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cutting scribes on canopy

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falcon900guy

Well Known Member
day one of cutting the canopy, and wow! we tried cutting with a jigsaw and worked ok, but when it came time to cut around the corners of the door it got fun. i bought a couple of metal cut wheels and didn't fit my gun, so that wasn't an option. the jigsaw did ok for straight lines, but those corners are a hot mess.

can i please get some ideas that will make a cleaner cut over what i'm going now, and especially how to make better looking rounded corners? i realize there is going to be some sanding to clean things up, but wow! i need help on what tools other people have used, and what works around the corners.

thanks in advance for any suggestions!

kenny
 
I used a 3 inch dremel cutting wheel in the die grinder, not sure which model but it is a metal wheel, and a couple of different size sanding drums to clean up. If you're doing the McMaster carr type door seals, you'll be building up and sanding down again (and again?). The wheel also worked reasonably for trimming the plexi. A long board air sander with plenty of PSA 80 grit (by the roll) also comes in handy.

==dave==
N102FM
 
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Use an oscillating multi-tool. They range from the expensive and nice Fein to several Harbor Freight models. I used a the less expensive Harbor Freight one and it worked just fine. The biggest difference between the Fein and Harbor Freight is that the Harbor Freight blades seem to dull faster. But for the price difference you can buy quite a few blades.

For round corners, cut close, then file or sand.

bob
 
+1 Cutoff wheel

Another vote for the cutoff wheel. In my case, I used my Dremel vs. my die grinder. Pretty painless way to go IMO.
 
Dremel tool and a carbide cutter wheel. I went through about 5 of the cutter wheels. When I used an aggressive wood rasp for the corners, finishing with an orbital sander with 40 grit paper. Lots of dust
 
Dremel tool and a carbide cutter wheel. I went through about 5 of the cutter wheels. Then I used an aggressive wood rasp for the corners, finishing with an orbital sander with 40 grit paper. Lots of dust
 
thanks for all the replies guys. i have used a combination of die grinder, and i picked up a dermel yesterday plus some cutting wheels. dremel with cutting wheels has been the best combo so far. now it's time for some sanding
 
rleffler said:
Use an oscillating multi-tool. They range from the expensive and nice Fein to several Harbor Freight models. I used a the less expensive Harbor Freight one and it worked just fine. The biggest difference between the Fein and Harbor Freight is that the Harbor Freight blades seem to dull faster. But for the price difference you can buy quite a few blades.

For round corners, cut close, then file or sand.

bob
Click to expand...

i went to lowe's because there are no harbor freight stores near me, and i looked at an oscillating tool. due to the price of the tool, a customer service rep talked me into a dremel using cutting wheels which has worked pretty good so far. i keep seeing people on here saying they get tools from harbor frieght, so now i'm wishing we had one of these babies near by. thank you for the help!

kenny
 
falcon900guy said:
i went to lowe's because there are no harbor freight stores near me, and i looked at an oscillating tool. due to the price of the tool, a customer service rep talked me into a dremel using cutting wheels which has worked pretty good so far. i keep seeing people on here saying they get tools from harbor frieght, so now i'm wishing we had one of these babies near by. thank you for the help!

kenny
Click to expand...

The oscillating multi-tool doesn't generate the amount of dust that the other tools. It's a nice tool to have in your tool box.

You can get some inexpensive, great tools at Harbor Freight. But you can also get some junk too.
 
In my experience, purchasing the warranty with the tool from Harbor Freight pays for itself. SEveral of my purchases from Harbor Freight were not durable even during customary usage.
 
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