Popular Post lewisc Posted May 5, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 Just wanted to share a circle cutting jig I made up today. I've seen a few of them that slide to cut different size circles but this is set up to cut the same size circle for some stool tops. I glued a couple of hardwood runners onto a piece of ply Screwed and glued a stop on the edge Made a cut up to the stop. Marked a line 90˚ to the blade Measured the radius and drilled a 6mm hole super glued a small piece of steel in the hole To make the cut, the blank needs a 6mm hole drilled into the underside of it. It fits on top of the plywood (Apart from doing it freehand, I'm not yet sure how to make this without the hole). I then slide the jig off the bed Line the blank up with the piece of steel Push the jig forward until it hits the stop Slowly rotate the blank until a full circle is cut. It needs some slight sanding but the results are much better than doing it freehand. The hole goes on the underside and can be epoxied or left as is. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted May 5, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 Nice jig,@lewisc. If you need to avoid the center hole in tge work piece, I've used a similar jig (smaller, though) and attached a scrap of ply to the bottom of the work with carpet tape. The hole goes only in the ply. The scrap can be slightly bigger than the pivot hole, if you support the work at the cutting point with another small scrap of equal thickness. Cool look for a stool seat, btw. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted May 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2017 Thanks. I'll have to try that out. The ease of using the jig outweighs a small hole in the bottom but if it can be avoided, even better. The top is made from scraps. I've got another that is the opposite in colour thAt will be a matched pair. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Nice. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 Yes, that method does work great. I've used it a few times myself. It almost guarantees a perfectly round cut and it's quite fast when compared to routing circles. You can have a smaller hole if you just use a screw up through the table and then carefully drop the work down onto the screw point in the right position, It will be a smaller hole, but will still be there. If you really wanted to avoid the hole you could attach another likely smaller piece of wood to the bottom of the work with double sided tape and have the center hole in this scrap piece, thereby eliminating the hole in the work piece, but it's usually not worth the effort, since nobody ever really looks at the bottom of tables, etc. anyway. That's going to be a couple of interesting,...table tops?? Or what are they going to be? I want to see the rest when they are finished..You are definitely off to a good start. Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted August 6, 2017 Report Share Posted August 6, 2017 I was looking at the Carter jig a while back, while on their site looking at guides, and wondered why any woodworker would buy one. I've used one like yours for a long time, and have never had to make another one because of too many holes for the center pin, but I don't turn stuff very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post lewisc Posted August 7, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 They were for some stool tops. I never actually used those ones because once they had been cut, I didn't like the look of them. I liked the idea of it but once they had been put together, they never clicked with me. It could've had something to do with Dennette's table from a few months ago. The final stools looked like this: Not the usual type of project for this forum. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 Lewis, don't be silly. This forum runs the gamut from pulled pork to padouk. These stools definately fit in. Nice work! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klappco Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 Dandy Discs Dude! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted August 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 8 hours ago, K Cooper said: This forum runs the gamut from pulled pork to padouk. Yeah, Good point. One thing I enjoy about this forum is the amount of 'best practice' knowledge that is shared. Most of the time the tips/processes and methods work on so many different projects. I finished these with a wipe on poly (sanding between coats) and it was so easy. I've added another finishing method to my tool belt that I probably wouldn't have come across if it wasn't for this forum. My oil blend finish has taken a back seat in the last few months. It's still useful for some projects but now I know a little better that it's not for everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted August 7, 2017 Report Share Posted August 7, 2017 Very functional and well made. I like them. The original rounds looked bigger than that, so I thought you were making tables. Yes, they belong here. Thanks for the post. Charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted August 8, 2017 Report Share Posted August 8, 2017 Looks like woodworking to me. How did you sand the edges? I would have screwed on a faceplate, and smoothed the edges on a lathe. I made a faceplace centering "jig" that uses the hole for the circle jig pin as the center, by finding a holesaw that left a plug the same size as the I.D. of the screw hole in my faceplates. Circle jig pin is same size as center bit in holesaw. It automatically centers the faceplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted August 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2017 The lathe might've been easier. I went straight the the upright belt sander and rotated them until smooth not staying in one spot too long. I finished them off by hand after putting a round over on each edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharleyL Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 The same jig as the band saw or a similar jig can be used with a stationary belt or disk sander to make the circles perfectly round and smooth after cutting them on the band saw. Charley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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