Project by sry | posted 10-08-2009 03:34 PM | 56611 views | 41 times favorited | 16 comments | ![]() |
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As you can see in the pictures, I’m currently in the middle of constructing a round table (my first real furniture project!!!), and needed a circle guide for my router. This is the design I came up with.
The jig attaches to my router (Bosch 1617) with two 3/8” steel rods, which are held together with a walnut block. They are attached to the block with epoxy and some small pins (nails, actually). The long bar is a piece of 3/4” extruded aluminum, epoxied into the block. The pivot pin is a small finish nail that I cut the head off and epoxied into the bottom of another walnut block. A thumbscrew through the top allows the pivot to be locked in place for a circle radius anywhere from about 8” up to over 40”.
One thing I didn’t think about beforehand is that the router is much heavier than the guide, and when I was routing the outside of my table top a counterweight (the clamp in the pictures). With a proper counterweight, I found that I could give it a little shove and the jig would spin freely almost 2 full revolutions before stopping. Another issue is that I couldn’t use any of my dust collection attachments with this jig, hence the pile of chips in the second pic. And that’s just from taking about 1/8” off the inside curve!
Total cost of materials: about $5
I have a sketchup drawing as well if anyone’s interested.
Comments and critiques are welcome and appreciated.
16 comments so far
PetVet
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329 posts in 4461 days
#1 posted 10-08-2009 03:46 PM
Great jig, Steve. I love homemade setups like this.
-- Rich in Richmond -- Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
RouterManiac
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96 posts in 4255 days
#2 posted 10-08-2009 04:02 PM
You would have probably paid $50 for that circle cutter and it would not have given you the dimensions you needed. Good job, would love to see the finished project.
-- Ken, Florida, www.theroutermaniac.com
RexMcKinnon
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2593 posts in 4169 days
#3 posted 10-08-2009 05:58 PM
Nice jig and looks like the beginning of a nice table.
-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!
lumberdustjohn
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1263 posts in 4140 days
#4 posted 10-08-2009 06:01 PM
Nice jig. What type of joinery did you use to put the table together with?
-- Safety first because someone needs you.
sry
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#5 posted 10-08-2009 06:08 PM
I assembled the table top in 2 rings of 12 segments each with dowels at the joints
Once the glue was dry on the rings, I glued them on top of each other with the joints staggered
When I was cutting the segments I mostly had to worry about the angles, since the excess would be trimmed with the router
I’ve been taking pictures of the whole project and might blog about it later (after delivery, since this project is supposed to be a surprise)
Pdub
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926 posts in 4154 days
#6 posted 10-08-2009 06:30 PM
Great jig! I’ll have to put this on my To-Do list. Thanks for sharing.
-- Paul, North Dakota, USAF Ret.
Wingstress
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339 posts in 4489 days
#7 posted 10-08-2009 06:34 PM
Great Jig, going in my favorites…
-- Tom, Simsbury, CT
jockmike2
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10635 posts in 5220 days
#8 posted 10-08-2009 10:42 PM
Nice jig, send it in to shopnotes and win a prize. Or wood or popularwoodworking or Whatever.
-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -
Jack Barnhill
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366 posts in 4340 days
#9 posted 10-08-2009 11:50 PM
It looks like you’re off to a good start on the table. I, for one, would like to see the SketchUp model. Good luck on the rest of your first real furniture project.
-- Best regards, Jack -- I may not be good, but I'm slow -- www.TinyWoodworks.com
tomakazi
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686 posts in 4257 days
#10 posted 10-09-2009 04:18 AM
Great jig!! I done some round frames like this for stained glass. Like an extior door jamb. About 1 1/2” on the outside and 3/4” on the inside. I would just keep building it up until I got to the thickness of the wall. I would make the trim on the bandsaw. At the time I didn’t know about Lumberjocks so I didn’t take too many pictures. Next time.
-- I didn't go to college, I was too busy learning stuff - Ted Nugent
Kent Shepherd
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2718 posts in 4260 days
#11 posted 10-14-2009 11:25 PM
Very nice. I always like to see new jigs. It certainly helps to be able to learn from others.
Great job
Thanks for sharing.
-- http://shepherdtoolandsupply.com/
a1Jim
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118153 posts in 4551 days
#12 posted 10-15-2009 12:31 AM
Good route trammel and nice start on your table too.
-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos
Dudley
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742 posts in 4234 days
#13 posted 12-18-2009 09:44 PM
Nice. How is the ring fastened to the jig table?
-- Dudley Young USN Retired. Sebastian, Fl.
sry
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147 posts in 4582 days
#14 posted 12-18-2009 09:49 PM
The ring is fastened to the table with double stick tape, as is the center block that the pivot pin slides into.
Although in this case it wasn’t all that necessary, since the squeezeout from gluing the ring together dripped and very firmly held it in place…oops
JAGWAH
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929 posts in 4058 days
#15 posted 12-18-2009 09:52 PM
Great jig! I built a 13’ dia. waterwheel using the same principle except I had to walk a bigger circle 1/4” plunge cuts at a time. I really like the versatility of your jig compared to my bandsaw circle jig in that it will do inside circles. I have a circular picture frame to build and your idea wii save me a bit of time.
-- ~Just A Guy With A Hammer~
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