Ideas on how this was done

[Jim Tobias]

Can anyone give me some ideas/suggestions as to how small circular shapes were done? It almost looks like the beginning of a hole drilled with a lipped brad point bit but "proud area " seems to be rounded/arc.
The table belongs to my brother-in-law and I am making some additional leaves with apron to match and expand the table.

Thanks for any advice.
Jim268568268567

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jim....could you do it with a hole saw without the center guide bit?

Then sand or rasp the rest.

[George Gyulatyan]

I also see a dimple in the middle, so it could be a large brad point bit? What's throwing me off is that in the second picture, the two outer circles have the dimple in the middle, while the one in the center have the dimple kind of offset towards the top.

[Joe Zerafa]

How about a plug cutter?

[Jim Tobias]

He is bringing me half the table top tomorrow so I will get a closer look. The dimple is centered as afar as I know. It does resemble a brad point bit hole but all of the brad points(lipped and otherwise) that I have do not have a curve from the center to the outer edge. These appear to be rounded from center hole out to edges like this.268584

Jim

[Peter Quinn]

I'd guess it was a type of rosette cutter to make the original parts. Might be easier to make flat bottom holes with a forschner, cut out cookies to fit in the holes maybe with a hole saw minus mandrel, or maybe do as Ken suggested if the hole saw makes the correct relief around the circle. Certainly could be done with a rosette cutter and accustom knife,mnot sure the feasibility on a single unit.

[Dan Hintz]

If I had to recreate it (and didn't want the center dimple), I'd find a cheap spade bit, grind off the center point, then clamp on a piece of wood with the same-sized hold already drilled in it as a guide. Easy peasy.

[Rich Engelhardt]

+1 to rosette cutter.
There's about a bazillion standard styles & many times more than that as far as custom ones go.

I believe there's some fly cutters that can make those "rounded over" concentric rings also by reversing the bit or using one of the two cutter bit types.

[Keith Weber]

Last week, I needed a countersink bit to work on Hardibacker Cement Board. The cylindrical one that I bought only lasted for about 4 holes before it became comepletely destroyed. I took a cheap spade bit I had and ground a 45-degree tip on it. It ground quite easily and cut the countersinks in the cement board like it was butter. I would grind a spade bit the diameter of your rosette to match your profile, and then use a drill press to plunge it into your pieces.

Keith

[Scott T Smith]

If I had to recreate it (and didn't want the center dimple), I'd find a cheap spade bit, grind off the center point, then clamp on a piece of wood with the same-sized hold already drilled in it as a guide. Easy peasy.

I concur. Additionally you can reshape the bit with a grinder to create a profile that matches the existing one.

[Stephen Cherry]

This has pin router written all over it. If the profile of the vertical lines is the same as the circles, I would say that it was absolutely done with a pin router.

With a pin router, you could go from planed lumber to part in just a few seconds.

At 2:40, it shows what the pattern would look like, but you would not make a through cut. The outside of the pattern could cut the outside of the part with a through cut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI18ZWaG1_c

[Jim Tobias]

Thanks , lots of good feedback(as usual from SMC)! So, far the "grinding a spade bit" idea sounds like my best bet. I have looked for small rosette cutters but most are larger than this and the few small ones I have found all have much more detailed profiles. The cost of having one made for just this one project does not make sense.

Any more ideas are welcome,
Thanks,
Jim

[Richard Coers]

If I had to recreate it (and didn't want the center dimple), I'd find a cheap spade bit, grind off the center point, then clamp on a piece of wood with the same-sized hold already drilled in it as a guide. Easy peasy.

Easy Peasy if you don't care about it being round or smooth. That spade bit would rattle around in that hole in the guide and jump around on the grain of the wood. The only chance it would have is if you cut the shank of the bit off to make it the absolutely shortest you can. Otherwise, rattle city! I'd do those apron pieces for the leaves on the lathe. It also not uncommon for the leaves to not have aprons. Makes storage a lot easier.

[Roy Harding]

Rosette cutter was no doubt used originally. You MIGHT be able to get a matching one from various sources, for example - here (http://www.busybeetools.com/categories/Metalworking/Drill-Press/Drill-Press-Rossette-Cutters/), or here (http://www.toolstoday.com/p-6118-rosette-cutter-bits-for-drill-press-carbide-tipped.aspx), or here (http://www.amanatool.com/boring/rosette_cutter_system.html), or here (http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/rosette.htm) - there are many other sources around. One of the cheaper ones (under $20.00) should be sufficient if this is for a single time use.

You MAY be able to duplicate it with a hole saw mounted in a drill press, with the pilot bit pulled back so that it doesn't make contact.

[Dan Hintz]

Easy Peasy if you don't care about it being round or smooth. That spade bit would rattle around in that hole in the guide and jump around on the grain of the wood. The only chance it would have is if you cut the shank of the bit off to make it the absolutely shortest you can. Otherwise, rattle city! I'd do those apron pieces for the leaves on the lathe. It also not uncommon for the leaves to not have aprons. Makes storage a lot easier.
Huh? I've used a guide like that with spade bits several times, and there's no jumping... hole is plenty round. If the hole is the same size as the spade bit, it's physically impossible for it to "rattle".

[johnny means]

+1 on the Forstner but and applied Rosette. Its the simplest way to create the desired affect, with no investment in tooling that may or may not work out. I often do this for playhouse sized architectural details.

[Jim Neeley]

It would be easy to make this, very clean too. Use a router with a bushing and an appropriately oversized hole. Start the router with the bushing against the perimeter and carefully move it around the circle. voila, you're done. You could use a square bottom, pointed bottom or circle bottom bit depending on the finish you want at the bottom of the groove.

[Bob Carreiro]

Read the post and the whole time I was thinking router template. +1 Jim Neely!

[Jim Tobias]

Jim/Bob,
I'm nit understanding how I could get this slightly domed profile in the circle with a router bit and bushing method. Please explain more.

Jim

268648

[Richard Coers]

Huh? I've used a guide like that with spade bits several times, and there's no jumping... hole is plenty round. If the hole is the same size as the spade bit, it's physically impossible for it to "rattle".

Without the center pin, you're spinning a flat plate of steel inside a hole. It will be clean at the start, but will quickly start to wobble. The grain of the piece you are drilling into will be long grain, then short grain. It will add to the rattling of the bit. Same for the guide board. Long grain, short grain, makes one harder than the other. It will go oval in no time as the side of the drill is also sharp, and will wear quickly in the wood. Try it.

[Brian Brightwell]

I'll go with you on this one.

However I bet someone with talent could carve it.

[Bob Glenn]

Forstner bit for the large hole, then drill a smaller hole to accept a button to be glued. That's how I'd do it anyway. Let us know what you find out. Bob