# Cutting Board, Rounded Corners w/Juice Groove



## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

Any ideas on how best to make rounded corners and a juice groove that follows the outer profile of the board? Here is a picture of what I am trying to replicate.










My biggest problem seems to be getting an accurate round corner. I don't want to draw an arc on the board and cut to it. I can't find good corner templates that will allow me to route them easily. Also, I am stumped to figure out how to get the juice groove to follow the outer profile so closely. It would be difficult to make full size templates as additional boards may not be the same overall size.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Brad


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

bradleyjere said:


> Any ideas on how best to make rounded corners and a juice groove that follows the outer profile of the board? Here is a picture of what I am trying to replicate.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi Brad - I would be tempted to make my own templates. Fairly easy to do with a circle jig on your router. I'd make 4 for the outside corners and 4 for the trough corners. Fill in any area between them with straight pieces of template material. You can adjust them for any size board by changing the length of the straight filler pieces as long as you don't change the radius or offset.


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## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestion, that sounds like it would work pretty good. I think the issue I will have with your method is the size of the radius I would like to use for the outside corners. I know I didn't mention this in my original post but I am looking to use 1" to 1.5" radius in order to preserve as much cutting space as possible. This is also why I want to keep the juice groove as close to the outside edge as possible.

I would like to build templates to achieve this and I think I have a good idea how to go about it. My problem with the templates is the same as the actual board. I don't have a good way to create a consistent arc for the outside corners.

I know that the easiest way to get what I want would be to use a large round over bit to make my template but I can't afford to buy one. And really, I would need to buy two because I would need to create the offset template with the offset radius.

The only other method I am aware of is to use something round to trace the curve on a corner, use a saw to remove the majority of the material and then sand to the line. Normally I would say this is good enough and be done with it except that I don't have good sanding equipment and I am concerned that it will be difficult for me to create my offset template where the tool path will be concentric to the outer edge.

I know that I am splitting hairs and I probably will get good enough results with some combination of the above methods. I have hesitated to post this because I feel like I already know the answer. Short of having a CNC machine, I am not going to achieve a perfect result and I need to accept "good enough".


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Grooves on corners are quite difficult without a jig, but, you could make an addittion to you fence thus, to make it easy to rout around the corner, I have done it often and this piece is many years old and is fitted when needed.

Picture 074.jpg (363.0 KB)


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Hi Bradley

Some suggestions for templates to create your corner templates:-

Cut-outs from hole saws (I use 44mm or 1-3/4in on kitchen installs - the "core" left by drilling out a hole for pipework is about 42mm or 1-5/16in diameter)

Tin cans from the kitchen (50 to 100mm or 2 to 4in diameter)

Slice of domestic waste pipe from kitchen (38mm or 1-1-2in diameter)

Old glass coaster (38 to 50mm or 1-1/2 to 2in diameter)

Slice of broom handle (25 to 38mm or 1 to 1-1/2in diameter)

Any of the above could be attached to the underside of a piece of plywood (glue, screws, etc) and routed around using a straight template bit to make a corner radius template. Once you've made one it can be used to rout the four corners of a rectangular piece of plywood or MDF to form a full size template for the groove or the outside of the workpiece.

Edit: with apologies to those who read and were confused by my original post. It has been pointed out to me that only a few folk like Harry and myself have the great big 40 and 50mm guide bushes required to use my original technique, so I've amended my scriblings to reflect the smaller size of P-C guide bushings. Wherever possible use a jigsaw or bandsaw to rough cut components to within 1/8in of the final dimensions. This is how I'd make such a cutting board

Tools required: 

1/2in diameter coving bit and 3/4in OD guide bush
1/4in rebate cutter
1/2in straight template trim bit with top bearing (or flush trim bit with bottom bearing)

Make-up a full size template for the outside of your cutting board in 3/4in MDF or plywood using the corner templates and template trim bit to round off the corners.

Cut a slightly larger piece of template material (same thickness). Place this on top of the first template, clamp together and drill through in 2 or 3 places. Knock in dry dowels to hold the pieces together. Mark the orientation so that if separated they can be put back together in alignment.

Using the rebate cutter with the bearing running against the round cornered (large) template trim the rough cut second piece so that it is 1/4in smaller all round than the original

Separate the two pieces. Run a 1/4in rebate around the smaller piece about 3/8in deep. Make a second pass the trim this rebate off using the template trimmer. The smaller template is now 1/2in smaller than the large template

Repeat the above step to end up with a small template which is 3/4in smaller diameter than the large template.

