# Circular grooves



## ramblingroaddesigns (Jul 8, 2009)

Any suggestions on how to route circular grooves? I am building a faux ship's wheel and need to create a center wheel that looks like it is attached to an axle.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hello Beth and welcome to the forum. im not experienced enough to envision what your trying to do. normally to do circular grooves i would either use a template or a circle cutting jig, but will let someone who knows what they are talking about and what your trying to do answer your question.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Beth

Just about any circle jig will do the job,,you can make a quick one with some scrap wood and a nail for the center point.. 

http://www.routerforums.com/97319-post1.html

FAUX WOOD SHIPS WHEEL STYLE BAROMETER VINTAGE - eBay (item 250442209079 end time Jul-10-09 21:00:23 PDT)
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ramblingroaddesigns said:


> Any suggestions on how to route circular grooves? I am building a faux ship's wheel and need to create a center wheel that looks like it is attached to an axle.


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## rstermer (Apr 22, 2008)

Hi Beth: 
This is how to do it if you have a solid piece of wood you are going to use as the wheel. If you have already cut out the wheel and now want to add the groove, you may need to construct a plug to fill in the center.

To make circular grooves you will need safety glasses, earmuffs, dust mask, a drill and set of drill bits, a small nail at least 1-1/2" long, a hammer, a plunge router, a router bit of the width (and profile) of the groove you would like to make, a piece of 3/4" thick wood 4-6" wide and approx 6" longer than the radius of the groove and a set of router template guides, which you can purchase here:

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
(before you buy this make sure your router will accept this style of guide)

Mark the centerline on your piece of wood. At one end of the piece of wood, make a mark approx. 1" from the edge along the centerline. Now from that mark measure off a distance equal to the radius of the center of the groove you wish to cut. Make another mark along the centerline at that spot. From your template guide set select a template guide which has a larger inside diameter (hole) than the diameter of the router bit you will be using. At the second mark you made, drill a hole through your piece of wood equal to the outside diameter of the template guide you selected. At the first mark hammer the nail into your piece of wood so that the point barely sticks through the wood. Install the guide into your router and install the retaining nut onto the guide making sure it is snug. Install your router bit in the router making sure it is tight. Mark the center of the circle you will be cutting on your stock. Position the point of the nail on the mark you made and hammer it into your stock. Place the router on the circle jig with the template guide in the hole you drilled. Adjust your router to make the cut in three passes. Plug in the router and put on all your safety equipment- glasses, muffs and mask. Make the cut by turning on the router, plunging it into the work and rotating it in a circle using the nail as the pivot point.

Since you have never done this before, you should try making a test piece or two using scrap wood until you feel confidant you can do it without damaging your good wood.

good luck,
rstermer

Edit- On reading your other posts, it appears you know something about woodworking. I apologize if my post was at too elemerntary a level.
RAS


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## falk (Jul 24, 2009)

Here is a jig I built many years ago. You can either put a dowel in the center to match a center hole in your work piece, or use a dowel-centering pin which leaves a small dent in your work piece.

I used it to build the upper assembly of my Miatascope


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