# Building a Circle Cutting Jig



## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

I had some time to spend in the shop this past weekend. Our shop was closed on Friday and Monday, so I wound up with a four day weekend. I was burning the midnight oil out in the shop, taking advantage of the time off, and not having to get up at my usual 4:00 AM.

I have been wanting to make some bowls and trays with my router, but needed a way to cut a round hole to make a template. I have also been wanting to make a circle cutting jig, so I set forth to do just that.

This is by no means my design, as a matter of fact, I copied the one that Harry uses, and I know James built one like it. This is just my version, and I thought I would document the build to share, and hopefully help others.

Thanks!


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Boy, Darrin, I am jealous...

You put a lot of work into that jig, and it shows.

Congratulations.....

Now we want photos of the bowls.........VBG.


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Nice work, Darin! I will copy if You don't mind?


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

jw2170 said:


> Boy, Darrin, I am jealous...
> 
> You put a lot of work into that jig, and it shows.
> 
> ...


James,
Thanks James! 

I do intend to get pictures of the bowls, all the way from making the templates to finishing the bowls.


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

dutchman 46 said:


> Nice work, Darin! I will copy if You don't mind?


Thanks Howard! You copy and distribute all you want; if it will motivate someone else to build it, that would be great. The one thing I forgot to add was the distance from the end of the jig to the first pivot hole, and the distances between the rest of them. I will post that information this evening.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

darrink said:


> Thanks Howard! You copy and distribute all you want; if it will motivate someone else to build it, that would be great. The one thing I forgot to add was the distance from the end of the jig to the first pivot hole, and the distances between the rest of them. I will post that information this evening.


What a first class outcome Darrin and the photo-shoot, well, what can I say, it's just super.
The one thing that I did differently was the mounting of the rods, which for the Makita 3612/C is 12mm, I actually routed 12mm holes that made the rods an interference fit, and before driving them in I ground flats and drilled 1/4" countersunk holes in the mounting block. After driving in the rods I poured super strength Araldite into the holes and the rods have remained in place during 11 years of regular work. 
This shot clearly shows these Araldite filled holes.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Nice job Darrin. You can heat the Formica with a heat gun so it will bend to shape. Wear gloves to prevent burns; you can cut a form slightly smaller than your opening from scrap wood to help get the shape. You might want to put a slight chamfer on the jig edges; Rockler may still have a PC chamfering bit on clearance for a couple dollars.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Darrin

Nice job  on the jig and the PDF file 
At one time back in 2007 I had one like that and then I found out about the Jasper jig and the old cir.jig got reworked for other jobs I don't have the rods and the holding block any more must be on some other jig  maybe..

Once you have a Jasper jig you will put all other cir.jigs on the wall..with the Jasper you don't need fix it to the router in anyway it's a simple drop the guide in place and cut the cir.out and it will work on about 95% of routers without pushing any rods in to the base of the router.. 

Amazon.com: Jasper 200J Model 200 Circle Cutting Jig for Plunge Router: Home Improvement
Amazon.com: Jasper 400J Model 400 Router Circle Cutting Jig: Home Improvement
======



darrink said:


> I had some time to spend in the shop this past weekend. Our shop was closed on Friday and Monday, so I wound up with a four day weekend. I was burning the midnight oil out in the shop, taking advantage of the time off, and not having to get up at my usual 4:00 AM.
> 
> I have been wanting to make some bowls and trays with my router, but needed a way to cut a round hole to make a template. I have also been wanting to make a circle cutting jig, so I set forth to do just that.
> 
> ...


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

harrysin said:


> What a first class outcome Darrin and the photo-shoot, well, what can I say, it's just super.
> The one thing that I did differently was the mounting of the rods, which for the Makita 3612/C is 12mm, I actually routed 12mm holes that made the rods an interference fit, and before driving them in I ground flats and drilled 1/4" countersunk holes in the mounting block. After driving in the rods I poured super strength Araldite into the holes and the rods have remained in place during 11 years of regular work.
> This shot clearly shows these Araldite filled holes.



Thanks Harry! Yours is much cleaner looking without the nuts and washers, that's for sure. I had contemplated using threaded inserts and set screws to hold the rods in place, but I didn't think the wood would hold up to the pressure exerted by the set screws. Another idea was to use a threaded insert that the rods would thread right into, but I did not have any that size. I remembered that you had epoxied yours in place, but I did not have confidence in that method, but it appears you have proved it does hold up. I was not able to find any 12MM rod locally, so I settled for the 7/16" (~11.11mm).

Anyway, it was an enjoyable build and my dad came over a couple of times when he seen the lights on in the shop and we visited, which is always good.


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

Mike said:


> Nice job Darrin. You can heat the Formica with a heat gun so it will bend to shape. Wear gloves to prevent burns; you can cut a form slightly smaller than your opening from scrap wood to help get the shape. You might want to put a slight chamfer on the jig edges; Rockler may still have a PC chamfering bit on clearance for a couple dollars.


