How To Make Flushed In Trim Rings

[meade916]

this is part of the caddy build so its a double post.......but i think some of you will find it useful. Here is how to make Trim rings that will countersink your mids. You need a router with a spiral upcut bit, a circle jig and a dust mask Oh and MDF, 3/4 in this case.

ok its friday, ive been up since 5, im tired........but i got out there and made some sawdust tonite anyway. Tomorrow i figure out exactly how im gonna do this and if it goes as planned i will be butchering up the passenger side door real soon. Anyway this is your tutorial for the day This is how you make a countersunk trim ring to flush in your mids.

First, start by planning it out....the spiral upcut bit will cut in increments of 1/2". It is a 1/4" bit but when you cut a circle its doubled.

Next set the depth of the bit to go most of the way thru, but not all the way. I leave about 3/8". Doesnt sound like a lot but its fine for a 6" speaker especially since it will have resin and glass on it to reinforce later.

if your doing multiples of the same ring, instead of doing one ring at a time and moving the pin every time, i just do them all at once.

It takes 6 passes to do these, all at different measurements and since the pin gets moved a lot, its helpful to mark the holes you use the most so you can find them quick. No thats not blood from when i cut my finger its red marker There is a LITTLE DNA on the other side though, like a drop. I left it there to remind me of my war-wound

Once the countersink is done its time to cut the very outside of the ring at full depth. Now this is the hand saver here.......i used to cut it off, flip the router upside down and cut the middle out. Now, just cut the very outside all the way around but leave about a 1/2" tab. The reason you dont cut the middle out sooner is you lose your pivot hole as soon as that is gone...so the very middle hole needs to be intact till the LAST pass.

see how the Tab holds the ring in place, this allows you to cut the middle portion out while its still attached to the flat stock.

Now grab a jig saw and cut that tab off. Its only 1/2" so if you have any skills you should be able to keep it nice and round. Take a sander to whatever is left of it and you cant even tell there is a tab. Done deal!

simple as that and i didnt even butcher my hand up this time!

[meade916]

Here is how to do a larger woofer.......

this is for Rockford 10" Shallows......same procedure just on a bigger scale. Now the 3/8" just wont do so dropped it a little lower (to about 1/8") and backed it up with a 2nd ring made of 3/4" MDF. The 1/8" usually wouldnt be necessary, just butcher that off and do it in two passes, but in this case i didnt want to sink the sub in all the way into a 3/4" piece. I sorta wanted it to match the 6 1/2's since they are flush but the grills stick out just a hair...

[pstone11]

AAAHHH, good call on leaving that tab on the rings. Another mystery solved!! - I always flirt with disaster when I'm trying to finish up the last 2 cuts.

[meade916]

LOL yup yup yup........i lived the disaster you speak of. The tabs are teh' shit bro.....glad i thought of it

[banginAltima]

Nice work.

Did you make or buy that jig? If you bought it, who makes it?

[ShawnAndrewMAC]

Wow that looks great. I suppose that its time for me to get a router, been holding off for 9 years now. There is only so much you can do with a jigsaw.

[meade916]

once you go circle jig, you NEVER go back......if your still on a jigsaw for cutting sub holes, your still clownin' around. (i say that cuz im kickin myself in the ass for "clownin around" for so many years before seeing the light).

circle jigs RULE.

BANGINALTIMA: Its made by Jasper and you can get it from parts express

[memphis_finest1]

Awesome work as always ! when i hit the lotto im going to have you hook up the new ride =)

[banginAltima]

yeah i don't know how i missed the one picture of the jig close up.... thanks, need to pick one up.

[ShawnAndrewMAC]

Yup a clown I am, I used a router a few times when I was working at an audio shop but just never made it around to buying one for myself. Not only do they make the job flawless but it is done much quicker to. When building bandpass enclosures with a lexan window I used to take a 3/4 sheet of mdf and cut a window out, then I would bond that 3/4 sheet to another 3/4 sheet that had a smaller window cut out, something for the lexan to mount onto, hard to explain. What a pain that was, but worked out just fine.