Marine electronics install ?

RadioSouth · Post by **RadioSouth** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 9:25 am

Hi all, with all the talent here we must have someone that does marine installs. My question is I need to make a couple of square holes 6"x6"
in my boats dash. It is fairly thick consisting of 3/4" plywood cored fiberglass. What is the right saw/blade combo. to use ? I had seen someone use a rotary saw but he had a hard time making a straight cut and the dust was unbelievable.

jbxx · Post by **jbxx** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:37 pm

If you can get a quality jig saw (bosch or eq)
in the space, use a medium tooth blade with
not too much "set or rake" and run it real fast.
also put down painters tape (the blue kind works well)
and cut through the middle of the tape. You should get a
pretty good cut without too much spalling. If you find when you start
that the spalling is too much, glue a piece of somthing like a
door skin thats a little larger than the piece that you are going to remove. and glue it to the fiberglass. do not glue outside of the waste piece.
If there is no finish flange on the equipment that you are adding,
you may wish to fabricate one. And one last thought, on a boat quality sealant like Sikaflex is your best friend.
Hope this has been of some help. LOL
J.B. AD6WX

Jay G. · Post by **Jay G.** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 6:55 pm

I have also found that if you need to make a very clean cut edge, use a metal jig saw blade with the blue painters tape as described earlier. Even though you will take much longer to cut the hole, it will come out much cleaner. Take your time, and dont rush it, and it will come out perfectly.

Feel free to Email me with any other specific questions. I have extensive experience with both Marine and Automotive installations.

RadioSouth · Post by **RadioSouth** » Mon Feb 17, 2003 7:14 am

Thank you Gentlemen