My latest project calls for a wood circle bigger than I can turn on my lathe. You can get close with a bandsaw, but I wanted a true circle, and I’m not quite that good yet.
Time to make a quick jig.
The first step was setting up the belt sander, making sure the belt was vertical and square to the table.
The jig is pretty simple, and only used a couple of scraps. A small cleat nailed to the bottom of a board serves as a stop to keep the end of the jig from contacting the belt.
With the jig on the sander and the cleat against the edge of the table, I measured down the board and marked the radius of the circle I wanted. I tacked in a finish nail at the mark and clipped the head off.
The nail in the top of the jig will be the pivot pin for our circle as it’s sanded to final size.
After the circle is roughed-out on the band saw, the process is simple.
If the circle was laid out with a compass, you know where the center is. If you didn’t use a compass, finding the center isn’t difficult.
Put the pivot pin of the jig in a small hole at the center of your circle and set the whole thing on the sander.
With the belt running, apply a little pressure to the edge of the circle against the belt, and slowly turn the circle. (I didn’t get a picture of this part. I only have two hands)
When the cleat hits the side of the table, and you can spin the circle all the way around, you’re done.
I hope to finish this project this weekend. Stay tuned.
