dadiOH wrote:
WonderMonkey wrote:
I'm making some yard items for youth activities. One of them is a
football. Here is a picture of somethig real close to what I will
be doing: http://www.henrynet.com/stuff/yard/football1.jpg . I've
used the
search function here for advice but didn't find anything that fit.
If you know of another thread, please give me a hint and I'll go
there. OK, right now I plan on drawing my template, and using my
jigsaw to cut the arc. My problem revolves around making a smooth
curve instead of what I usually do. Any advice for using the jigsaw
for this?

You can forget about the template if...

1. You determine the radius of the arc you want to cut.

2. Take a 2-4" wide piece of ply a bit longer than the radius

3. Attach your jigsaw to the end of #2

4. Nail the other end of #2 to the ply you want to cut (one nail only)
so distance bladenail equals desired radius. Enlarge the nail hole
in #2 so it is the same diameter as the nail and so the nail will slip
thru it easily.

Now you have a compass and can happily cut smoothly away

Works for Rugby balls (which, I think, have arcs of circles). American
footballs (again, I surmise) have arc of an ellipse. For the latter, you'll
need two nails.