# Making a Flat-Bottomed Candy Dish using a Router



## learnexperience (Jul 20, 2011)

Bob and Rick Rosendahl are going to show us how to have some fun by making candy dishes with a router. The shape chosen by Bob resembles a club and Rick is also going to answer a few questions about how to make a smooth bottom when making dishes. All this and more in episode 204 of the video series from The Router Workshop.

On this show we will be learning how to make a flat-bottomed candy dish using a router, how to use multiple guides to vary the size of patterns and how to make a radius using your router. Let us take a look at how Bob makes a candy dish in the shape of a club.

Bob has a neat little pattern cut out in the shape of a club fitting into the table where the router was earlier installed. The best part is that you can have shapes of any kind you want instead of the club. Bob has made sure that the pattern fits into a jig which has cleats at the bottom that fit into the table mount in place of the router. The material to be cut has been fitted into the pattern jig but is not the full-size of the jig. The piece that Bob is using has been fixed into place by using a filler piece on either side. To ensure that the pattern does not move while cutting the material Bob fixes a pin into the pattern thereby ensuring that it stays in place. Now it is time to set up the router and begin the cutting of the design.

Bob is using a plunge type router with a flat-bottom bit. The bit that is being used is 5/8 of an inch in diameter and three-quarters of an inch in length. Bob also inserts a brass guide into the router which is a 1-inch guide that fits into the base of the router. The depth of the router is set at 5/8 of an inch which will be the depth at which the router will be cutting into the material. Having set the router in the manner it is required Bob informs that it is important for you to move the router from the left to the right in line with the guide. You just have to follow the pattern along the edges and do not even have to be looking at the cutting. Bob makes a cavity in the center of the material to ensure that the debris collects in the center rather than remain all around the shape that is being cut. Switching on the power Bob is cutting away and getting into shape a club.

Bob has completed the first round of cutting the material with the router and has shown how debris collects within the cavity that was earlier created. Clearing the debris Bob gets back to the job all over again to ensure that the material is cut properly and leaves a smooth bottom after the job has been completed. This time Bob works crossways rather than around the pattern which enables to create a bigger cavity than before. Bob next begins working along the pattern of the club from left to right as he had mentioned earlier. Clearing the debris that has accumulated in the cavity Bob continues cutting the shape even as a pattern is now visible. Bob has to repeat the cleaning and cutting a couple of times until he gets the desired shape along with the kind of quality he wants. A final pass with the router into the pattern and Bob has the shape, that is required. Bob is through with cutting the candy dish, and it is now time for Rick to take over and show how we can make a smooth bottom again using a router.

Rick states that it will be the choice of router bits, which will determine how smooth the bottom will turn out to be along with the experience of the handler in using a router. Rick is using a flat-bottom bit and even going to change the guide and replacing it with one that is slightly smaller to clean up any rough edges that were left behind earlier. Rick fits into place the router bit and begins smoothening the rough edges of the club that Bob had earlier created. This seems like the easier part of the whole task as Rick just places the club over the router bit before switching on power and beginning the task of smoothening the edges. A single round and Rick has managed to smooth out the rough edges of the club.

Next Rick is going to show us how we can round over the edges of another piece using a router but by changing the bit. The shape that Rick is going to round over is pretty large but Rick has designed a home-made jig which will hold the piece to be cut in place. Rick changes the router bit to one that is 3/8 of an inch in size along with a guide that is similar in width. The home-made jig designed by Rick is perfect to hold the piece of material that has to be rounded. Rick warns that it is always advisable to cut along the grains rather than against them in order to avoid chipping of any kind. After completing one corner of the piece Rick flips it over to round over the other side. The results show instantly as you can see that the material now has rounded edges. The task comes up as simple and Rick also demonstrates another way the same task can be carried out using another home-made jig. Rick also demonstrates other ways, which can be used to round over pieces of wood that have already been shaped.

The results are visible to all to see as Bob and Rick show us how we can neatly cut different patterns without any difficulty by using a router. The instructions are simple to follow, and I did not have any difficulty in trying what Bob did in this episode. I hope that you will be able to enjoy using your router along with your imagination to create different shapes of your liking. I'll see you again with another episode of the video series soon.

Hi folks,

This is Rick Rosendhal and if you are reading this paragraph you are reading a paragraph that has been created by my selected woodworking beginner Harish. Harish has taken up to woodworking due to a change in the economic conditions which cost him his job. Not only does he feel that he can make a living from woodworking from home but is also enthusiastic about spreading information about how people without jobs or with spare time on their hands can earn an additional income from the comfort of their home with a small investment.

Harish is viewing all the Router Workshop videos, and then writing about the information he has picked up from a selected video. Looking at the way this man has been going ahead with his job, I feel that his articles can be of interest to those who want to follow his example. Join this special video series by clicking the link below, and you can get all information you need about the right usage of a router and the many ways you can use it to generate income for yourselves. Don't miss out on the benefits but start learning today and avail the benefits as many beginners are doing.

Click here to join The Router Workshop


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## dekfin6 (Dec 8, 2018)

It's really very helpful.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Here are two tutorials showing how I have made "dishes' with the router.


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