On Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:50:53 GMT, "Dick Snyder"
wrote:


"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Charlie Groh" wrote:

...I'm with you, man...buy the hole saw, get perfect circles, save
mucho time.

Price out a 5-1/2" hole saw and then a fly cutter.

Might make a different suggestion.

Lew




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.

http://metalcast.boorman.us/circles.html


....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

On Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:50:53 GMT, "Dick Snyder"
wrote:


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.

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

I'd use a disk sander jig. Many designs available in magazines. Rough out
the circle and sand to size. Too easy for it to get away from you with a
router.
Bob

wrote in message
...
On Dec 4, 10:19 am, Hoosierpopi wrote:
On Dec 3, 10:19 pm, wrote:

On Dec 1, 8:49 pm, "Dick Snyder" wrote:

" I need to cut four 5 1/2" wheels out of 3/4" oak"

"Cut the plywood so that the countersunk bolt is exactly 5.5 inches
from the blade." shelly

Shelly, Shell, Shelly,

2.75" from the blade! And, watch your fingers!

point take (I'm an idiot sometimes)

I stood on the side of the saw, kept one hand on the bolt, and turned
from the other side. I've learned respect for a TS the hard way.

shelly

"Bob Meyer" wrote:

I'd use a disk sander jig. Many designs available in magazines.
Rough out the circle and sand to size. Too easy for it to get away
from you with a router.

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

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.

Martin

Dick Snyder wrote:
I need to cut four 5 1/2" wheels out of 3/4" oak for a toy I am making for
my grandson. The size is too small for a router and trammel. I have a book
called Woodworking with the Router by Hylton and Matlock that suggests a
couple of ways to do this.

1. Drive a pivot hole in the factory baseplate and use the baseplate as the
trammel.

2. Do it on a router table. Affix a piece of scrap wood to the router table
with a hole in it for the bit to come through. Install a pivot on three
scrap wood and drill a hole in the piece of wood that will be come a wheel.
Place the blank over the pivot and turn it against the router bit with some
kind of pusher to keep your fingers clear.

I kind of hate to drill a hole in my router baseplate but I have not tried
either method. Before I launch off into something I thought I would check
with this group to see what you would recommend.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

I kind of hate to drill a hole in my router baseplate but I have not tried
either method. Before I launch off into something I thought I would check
with this group to see what you would recommend.
TIA.
Dick Snyder

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

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.

"Bob AZ" wrote in message
...
I kind of hate to drill a hole in my router baseplate but I have not
tried
either method. Before I launch off into something I thought I would check
with this group to see what you would recommend.
TIA.
Dick Snyder

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

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

On Dec 3, 4:04*pm, -MIKE- wrote:
Price out a 5-1/2" hole saw and then a fly cutter.

Might make a different suggestion.

Lew

Or a Woodpecker.
We were living in the house we were finishing, and we hadn't sided the
gable ends, one of which was the extension of our bedroom wall. I was
awakened to the sound of a mini jackhammer on the outside of the house.
By the time I threw on some clothes and wandered outside, the little guy
was finishing up his own access hole into the attic.

I climbed over the scaffolding and saw a perfect circle cut into the
sheathing.
And I mean perfect, I got a tape and measured it... remarkably accurate.

+/- how many 0.001"?

So, I tacked up some sheet metal over the hole to keep him out.
Next morning, about 6am.... BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!

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

Father Haskell wrote:
And I mean perfect, I got a tape and measured it... remarkably accurate.

+/- how many 0.001"?


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


So, I tacked up some sheet metal over the hole to keep him out.
Next morning, about 6am.... BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!-BAM!

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


It got sided, that day. :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

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.
http://www.routertabledepot.com/cijimo300.html
http://www.routertabledepot.com/cijimo200.html
(you 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.