Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I was looking for doors and most of them I have found have rounded corners and I was wondering how to cut openings for them. I am not to good with a jig saw so I was wondering if there was an easier way to do it.

I was just thinking, is it possible to use a box cutter? I will just be cutting through 1/8" plywood.

Yep jigsaw, I don't think a box knife would do it on 1/8" plywood.
Just take it slow

If you are cutting 1/8", I would recommend that you use a fine tooth blade (higher TPI) and cut it from the backside of the sheet.

zlamb0002 wrote:I was just thinking, is it possible to use a box cutter? I will just be cutting through 1/8" plywood.

I used a box cutter to cut out my roof vent opening through 5.2mm luan plywood. It was straight cuts only. It took multiple passes along a metal straight edge and a fair amount of pressure. It was a nice clean cut but really alot of work. I'm not sure I would want to try and follow a curve with a box cutter.

You can always do a rough-cut with the jig saw, then go back with the belt sander and finish it off.

I would think most doors have some kind of trim, so being off a hair may not matter that much. A jig saw is really the way to go. With the pressure you'd have to use with a box cutter, I think your chances of hitting the line would be better with a jigsaw. Toypusher's advice is great, and I would add, scoring the line will help with tear-out.

If you really want a clean line, you'll probably have to use a circle cutter with a router with the correct radius. Seems like too much work to me though. I've also used a jig cut to the proper radius on a band saw, then used it to guide the router. Again, a lot of work to get something exact that's going to be covered. Keep in mind, I'm not a tear-dropper. (yet)

John

Router, jigsaw, rotozip or maybe chain drill using a small bit then join the dots and finish by wraping sand paper round a piece of large dowel and rubbing to the line. What ever gets the job done. I have used the last method when tools were short. It is slow but it works.

I've used a razor knife on 1/8". It works, but splinters the wood...

So, I use it where looks don't matter, but where they do, I use a fine tooth jig saw blade, go slow, and back the 1/8th with a piece of pine to keep splintering down.

zlamb0002 wrote:I was looking for doors and most of them I have found have rounded corners and I was wondering how to cut openings for them. I am not to good with a jig saw so I was wondering if there was an easier way to do it.

Jig saw quality is an important issue. I have two jigsaws, one is a B&D that cost about $10 when I bought it a few years ago. It has some play in it and the blade goes one speed straight up and down. It will not cut a straight line.
My second jigsaw is a Makita that cost about $130, it cuts in an orbital path and can split a pencil line if I go slowly and don't force the blade. So it seems the practice idea is not bad, but start with a quality tool. I don't use my jigsaw a lot but when I do, if I want good cuts, I pick a good sharp blade designed for the particular cut and the success rate is pretty good. Oh yeah, the cheap B&D jigsaw is the one I loan to the neighbor.