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Trackball mounting -- 3" hole cutting bit? (what else can I use?)
Totallyout2lunch:
If your going to use a Track Ball Mounting Plate (got mine from Happs UK), you do not need a 3" hole for the Track Ball, (you will need one if you use Lexan or some other finnish for youe CP.
To cut my 3" hole I borrowed a 3" plummers hole cutter, (UK
ThePaul:
--- Quote from: sofakng on July 13, 2004, 06:33:54 am ---Hmmm, maybe I'm a bit confused then...
In your top picture it looks like you cut out only the trackball hole, but in the bottom pictures it looks like you cut out the entire trackball area (the rectangle-type shape).
Do you cut the rectangle shape in the MDF, and the hole in the plexiglass? That would make sense I think.
Also, I'm guessing that you recessed your trackball mounting plate so it was flush on top? Any tips on this? How about the bottom, did you recess the trackball so it stuck up higher?
--- End quote ---
You are going to want to cut the football shaped hole in your MDF, route a square in the top of the CP so your mounting plate sits flush, then when you put your plexi over the top you will need a 3 inch hole for the ball to stick out.
You don't need a 3" hole bit, you need to use your flush trim bit on your router or if you decide to take the plexi to the glass shop like you were talking about just screw the mounting plate to the CP so they have the hold in it as a guide.
FractalWalk:
You don't need a 3" hole bit, you need to use your flush trim bit on your router
I'm not sure that this will work. I secured plexi to the top of my panel with the trackball plate underneath. I flipped the whole thing over and grapped my router and pattern bit. The problem that I ran into is that the mounting plate is only about 1/16" wide and the cutting edge of the bit was farther away from the arbor than that. So while the arbor rode along the edge of the mounting plate, the cutting edge of the bit was too deep to cut the plexi. (See image: red = inverted CP, Black = mounting plate, Lt blue = pattern bit, Dk blue = arbor)
To fix this, I would have had to space the plexi farther away from the control panel (e.g. stick a piece of wood between the plexi and panel), but then I couldn't be sure that my plexi lined up exactly with my panel.
I ended up free-handing the router and cutting out as much of the 3" area as I could using the plate as a visual guide. What I was left with was a very rough circle-ish like hole. I then used sandpaper to sand the edge of the hole out to meet the trackball plate.
It came out great, but I'm sure there had to be an easier way.
stuzza:
--- Quote from: sofakng on July 13, 2004, 06:33:54 am ---Hmmm, maybe I'm a bit confused then...
In your top picture it looks like you cut out only the trackball hole, but in the bottom pictures it looks like you cut out the entire trackball area (the rectangle-type shape).
Do you cut the rectangle shape in the MDF, and the hole in the plexiglass? That would make sense I think.
Also, I'm guessing that you recessed your trackball mounting plate so it was flush on top? Any tips on this? How about the bottom, did you recess the trackball so it stuck up higher?
--- End quote ---
If you are going to flush mount the panel so only the ball is visible from the top (which in my opinion is the only way to go!) then as others have said, you only need to cut the 3" hole in your plexi, assuming you are using a plexi overlay. Basically you can just use a jigsaw to cut out enough of the MDF to fit the trackball to attach to the mounting plate.
You can see in the pics here: http://www.screenshotarchive.com/cabinet/cp_1.htm (see bottom of the page) which areas are cut out and the routed area on the top side to enable the mounting plate to sit flush with the top of the mdf. You don't need to do any routing from the underside.
Hoopster: I bought the mounting plate from Happs when I got the trackball. The joystick areas were routed out so there is about 8mm of MDF left - from memory? I have made 3 cabinets using this thickness and have never had one break - and believe me they've had some heavy handed testing!
sofakng:
stuzza, you used a jigsaw to cut the section out of your mdf, right? What did you use to cut the hole out of the plexiglass?
FractalWalk, I'm not sure why you had that problem... If you use a plunge router (like I have) can't you just adjust the depth so the bit lines up perfectly?
If I make the mounting plate flush (recessed into the mdf on top), then the plexiglass will lay flat on top of the mdf. Then when I flip it over (so plexiglass is on the bottom), can't I just let the plunge router ride the circle in the mounting plate to get the perfect circle?
I'm going to be making this cut tonight, so any additional help would be GREATLY appriciated.