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Cutting through control panel overlay?
sofakng:
Well I think I'm able to cut all the button holes now and the joysticks...
But what about the 3" trackball hole? That's one hole that doesn't have anything covering it (the joysticks have dust washers, the buttons have lips, etc).
I can't spend money on art supplies for just one hole :(
Any other suggestions? I could trace the mounting plate with an exact-o knife perhaps...?
johnnysmitch:
I've never had too good of results cutting that small of a circle with an exacto using a guide (that's why i got the circle cutter :P ) - if you REALLY want to make it perfect, you could probably pretty easily make a makeshift circle cutter for just the 3 inch hole using a chunk of wood, a long nail, and a screw [please excuse the fast/crappy sketch...]:
sofakng:
That's not a bad idea... Would require some work and you would need to make certain the knife doesn't slip...
Do you think it would come out good if I use my trackball mounting plate and traced the circle free-hand with an exact-o knife?
The unfortunate thing is that I only get ONE chance at this. If I screw up a cut the artwork will show it :( :(
johnnysmitch:
i'd run the exacto along the mounting plate as a guide before I'd attempt to cut the circle freehand. Whenever you freehand a circle with an exacto (at least in my experience), you end up with facets from starting and stopping, or not turning the blade correctly. The only way I've ever cut a decent freehand circle (and I have attempted it many times), is when it was a circle on a normal size piece of paper, that I could turn around the blade (instead of running the blade around it). I don't think that's an option with something big like a CP overlay tho...
sofakng:
Maybe we're talking about two different things... (I have a bad habit of using the wrong words to describe things)
When I said "free-hand" what I meant was using my hand and the exact-o knife and not building a circle cutter like you described above.
What I figured I'd do is take my trackball mounting plate and flip it upside down (so the legs on the mounting plate are facing up). Then I'd place the mounting plate and lay it flat on my overlay. Finally, I'd use my exacto knife and try to follow the circle the best I possibly could while cutting the overlay.
If I hold the exacto-o knife in my hand and I press it against the mounting plate circle, you don't think it would come out that good?