Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

Helpful hints on how to build 'em, and where to get the stuff you need.
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Chris_Allen
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Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#1 Post by Chris_Allen »

This is my prototype for a piezo cutting jig.

Take a piezo and measure your first pass width.

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Cut a strip of ply to that width.

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Cut some small blocks to hold the piezos in place.

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Screw them into position.

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Make yourself a little handle.

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Align the fence so the guide has enough room to slide and lock it in position.

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Using the other side of the fence, position the piezos flat and screw them down.

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Feed them throw your table saw for some quick, even, safe cuts.

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You need to make two, one for the first side, one for the second. I'm going to build a proper one now out of a long strip of birch so I can cut more at once and use hurricane nuts, bolts and washers instead of screws.

Chris.
Built:
6xDR200, 2xT39, 2xT48, 2xJack110, 1xOmni10.5, 1xAutotuba, 1xT18, 1xSLA Pro, 1xW8, 1xW10

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klocwerk
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#2 Post by klocwerk »

I just use a crosscut sled with a stopblock on it, works great for me.
Set it for your first cut, slap a piezo on, bzzzz, slap in a fresh piezo, repeat.
Reset the block for your next cut.
Wash, rinse, repeat.

Use a stick to hold them for the tricky cuts, but honestly if you're careful you can just hand hold them all from the back/top of the piezo.

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Chris_Allen
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#3 Post by Chris_Allen »

I didn't like the idea of the piezos being loose, I wanted to secure them to something.

Chris.
Built:
6xDR200, 2xT39, 2xT48, 2xJack110, 1xOmni10.5, 1xAutotuba, 1xT18, 1xSLA Pro, 1xW8, 1xW10

gdougherty
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#4 Post by gdougherty »

I've found it to be just fine hand holding from the top of the piezo as long as you set the blade to just the height you need. I found a little filing took enough off the screw housing to get a close fit afterward. With the blade low I can rip through a large batch of tweeters in a very short amount of time.

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Scott Brochu
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#5 Post by Scott Brochu »

Chris, whats wrong with Bill's design.

Granted I have not cut any piezos yet.
Drumming is a way of life.
ME LIKE TO HIT THINGS!
http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... 26&t=11232

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Chris_Allen
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#6 Post by Chris_Allen »

BBDrums wrote:Chris, whats wrong with Bill's design.
Nothing, I just don't want to get my fingers anywhere near a spinning blade and I don't want to cut anything that isn't secure. Just personal preference. Using the sled requires you to remove the guard which is something else I'm not going to do.

Chris.
Last edited by Chris_Allen on Thu Jul 10, 2008 1:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
Built:
6xDR200, 2xT39, 2xT48, 2xJack110, 1xOmni10.5, 1xAutotuba, 1xT18, 1xSLA Pro, 1xW8, 1xW10

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Scott Brochu
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#7 Post by Scott Brochu »

gotcha! :wink:
Drumming is a way of life.
ME LIKE TO HIT THINGS!
http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... 26&t=11232

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klocwerk
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#8 Post by klocwerk »

Chris_Allen wrote:
BBDrums wrote:Chris, whats wrong with Bill's design.
Nothing, I just don't want to get my fingers anywhere near a spinning blade and I don't want to cut anything that isn't secure. Just personal preference. Using the sled requires you to remove the guard which is something else I'm not going to do.
Totally wise and fair.
The guard on my crappy little craftsman benchtop tablesaw was WAY more trouble than it was worth.
It nearly got me hurt a couple times so it came off, and I haven't had a close call since. :D

A new saw is in my future though, and it's going to have a worthwhile guard.

novasak
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#9 Post by novasak »

What's an easy way to do this with a circle saw? and tips to speed up the process. It seems that screwing down the piezo to a guide, then fastening that to the bench is a lot of work when I want to cut 24 of these.

gdougherty
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#10 Post by gdougherty »

novasak wrote:What's an easy way to do this with a circle saw? and tips to speed up the process. It seems that screwing down the piezo to a guide, then fastening that to the bench is a lot of work when I want to cut 24 of these.
Find someone willing to loan use of a table saw. That's what I'd do.

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Chris_Allen
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#11 Post by Chris_Allen »

To do it with a circular saw would be difficult since the depth of cut for the piezos is almost two inches. You could cut the bottom then sand the top with a circular saw. It took me just over 10 minutes to cut 10 piezos with securing the guide. You could use it with a circular saw by clamping it upside down on the edge of the saw sled.

Chris.
Built:
6xDR200, 2xT39, 2xT48, 2xJack110, 1xOmni10.5, 1xAutotuba, 1xT18, 1xSLA Pro, 1xW8, 1xW10

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Harley
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#12 Post by Harley »

novasak wrote:What's an easy way to do this with a circle saw? .
Just jot this down on a piece of paper and throw it in the hat along with any other death wishes you may have....and draw one out!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I'm shuddering just thinking about it! :o
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Dave Non-Zero
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#13 Post by Dave Non-Zero »

get one of these.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.j ... arch=false

They are probably even cheaper in the US.
-1 for thought terminating cliches.

Built and/or own:
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2 x DR280

novasak
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#14 Post by novasak »

Does this look like it would work? It's cheap from this site. way cheap.

http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/jb ... -15/Detail

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klocwerk
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Re: Safer and quicker way to cut piezos

#15 Post by klocwerk »

novasak wrote:Does this look like it would work? It's cheap from this site. way cheap.

http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/jb ... -15/Detail
That's sketchy...
Doesn't look like a real store, and that's a $700 saw.

I wouldn't expect to receive it, especially since it's called "Demo Store"

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