Cutting and shaping your materials are the fundamental tasks of your woodworking projects. Giving different kinds of shapes to a piece of wood needs a separate skillset. Hence, cutting a circle in wood may be a challenging job for some people. But no worry for you! This article will guide you step-by-step to learn how to cut a circle in wood or making a wooden circle.
How to Cut Wooden Circles with Different Saws
Thanks to the advanced cutting tools and technologies, woodworking becomes a subject of extreme fun. There are numerous tools for cutting circles in wood, and I will discuss the circle making process using various hand and power tools.
Without further delay, let’s see the cutting processes one by one.
Cutting Circle Using a Hole Saw
It is so simple to cut a circle in wood using a hole saw. All you need to do is, attach the hole saw to your drill, then start cutting as you already marked where to cut the circle. To avoid overheat, you have to pull back your drill repeatedly. It lets your tool get rid of dust.
But this technique has some drawbacks. You cannot make circles of irregular sizes. You may have difficulty cutting a circle on a thicker workpiece. Don’t worry; we have other methods to cut perfect circles of arguably any size.
Cutting Circle with a Router
Making a wooden circle with a router is fun. First of all, you need to buy or make a cutting jig. If you make your cutting using a jig, make sure it is adjustable to your router.
Once you made your cutting jig, now attach it to your router. The next action is, determine the radius of the intended circle. Then attach the jig with the center point of your workpiece by nailing them together. Make sure the jig can easily move clockwise. So, that’s it. Start moving the router clockwise and get your desired circle.
If you’ve to cut a circle in a thicker wood and your router doesn’t go all the way through the workpiece, you can use a jigsaw to cut off the spare part of your workpiece following the lines marked by your router. It is also helpful in cutting curves in wood.
Cutting Circle with a Band Saw
To cut even a smaller circle, you can use a band saw to get an overwhelming result. So, a band saw cuts straight lines, how come we use it to make a circle? Here is the process, you need to make a band saw cutting jig first.
A band saw cutting jig is different from a router cutting jig. To make a jig for your band saw, you need to use a rectangular wood piece. Cut a runner that is adjustable to the band saw’s miter slot. Attach the runner to a piece of wood using glue. Then cut the kerf to the extent of half the piece of wood.
Mark a line perpendicular to the front tip of the kerf. Then make a pinhole matching the radius of your desired circle. Your jig is now ready to use!
To cut round piece of wood, you need to attach the center point of your workpiece to the pivot pin of the jig. Finally, move your workpiece clockwise and let your band saw do the rest.
Also Read: Top 6 Band Saws Reviews.
Cutting Circle with a Table Saw
Again, you need to make a table saw circle cutting jig. But this one is easy to prepare. Make a runner that fits the table saw’s miter slot. Then mount it to a 3/4 piece of wood that almost touches the table saw’s blade.
Mark a line perpendicular to the saw’s blade. Make a pivot hole on the line and fix ahead cut-off pin in the hole.
Now find the center point of your workpiece. Make a pivot hole on the workpiece and attach it to the jig’s pivot pin. Start moving the workpiece clockwise until you cut perfect circles in wood.
Congratulations!! You have successfully learned how to cut wooden circles. The good news is that you can also master the art of cutting curves in wood by applying the above-mentioned techniques and tools.
Last Words
I hope you have clearly understood these methods of cutting a circle in wood. Now that you know the techniques of making jigs and using them, you can try all four methods when you need to make a wooden circle. Making circular tables or a piece of art has become an easy job for you.
Apply the techniques and go pro as a carpenter.
Also Read:
Top 6 Pole Saw Reviews in 2021.
Top 6 Track Saws for Pros and DIYers.
Top 6 Sawzall for DIYers & Professionals.
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