes.
Are you starting to see a theme here:T


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## supermoore1025 (Jan 1, 2010)

buggers said:


> Rule #1 Never Ever Cut Holes Without Having The Driver In Your Hand.
> Rule #2 Wait for the driver to arrive Before Cutting any holes.
> Are you starting to see a theme here:T


Sorry to hijack this thread but what is an easy way to measure and draw the circles for a subwoofer hole or speaker holes


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## gperkins_1973 (Aug 25, 2008)

hi there,

I made up one off these. Just divided the hole diameter in half and marked the points. Put a nail in one end and drill a hole for the pencil to go through on the other end. You need two holes, one for the outer baffle hole and one for the driver to sit on.

Worked for me. Defo agree with making sure you have the drivers in front off you before you cut any holes.

cheers

Graham


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

supermoore1025 said:


> Sorry to hijack this thread but what is an easy way to measure and draw the circles for a subwoofer hole or speaker holes


Recently I've been using a Rotozip/speedsaw with a circle cutter attachment. Works well and the tool is cheap, also conveniently accepts ordinary router bits.

The most popular, and probably precise, for holes and driver recesses I think is an actual router and circle jig.


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## apilon (May 18, 2006)

fbov said:


> Go to the vendor site, Parts Express in this case, and follow the specifications tab. The PDF tells you to go to the mfr's web site, where you'll find this:
> http://swanspeaker.com/products/products.aspx?cid=9&sid=57&pid=192
> 
> The drawing at the bottom shows a 116mm hole with a 140mm recess 6mm deep. Do the same thing for the tweeter and you'll get a similar result. However, it never hurts to actually measure your parts when they come.
> ...


Happy new year Frank ,

Thanks for the answer, now i can get get going with the project


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## cast55 (Dec 30, 2010)

Get a circle jig for your router. Parts Express has a couple of different sizes if you can't find one at your local hardware store. If you want to flush-mount the driver, cut the baffle step first. Generally, you want a little bit of clearance from the actual outer diameter of the driver flange - maybe add 1/8" to the actual diameter? Once you cut out the blank, you won't be able to correct this easily, so go as tight as you like, but err on the side of being too large. Measure the thickness of the driver flange and set your router to plunge that deep, and then using the circle jig, carve out your selected diameter. You may need to reset the circle jig to one or two successively smaller diameters, because you need to carve the step all the way from outside diameter to the cutout diameter. Once you have your flange, reset the circle jig for the cutout diameter (which will be the driver basket diameter plus 1/8" or so of clearance), and then depending on the power of your router, you can either cut the blank out in one pass, or do it in several passes, increasing the plunge depth a bit each time until you are all the way through. Be aware that once the blank is no longer connected to the rest of the baffle, the router is free to wander, and can leave a notch or bump where the cutout completes. If you are careful, and the blank is well-supported and prevented from movement (i.e. you want to carve the holes in the baffle before assembling the box) you can complete the cutout using this procedure alone. If the blank is not well supported (such as on an already constructed box), or if you want the most flawless hole possible, the better procedure is to make your cutout only about halfway through, and then finish the cut with a flush trim bit with a bearing on it which can follow the hole that you made to half-depth, thus ensuring that the router can't jerk and damage the hole edge when you complete the cut.


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