Thanks Mike! I may try the heat gun on another project. Since I have waxed the MDF, I doubt the contact cement would hold on this one. I used a file to take the sharp edges off of the laminate after I trimmed it with the flush trim bit. Yet another step I left out of the photo shoot.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Bob, sometimes an EXACT size hole or disc is required and the Jasper is not INFINITELY variable.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Darrin, for quite tight curves iron-on edging strip applied with a hot air gun has always worked for me. I've never tried Mike's method of heating Laminex.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

" not INFINITELY variable " = true but with a bigger bit or smaller bit it's not a big deal//  the pivot pin holes are setup at 1/16" spacings..

=====


harrysin said:


> Bob, sometimes an EXACT size hole or disc is required and the Jasper is not INFINITELY variable.


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## AzViper (Apr 18, 2011)

darrink said:


> Thanks Harry! Yours is much cleaner looking without the nuts and washers, that's for sure. I had contemplated using threaded inserts and set screws to hold the rods in place, but I didn't think the wood would hold up to the pressure exerted by the set screws. Another idea was to use a threaded insert that the rods would thread right into, but I did not have any that size. I remembered that you had epoxied yours in place, but I did not have confidence in that method, but it appears you have proved it does hold up. I was not able to find any 12MM rod locally, so I settled for the 7/16" (~11.11mm).
> 
> Anyway, it was an enjoyable build and my dad came over a couple of times when he seen the lights on in the shop and we visited, which is always good.


Darrin looks like another jig has been made on Harry's design. I made mine a few months ago and it works like a charm for my needs...


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

AzViper said:


> Darrin looks like another jig has been made on Harry's design. I made mine a few months ago and it works like a charm for my needs...


Jig came out nice!:yes4:


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Nice and clean looking Keith but if you were to make another one it would be nice to forget the nuts and tap threads into the block, the rods will never shift (would I lie to you)!


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## AzViper (Apr 18, 2011)

Harry I am not concern of the rods shifting at all. The holes I bored the rods are very tight prior to tightening the nuts. Now that the nuts have been tighten and compressing the plastic the rods are nearly impossible to remove even after the nuts have been removed...


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

I find mine quick and useful. I have been cutting holes and disks for my new Drill Press table.


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

Mike Wingate said:


> I find mine quick and useful. I have been cutting holes and disks for my new Drill Press table.


Mike,
Yours and the one Keith made look great compared to the one I made.

I know this is a router forum, but how about some pictures of the drill press table? I have one of those planned for the future, and always like to see the ideas of others.

Thanks!


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

darrink said:


> Mike,
> Yours and the one Keith made look great compared to the one I made.
> 
> I know this is a router forum, but how about some pictures of the drill press table? I have one of those planned for the future, and always like to see the ideas of others.
> ...


Here is a link to a very nice one that George made a while back Darrin.

http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/13991-table-my-new-drill-press.html


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

harrysin said:


> Here is a link to a very nice one that George made a while back Darrin.
> 
> http://www.routerforums.com/show-n-tell/13991-table-my-new-drill-press.html


Thanks Harry! That just happens to be the same kind of drill press I have.

d


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## argoknot (Dec 7, 2009)

Wonderful presentation Darrin and a fine looking jig.


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

argoknot said:


> Wonderful presentation Darrin and a fine looking jig.


Thanks John! Hope you found it useful and inspiring, and I hope to see some of your projects in the future.


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## Alan Bienlein (Oct 17, 2009)

Very nice and detailed instructions for the jig. I think one of these will be in my future.


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## Oregonwoodworker (Nov 28, 2011)

*Dremel circle cutter tool*

Here is a dremel circle cutter I built several years ago for the sound hole and Rosette
channel for the guitar I built worked great I sold it on E bay.
I wish I still had it I need to build another one some day. its a plunge router with a stop and micro adjustment so you can adjust the router depth and diameter. worked great.


-Larry


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## KenBee (Jan 1, 2011)

I'm with Bob. 

While you did an exemplary job with the jig I find it cumbersome and with a large footprint compared to the Jasper jigs and several other acrylic made jigs.

No offense, just my take on the jig.


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## darrink (Sep 7, 2009)

Ken Bee said:


> I'm with Bob.
> 
> While you did an exemplary job with the jig I find it cumbersome and with a large footprint compared to the Jasper jigs and several other acrylic made jigs.
> 
> No offense, just my take on the jig.


Ken,
Thanks for the input, and no worries, I am not offended in any way. That's what makes this forum what it is.

I for one have not tried the Jasper jig, so I can't comment on it. Building this jig was a way to also improve my woodworking skills. I may try the Jasper in the future though.

Thanks again!


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