Hi Roger, You have already had several good recommendations. Usually the preferred tool is either a band saw or a jig saw because of their depth and speed of cut. Sighted people might try following a drawn circle then smoothing it off later but most would use a stick or bar pivoted at one end and measuring the radius from the centre to the outside dimension of the circle for the jig saw or a special jig on the band saw.
When I do a circle I usually use the stick/jigsaw method to rough out the circle ending the stick short by the distance from the edge of the shoe of the saw to the blade, I think an inch and a quarter, I always have to measure because I can never remember. I then make another stick suitable to guide a router with a straight cutting bit and run it around to refine the cut to a very smooth one. For something thick like maybe a patio table top you won't be able to true it up with a router. Where I don't want a mark on the surface I have both used double sided tape to hold a block onto which I pivot my jig but need to fix an offset so the guide stick will lay flat on the work and I have also cut a guide circle template out of something like thin plywood or preferably something like masonite. I hope soon to have a belt/disk sander to use to smooth and true the edge rather than a second run with a router or you could also form a jig to guide the circle around against a oscillating spindle sander. I have recently discovered a hand held spindle sander something like a router I thought might be pretty cool, I think made by Porter Cable. That might work well too. Hope this helps and good luck. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: Rodger Hood To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007 11:45 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] cutting a circle Can anyone tell me how to cut a circle out of a sheet of plywood for a table? I have all the saws and tools for most things but am still learning from your shows how to use them in different ways. I need to make a few different jigs for different shapes and could enjoy hearing from you on how to make them. Thanks for your helping advice. Rodger Hood in Fresno, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
