Making Circle Templates on the Bandsaw, the KISS way....

Stuart Ablett

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K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep It Simple.....Stupid" where the "Stu-pid" is me :eek:

I had this idea drilled into my head by various good teachers along the way, other saying like, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, NOT zebras" :D

.....unless you are in the Serengeti, I guess ;)

I had some rather NOT flat chunks of wood, I wanted to cut a circular turning blanks from, to do this, the easy way, is to have a selection of turning blank circle templates you can lay over the wood, secure it with one screw in the center and then, using the template as a guide, cut your blank.

I wanted a quick and easy way of making some templates, I know one day I'll go to the trouble of making a really nice, adjustable circle cutting jig, but I do not have the time to do so right now, so this is what I came up with, for quick and easy.

circle_template_jig.JPG
A piece of fairly thin MDF, I had it like this, with the sort of "L" shape to it, this works great, as there is support for the piece being cut on both sides.

circle_template_close.JPG
I drew a line and then I drilled holes every centimeter, this would give me 2 cm jumps in template size (7/8"?) I then pushed a small nail through one of the holes, and cut it off, and sharpened it to a point.

circle_template_jig_in_place.JPG
I just eyeballed the set up, keep the jig square to the blade and keep the line with the holes in it, lined up with the teeth of the blade.

circle_template_to_be_cut.JPG
I would cut the piece of scrap thin plywood tot he size I want, in this case 18cm, I find the center of the square, and then drill a small hole, same size as the nail in the center. Pop the piece on the jig, with the nail in the 18cm hole.........

circle_template_cut.JPG
.....turn on the saw, rotate the piece and there you are, a circle template.

circle_templates_done.JPG
I did this for 14 cm to 20 cm, and I'll do some larger sizes when I get some left over pieces of plywood from something.

I also drilled a large hole in the templates, off center to hang them on.........

hang_on_wall.JPG
There they sit on the wall with my blades, waiting for the next use.

The jig cost next to nothing, took maybe 10 minutes to make and works great.

Yep, I think I followed the KISS principle here fairly well! :thumb:

Cheers!
 
Stu,

Brilliantly simple solution to a problem I've been having. Never have enough time to make a full scale jig for rounding blanks, but this is easily modified to a quick and simple solution!

Thanks,

Bill
 
Like Bernie, I use cardboard also. I have a large compass, I'm guessing it will do a 24" circle. That and a pair of scissors is all that is needed.

Over the years I accidentally cut into the cardboard, cheap and easy to replace when needed.
 
Nice and simple, but effective, Stu. :thumb:

I've used paper plates for templates on uneven blanks. On relatively even blanks, I just scribe a circle with a large pair of dividers and follow that line on the bandsaw.
 
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