Circle-Cutting Router Jig. All three of the previous techniques rely on having to buy a special bit or saw for each size hole you need to cut. This can get pricey. And what if you need to cut a really large hole, say 10” in diameter? All you need is one tool: a router. This is a great way to cut small or large holes. The main drawback is that the setup time takes longer than the other methods. A circle cutting jig for your router will produce round holes any size. How to make a circle-cutting jig for a router. Remove the base of your router. Attach a scrap of plywood to the base. Check out our large wood circles selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our blanks shops.  Etsy uses cookies and similar technologies to give you a better experience, enabling things like: basic site functions. ensuring secure, safe transactions. Cutting out circles on a band saw with a jig works on the same principle as the disc sander method. The workpiece turns on a pivot pin, and rotating it into the saw blade cuts a circle.  Just rotate the workpiece counterclockwise against the bit to rout the circle in one pass. Hold the workpiece down on its pivot, and rotate it counterclockwise against the bit to form a circle. If you need to make a different circle, whether larger or smaller, simply reposition the stop block to change the desired radius between the pivot nail and the bit. Then rout as previously described. No Centerpoint Circles.  The bit won't touch the wood, but it will still cut a perfect circle, as shown above. Sometimes, your projects may require circles without centerpoint holes in them.

It only takes a minute to sign up. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. I want to mount a Qi phone charger flush into my desk. So I need to put a circular hole into the desk that's about four inches across and a quarter-inch deep.

What is the appropriate tool for this job? Create a circular template route out the interior. You can adjust the depth very accurately and bottom of the depression should be pretty smooth. Hole saw, drill part way down just to depth or just past, not all the way down. Then with a chisel, remove the wood inside the circle. A 4" forstner bit would require a drill press, so you would need to put the desktop on Circle Cutting Wood University a drill press table to drill out the hole.

Depending on where the hole is located distance from edge of desktopthis could be very difficult with most drill presses a radial drill press would cutting a large circle in wood great for this, I love mine.

Stop the cut when the bottom of the tape meets the top of the desktop. You can use a router, but you will need to follow a template. Don't try to freehand "color inside the lines" with a router, you will probably ruin your desktop - definitely use a template. With regard to the type of router, I have a cutting a large circle in wood routers - a Tritan plunge router, a cheap Ryobi 2hp plunge router and a Dewalt trim router. I dig the Dewalt for small jobs like yours.

Get a good quality trim router like the Dewalt. With regard to bits, get a good straight plunge bit with a top bearing to follow the template. The router is the best power tool for this, but making an appropriate template will be a challenge. Finding a base for the router that has a pivot point so that you can make Circle Cutting Wood Tool a circle is a better way easier to go. I'm not surprised that no one has suggested a bit and brace.

This is "old" technology, but in this case I think it's the best solution. It won't require a drill press, a template or even an extension cord! It's cheaper than buying a new router and bits and such, and it will do the job.

OK, it's not a lot cheaper. In fact, it may be more expensive. But it will do the job. Just google "bit and brace adjustable" because you'll need to buy an adjustable bit to make a hole the size that you cutting a large circle in wood. You could use a Forstner bit, if you can find one large enough.

I've heard rumor of 4 Large Circle Wood Cutting Board inch bits, but wasn't able to find one online. Forstner bits try to do both at once, but it has been well-discussed that a 4 inch model requires a lot more force than your wrist can provide. Depth control is difficult. But a fly cutter will do exactly what you want: engrave a slot in the desktop X mm from the center. Once you have the outer slot cut you carve out the center with a router and a square bit, any convenient size.

While the router and template solution is a good cutting a large circle in wood particularly if you need to make a bunch of these holes it does have the small complication of requiring you to first make a template. For a single hole, a simpler solution would be to route out progressively larger holes using a combination of a rabetting and pattern bits.

The process starts with a more reasonably sized forstner bit one that you can handle freehand and that may actually be useful in the future. This hole is then enlarged using a rabetting router bit, running the bearing around the existing hole.

Next the pattern bit is used, with its bearing running along the larger hole made by the rabetting bit. This can be repeated as many times as necessary. As the brief article linked above mentions, you have to calculate out the the final size using the bearing offsets and the starting hole diameter.

The template can be attached to the desk using double stick carpet tape. Finally, if this is a desk you intend to keep longer than the charger, it would be convenient to make up some filler blanks to pop into the hole before you cutting a large circle in wood track of the template.

Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Cutting a large circle in wood Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Drill a large circular depression into a wood surface Ask Question. Asked 6 years, 6 months ago. Active 6 years, 6 months ago. Viewed 20k times. Improve this question. Ben Dilts Ben Dilts 2 2 gold badges 4 4 silver badges 10 10 bronze badges.

Does it matter if the hole has a deeper hole, just at the center like this? Whatever you do, I strongly suggest you practice it on scrap lumber before attempting it on the actual desktop.

Whenever possible, make your mistakes on something cheap! A router and a template. A forstner will make a mess of it. What type of wood is your desk? Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Use a router with a pattern bit or a pattern collar and a end-cutting plunge bit. Improve this answer. Craig Craig cutting a large circle in wood, 7 7 silver badges 14 14 bronze badges. I haven't used a router before. Is there a good introduction to routers fixed base?

I think I'd suggest a pattern collar on the router baseplate and an end-cutting plunge bit, rather than a pattern bit. Pattern bits are great things when you can run their bearing on the pattern, but if you're going to take successively deeper cuts which is definitely the safest way to do this a pattern bit won't handle that.

Collar does mean having to size the pattern to allow for the difference between bit radius and collar radius, but would allow coming down to the full depth in stages. Yes, this cut has cutting a large circle in wood start as a plunge; a plunge base makes that safer and more controlled. I'd re-emphasize my point above about "learn to use the tool on scrap, THEN do it for real", and routers require more respect and careful handling than a hand-drill does One caveat: Routers themselves aren't unreasonably priced, but there are so many cutting a large circle in wood they can do and each of those either requires or benefits from buying yet another bit Looking at the answers, I feel this is the best approach for the cleanest depression in the wood.

Additionally, if you want a nice 'finish' to the hole, and it's appropriate for your use, you can use a "tray" routing bit. It will leave rounded corners at the bottom of the hole instead of 90 degree corners. Having rounded corners will make it easier cleaning out the hole and just looks nicer I think. Plus, the torque required would put this in a bench press only usage. I'm offing a cheap option that can be had with off the shelf tools from a big box hardware store.

I'm not criticising, just pointing out that your answer and Tester's are agreeing about the general approach. And hole saw, because it isn't trying to chisel as it drills, needs a lot less torque.

A band of tape around it in the right place could cutting a large circle in wood as an indicator that the needed depth had been reached. Remember that if drilling down you may have to pause repeatedly to extract sawdust; might be worth considering turning the desk on its side or back so more sawdust gets thrown aside on its own. I think this is the best answer -- I'd be willing to bet that if OP is going to buy tools for this job, he'll get a lot more future use out of a 4" hole saw and a chisel than out of a 4" Forstner bit.

Show 1 more comment. Good luck!! Jenine Jenine 61 1 1 bronze badge. I don't see why a hand held drill would be an issue. I use mine all the time with a 3 inch forstner. Once does have to mind the angle and the pressure to prevent kickback or jams, but this is easily learned by trial and error, maybe even on a final piece. It isn't the safest method in the world, and it can lead to an injury. Of course, people are free to do as they please. I just didn't want to make that recommendation without clearly stating that this is cutting a large circle in wood. Jammed in the maple and the drill kept spinning.

Given he is asking this question, I didn't think trial and error was something he wanted to engage in. That seems safer to me. Michael Michael 41 2 2 bronze badges. You'd have to use a fly cutter, and the bottom of the hole would be nowhere near smooth.

What is a "adjustable bit"?

how do I make a large circular cut that needs to look good; how do I hollow out a large area to a pre-set depth; Forstner bits try to do both at once, but it has been well-discussed that a 4 inch model requires a lot more force than your wrist can provide. They're not cheap ($!!) . To cut out a circle with a spade bit, Forstner bit or hole saw, start the hole from one side of the piece of wood and finish it from the other. This prevents chipping. When cutting with a jigsaw, use a 1/2-inch drill bit to make a hole for the saw blade, ensuring that the outer edge of the hole just touches the line you scribed for the circle. Sep 26,  · There could be many ways to cut a circle with the jigsaw. One way could be to draw a circle on the wood and mark all the important points on it to assist while cutting with jigsaw. You mark the center of the circle, you mark lines from the central of the circle to the circumferential line at a regular interval to assist while cutting circle.

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