Cutting perfect 5 1/2" circles

[Bored Borg]

On Wed, 3 Dec 2008 21:04:28 +0000, MIKE- wrote (in article ):

I'm wondering if there's a market for a little trammel/harness with micrometer adjustment so this can be exploited properly. An on/off switch incorporating a rectal electrode would be essential, and maybe with frequency modulation we could persuade the little fellah to work on variable speeds. Different beak profiles.. hmmm....

After use he could plugged into a charger unit full of chocolate-coated ants or pizza or whatever, ready for the next day.

I don't see any problems with any of that. None at all...

[Dick Snyder]

I have a cross cut sled already but didn't want to make holes in it so I essentially made a second one based on this idea as reported earlier by Larry W

diameter circles. That is what I ended up using to do the wheels. Lots of passes but they came out fine.

[Dick Snyder]

I was in Lowes recently and took a look at hole saws even though I went with the approach mentioned at this website. Those hole saws are VERY expensive.

[Charlie Groh]

...yeah, they can get a little pricey. I'm constantly buying tools and such for my biz, which is *me*, so hardly ever think about that aspect, I just write it off and have another tool...been in the biz long enough to have worn through a third generation of some things. That said, I've *always* valued my personal time highly...if it can be done with a machine, or in a more timely manner via a combination of machine(s) and good technique...well, I'm on it! This is not intended to cheapen the "zen" involved with our passion...don't get me wrong, if I could afford to sit on a hilltop crosslegged, sharpening chisels with a waterstone, I'd consider the religious aspect of such a meditation...but, for now anyway, it's a stationary belt sander, glass and sandpaper...and if I'm anywhere near a client who owns a machine shop I get *him* to do it! FWIW, now that we've gone this far on this thread, I don't know that I *would* use my holesaw...might be a little sloppy... ;O)

cg

[mac davis]

Exactly, until all the kids in the neighborhood want a truck..lol

Tools, jigs, costs, time, etc. all have to be factored in when you're only doing

4 wheels..

I'll admit it... I did a couple of small wood "train sets" a few years ago, and after reviewing my options, I bought the wheels from Lee Valley..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Bob Meyer]

[Lew Hodgett]

You could always fly cut 5-9\16", the stack and clamp 4 blanks on a

1/4" bolt which then gets chucked in a drill press.

Clean up a set of 4 to insure uniformity using a right angle jig and sand paper.

Lew

[Martin H. Eastburn]

The word perfect is not to be used in wood or metal. Nothing can be perfect.

Close. Nice. Cut oversize and then mount on a metal rod. Spin rod and sand all at the same time while keeping the centerline parallel to the surface of the sander.

Mart> I need to cut four 5 1/2" wheels out of 3/4" oak for a toy I am making for

[Bob AZ]

Dick

You have received many good ideas. All I can offer is to cut the wheels out on my lathe. All of them at once - for a perfect match. How may wheels do you need/want?

Bob AZ

[RM MS]

rough out te wheel on the bandsaw. push a small nail through thin plywood or whatever, with the nail pointing UP, poke the center of the wheel with it and lay this down on the disc sander with the wheel on top. clamp the plywood to the sander table and spin the wheel, tapping the fixture ever slightly closer to the sander disc until desired dia is reached. use OD calipers to check progress.

[Dick Snyder]

Thanks for the offer Bob but I am done with the 4 wheels. I *did* receive a bunch of good ideas. I went with the tablesaw jig which worked out fine but required a lot of passes per wheel. If I have to do this again I will choose another of the ideas suggested here.

Ti

[Father Haskell]

+/- how many 0.001"?

Go into the attic and hang a mirror across the "doorway."

[-MIKE-]

Didn't find those markings on my Stanley 25 footer.

It got sided, that day. :-)

[Kevin]

long thread here.. maybe this one was already mentioned..

I made my own 6" dust collection blast gates, so I needed to cut many 6" holes (wheels as scrap.. would have been pretty close to 5-3/4")

I made a simple router jig. They sell ones with the pin holes positioned for various sizes. I made one for my exact needs. It's basically a baseplate with a hole in it such that the math works out to cut a 6" hole. So the pin radius, plus gap, plus the bit size (used the smallest plunge straight bit I had) equals the radius of the circle. I think I used a nail for my pin. I cut the pin to be the right length as it was under the router.

example jig.. you can make your own if you only have a few sizes you want to cut.

shoud now get the idea.. basically a baseplate with a pin hole to pivot the router around. The pin hole could well in fact be under router for smaller circles.

To hold this all together -- use double stick tape. I'd suggest good quality tape. You really don't want the piece coming loose. If I recall correctly the biggest annoyance is I wanted to cut the hole in the assembly -- which was two pieces of 3/4" material and one piece of 1/4" material for a thickness of 1-3/4". I could not plunge that deep, so I had to cut down on one side, and then flip.