I'm getting ready to cut holes in my light tray and wanted opinions on the best way to do it. I have the standard 3/4" MDF with oak veneer on it (aka Sandman's light tray). What's the best way to poke holes through the MDF without causing problems to the surrounding veneer?

My current options are:

1) Hole saw. Good circle, worried about chipping the surrounding veneer.
2) Jig saw. Probably a clean, safer cut with a highly irregular circle.
3) Speed saw with circle rig/jig. The speed saw really doesn't like cutting the MDF.

Suggestions please.

My money would be on the hole saw option 1. Once you get going just go easy (about half speed)until you get past the surface of the veneer, then let'er rip.

That's what I've been thinking too. I was also thinking I could put painters tape over the area and cut through that. Not sure why I think that may help :-)

You can also apply tape over the area you're cutting. This will help prevent any splitting.

I would also suggest taking an scrap piece of wood, cutting the whole in it and using it as a guide. That way you wont have to worry so much about the bit jumping around when you are getting started. I will also second the tape, should help prevent splintering.

I would outline the circle to be cut and take an exacto knife to it first, then the hole saw.

personally i would just hole saw it assuming the light you are putting in has a lip to cover the edge a bit. if it really has to be clean (like the light has no lip) then i would do it the way we flush mount tweeters with a router and a jig. you can find them on www.partsexpress.com or rockler i am sure.

greg

I used a hole saw for the same thing on my light tray; If you can keep the drill level you can get a fairly even cut. I was not worried about ripping into the OSB but it's still nice to have a clean cut.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd6/Rumrunner_31/DSC01693.jpg

Hole saw seems to be the consensus pick. Tape too. I think the can trim ring goes about a 1/4" bigger than the hole. So I have some wiggle room.

I like the scrap piece of wood idea too. The hard part will be securing the scrap to the light tray. The tray is all stained and poly'd. I might be able to get a clamp on in the vertical direction.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try and post results in this thread. I won't have the cans until later this week. So, I won't be able to update until next week.

Thought I'd report back with my results. I ended up using a 3.5" hole saw to cut my holes in the soffit. Here was the process:

1) I put blue painter's tape on the soffit where the hole goes.
2) I measured carefully and drilled a pilot hole.
3) Drilled away! Note that I would sort of pull the saw out a little to allow
the saw dust to come out.

I used a new bi-metal hole saw that I got from HD. I needed 9 holes. The first four went pretty quick, but after that the saw started to dull and it took longer to make the hole. That MDF is torture on blades.

All in all, the holes were cut clean and I didn't have any veneer issues.

Thanksf rot eh report back, Ed. Nice to hear that it went well.