# how to I route an edge on a small oval



## stripper (Nov 27, 2012)

Hi, I would like to route an edge on a small oval (3"x2") and a diamond about the same size 3/8" thick with fancy veneer. These will be used to decorate boxes I am making. Any suggestions will be helpful.

Thanks


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I would use a bearing guided profile bit. If you are only doing part of the edge then it will be all you need. If you are routing a profile on the entire edge I would stack 2 identical ovals on top of each other and use one as the guide. You can hold them together with double sided carpet tape but use the good quality tape. The poorer quality ones will creep on you.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

The OP (joel) said boxes with a "fancy veneer"...

So the question before routing a profile edge would be if the stock is solid wood (includes glue-up wood panels) with a surface veneer applied or veneered plywood with a hardwood band edge applied around it's edges?

The concern (in my mind) is not really the surface veneer, but with the material that you would be cutting the edge profile into... Does that sense? 

When most people mention a veneer, they are talking about a veneered plywood. On exposed edges or where I am going to have a profile cut into such, I usually put in a hardwood edge band around it, thick enough to cut that profile into... So that there is "wood" there to cut the profile into. Edge bandong also covers the laminations of the plywood, making it look like solid wood.

Now if you were talking about veneer "inlays," that would be another story and explanation. At the turn of the 20th century, "fancy veneer" work in high end furnishing were synonymous. Even today, some think solid wood... but I and others feel that fancy and intricate veneer work is an art... And I salute "Jerry Bowen" with his homemade walnut veneers in the furnishings he built and shared here. (Did anyone else pick that out besides me?)


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## stripper (Nov 27, 2012)

Thanks fr the answers guys. As usual I was thinking faster thenI can type. What I really want to know is how to hold these small pieces when I rout them. They are to small to start on the guide pin. Mike These are solid pieces (no plywood) with burl walnut veneer on them. I was thinking of using a push block and just raising the bit a little at a time. Any comments will be welcome.

Thanks.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Then as Charles said, with bearing guided profile bit, using a curtain fence with the curtains closed close to the bit... Just using a pin as a guide on something that small would not be a good idea in my way of thinking.

If you are having concerns of holding and controlling work that size... I would use a small parts jig. That could mean a jig that looks like a wooden clamp that holds it on opposing sides. (Could actually be a clamp.) Or it could ride clamped onto a coping sled.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

stripper said:


> Hi, I would like to route an edge on a small oval (3"x2") and a diamond about the same size 3/8" thick with fancy veneer. These will be used to decorate boxes I am making. Any suggestions will be helpful.
> 
> Thanks


If you intend to makes multiple identical copies of these items then I would suggest making a template and using a template guide and face cutter, and if this is the case and you require help, just ask. For a one or two off or different shapes/sizes then the ski mounted router is probably the best approach. These shots should give you an idea of what I'm talking about, as the shots show, there are four different sets of skis which I have made over the years and members of the forum have made many different versions based loosely on these. The work-piece is held to the fence with quality double sided tape.


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## stripper (Nov 27, 2012)

Thanks Mike, and Harry, you both had great ideas. I tried a small parts jig, it worked well on the oval, after I added another piece on top of the one I was cutting to keep it flat on the table. The diamond was to small and the wrong shape for the jig, so I used a push block on it. It came out nice.

I like the ski idea, it is like a pantograph. I am not into making jig as much as I am into using them. The skis do not look that hard to make so I may try them some day. 

Thanks again for the help.


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## schmitt32linedrill (Apr 23, 2013)

You might be able to use the table mounted router with a pilot bearing bit safely if you screw a wood handle of some sort to the back of the oval work piece. With the work piece face down you could screw a piece of wood, possibly 6 inches by 18 inches centered across the back, so you would have a good solid thing to hold onto to move and control the cutting. That is if you can live with a couple of screw holes in the back of the part.


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