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Forum Newbie
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I'm trying to find a way to cut a circle without drilling a hole in the center of the round. I use the rounds to carve and inlay. I will be using red cedar rounds that are 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. I do not have a heavy duty drill press so a hole saw does not work. Many people are skilled as machinists and make their own metal templates. I am not that skilled. Anything I can think of involves the use of clamps that get in the way of cutting the circle. I do not want to freehand the circle because then a lot of sanding to true the circle is required and since there is no hole in the center, there is again no way to spin it and true it that I can think of. Any thoughts from experienced woodworkers would be appreciated. Surely better minds that I have faced this problem before.  Thanks.
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Supreme Being
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You can do that on a detail mill I think I always worked worked with metal or buy round stock and use a lathe but the only wood I know of in wood is dow rods. Sorry not much help and I'm a machinest.
Doug 
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Supreme Being
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Can you make a small pilot on the back side? Or do you use both sides?
Bruce!
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Forum Newbie
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Thanks for the replies. Some of the work I do requires inlay that is 1/4 inch deep. That would allow very little tolerance on the back side for the pin. Some of the material that I use glows blue and requires a 1/4 inch square inlay to fluoresce. There are other applications that might allow for the use of a shallow pin. Sometimes I use bone, horn, or stone. It all depends upon the subject being created.
It really is funny that something seemingly this simple is in fact so difficult. One would expect that some kind of reasonably priced jig or tool would be available. I have searched for days on the net and have yet to find a solution. It's kind of amusing really that something like this would tax my mind and that of others too.  I know that there is always an expensive solution but my nature is resistant to that. You know it's kind of like if I can't solve this what can I solve? 
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Supreme Being
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I'm not sure to understand exactly what you need but anyway I'll mention what came to my mind in reading your post and risking a laugh from you and whoever reads this. Can you make a wee little whole in the center so as to introduce a very thin nail? Maybe you can make a lace with somewhat a twine --as the one used time ago for packages-- and small pencil in the other end and with it draw the circle on the board. That would make it easier to cut around afterwards. I hope that this is of some help. Perhaps using the same idea to make a better gadget. Let me know either way. If you laugh it will keep you spirit high so it's useful anyway. Good luck!
Enrique
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Junior Member
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| Could you use a thin overlay on your work held with double-stick tape? The overlay would be the piece that has the hole for the center pivot. You attach it to your piece and use the circle cutting attachment. The overlay could be reusable.
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Forum Newbie
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Yes good ideas. Thanks! I did run across this template that I believe would work too. It would just be a matter of clamping the template to the wood and then cutting with a router bit. Here is the link.
http://www.houseoftools.com/product.htm?pid=15604
Again thanks for all the good ideas. 
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Forum Newbie
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rja (2/29/2008)
Could you use a thin overlay on your work held with double-stick tape? The overlay would be the piece that has the hole for the center pivot. You attach it to your piece and use the circle cutting attachment. The overlay could be reusable.
Someone suggested that a good tape to use is a double stick carpet tape. I know that tape holds very well so it may work.
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Forum Guru
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| Have been reading the responses. An additional thought if you use the overlay and the center pin, try fixing it in place wiyh Hot Glue. I do a lot of band saw cutting of patterns and reattech the cut-offs to one side so I can cut the other dimension. Hot glue hold well but can be separated easily and leaves no residue if you are careful. You can use several "dots " to get a hold but make for easy removal. woodcutr
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woodcutr (3/1/2008)
Have been reading the responses. An additional thought if you use the overlay and the center pin, try fixing it in place wiyh Hot Glue. I do a lot of band saw cutting of patterns and reattech the cut-offs to one side so I can cut the other dimension. Hot glue hold well but can be separated easily and leaves no residue if you are careful. You can use several "dots " to get a hold but make for easy removal.
woodcutr
Good idea, thanks.
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