Fix the smaller template onto the piece of timber you wish to rout. Fit the larger template half back onto the smaller one using the dowels.

Rout round the outside of the material to get a round-cornered blank

Remove the larger template piece. Fit a 3/4in guide bush onto the router and install the 1/2in coving bit. Rout around the (smaller) template to produce a 1/2in wide juice groove which is inset by 1/8in from the outer edge

Hope that makes sense

Regards

Phil


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

I've had great success using this simple to make jig, the board and jig are clamped to the bench. The easy way that I've routed the groove is with a core box bit and an edge guide on the router, making sure that the router remains perpendicular to the board whilst going around the corner. I've just been searching through my computer for shots of a laminated Jarrah/American Oak cutting board that I made some time ago which had rounded corners and a groove, made as described, but alas I can't find the shots.


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## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

Thank you Derek and Phil for your suggestions! I really appreciate your taking the time to respond!

Derek, I am a little unclear how to use your suggestion. It looks like you shaped a piece of wood to fit your edge guide, but how does that help route around corners?

Phil, thank you for the detailed explanation of how you would build these templates! I am sure this has been mentioned in other posts but it is the first time I heard the suggestion to screw the round piece being used for it's curve directly to the template so it can be used directly as a bearing guide! Very useful piece of advice! Additionally, I like the technique of two templates registered with dowels and using a rebate bit with guide bushing to achieve the smaller offset template path! Also, it was enlightening to consider routing the juice groove before the outside of the board.

Again, thank you all for taking the time to help me!

Brad


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## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

harrysin said:


> The easy way that I've routed the groove is with a core box bit and an edge guide on the router, making sure that the router remains perpendicular to the board whilst going around the corner.


Hi Harry, thank you for your suggestion too! Could you please describe how you use the edge guide when going around the corner? I tried this technique on some scrap wood and I had a very difficult time going around the corner.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

bradleyjere said:


> Hi Harry, thank you for your suggestion too! Could you please describe how you use the edge guide when going around the corner? I tried this technique on some scrap wood and I had a very difficult time going around the corner.


It's rather late now (10.30pm) so tomorrow I'll try to find time to set-up a demonstration.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

harrysin said:


> It's rather late now (10.30pm) so tomorrow I'll try to find time to set-up a demonstration.


Apologies for the delay, I have several projects on the go, both wood and metal that I had no free bench space and little time, I eventually brought out my rarely used B&D workmate.
Hopefully these photos will explain everything.


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

John, you've had a very good explanation of how to make rounded corners, which is the only and well tested way, where I showed you a pointed edge guide for your router fence I have found no better way to put a groove in a board that is shaped than by using one of these, but you must be very careful not to wander when routing.


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## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

Thank you for the details Harry! That is another great way to achieve the desired result. I appreciate the time you took to post the pictures and explanation!

Brad


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

bradleyjere said:


> Thank you for the details Harry! That is another great way to achieve the desired result. I appreciate the time you took to post the pictures and explanation!
> 
> Brad


Any time Brad, that's what this forum is all about, and because I'm well into retirement I enjoy and have the time to SHOW what I'm talking about.


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## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the great suggestions! I ended up finding a nice corner template set from woodhaven that was exactly what I needed for the outside radii. (My problem is I was a mechanical designer and I can't get exact numbers and fractions out of my head!)

For my juice grooves I finally broke down and gave up (for now) my dream of a universal template that works on any size board I create. I actually found some very interesting stuff in the Woodhaven catalog that seems like it would work awesome, but I don't have the money to buy that sort of thing now.

Anyway, I decided that I need to create a unique inner template for every board. I measure the overall outside dimensions of my board and I subtract the appropriate offset. (Less the amount of ledge on the outside, cutter diameter and template bushing offset times two.) Then I cut a piece of MDF on my table saw to the new dimension and round off the outside corners using my handy corner templates. I locate the template on the cutting board using a spacer equal to my calculated offset (flush to all 4 outside walls) and hold it in place with double sided tape. Several times around with a plunge router and I'm good to go!

I have attached a few pictures of some of the boards I have made with this method. I am very grateful for this community that helped me brainstorm and eventually come up with a great solution!

Brad


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Top notch results Brad.


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

What excellent work!!!


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## bradleyjere (May 1, 2006)

Thank you for your kind praise! It means a lot to get positive feedback from people who know what they are doing!


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