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Best way to cut a perfect circle?

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smalltownguy:

Thanks for the cool looking tool, but I'm just looking to cut my control panel overlay -- the adhesive backed vinyl itself.

I've already got all my holes cut perfectly to size in my panel, I'm just looking to get a nice circular hole cut in the overlay for my trackball opening. I'd stick it on my control panel and trace cut the opening from underneath, but I'd get a bit of overhang, which is unacceptable.



bkenobi:

Have you considered installing the overlay first, then cutting across the opening a bunch of times (basically a bunch of x and + cuts).  If you cut enough, you can fold the art down and fix it on the bottom of the CP.  It won't give you a 100% perfect circle, but it will give you a nice looking edge that should do what you want.  The more cuts you make, the better the edge will look within reason.

Bender:

your first idea is the the way to go, there are compasses or compass attachments that hold a #11 exacto knife
as long as you can find the exact center(which is easy with a regular compass) it should come out perfect
use a brand new blade
do it after the CPO is already stuck down to the CP

smalltownguy:

In the end, I was able to take a 'low tech' approach with acceptable results:

The dirty deed:





And the results:



B/C my hole was nice and smooth, I was able to drag the razor blade right around the circle.
Thanks for the help, folks!  :cheers:

bungy:

Great job, looks real clean.

I have tried the same technique when trimming the vinyl on the sides of my cabinet and it doesn't always work so well.

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