Drill press question

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,
I need to make a wooden "wheel", with a diameter of about 3 inches. It needs to be made from wood of approximately 1/2 inch thickness. I don't want to use a jigsaw, because I want the edges to be cleaner than I can get with my handheld jigsaw.

I'm thinking of using a drill press with a circle cutting attachment. In the latest Rockler catalog, I see such a circle cutting attachment, and I'd like to know whether anyone has an opinion as to the quality that I can get from using such a device on a drill press.

Another part of this issue pertains to the drill press itself. I don't have a drill press, but I've been considering the Delta 12 inch 1/3 HP benchtop model at Lowe's. I don't have the room for a floor standing model.

Does anyone have an opinion as to not only whether this circle cutting attachment will do what I'm trying to accomplish, but also whether this fairly low powered Delta drill press would be adequate for the job?
Louis

[Per Swenson]

Sure, that would work.

But you could make wheels all day with a 3" hole cut saw.

And a battery powered drill.

Just saying,

Per

[Andy Fox]

I've never used a circle cutter, but that sounds like a reasonable plan. That drill press should be up to the task.

Another option might be to jigsaw the part and use a router with a bearing-guided flush trim or template bit to make a perfect clean circle, assuming you've got another perfect circle to use as the template.

[Andy Hoyt]

Be a snap on a lathe.

[Dave Richards]

I'm guessing the circle cutter you are looking at is the sort with an adjustable arm that holds a cutter. They work fine in a drill press and aren't intended for a hand drill anyway.

Make sure you insert the cutter correctly for the part you want to keep. Generally they make a nicer wheel if you cut through from one side and flip the work to complete the cut from the other. For that to work properly your drill press table must be squared to the drill.

Keep your hands back when you run the thing.

[Mike Cutler]

It will work just fine. One limitation is the minimum rpm's on the Delta benchtop is actually still a little bit too fast for a circle cutter, cutting a circle that large. I have the 12" Delta benchtop DP, and have done this type pf thing more than a few times. Use a circle cutter with two wings, and be sure to clamp the material in place.

If the diameter isn't critical.I would just get a 3" hole saw like Per suggested. You'll still have to go a little slow.

[Gary Keedwell]

Another alternative is to cut it out with the jig saw and leave a little extra on the cutting line ...then drill a 1/4 inch hole in the middle and use a threaded 1/4" bolt and chuck it in drill and spin it like a lathe and use rasp and then sandpaper while it is spinning. I use drill press like a lathe all the time.


Gary K.

[Eddie Darby]

I'd like to know whether anyone has an opinion as to the quality that I can get from using such a device on a drill press.


I've used these circle cutters on my drill press and they did a nice clean job on my 3/4" thick hard maple. I was making a mounting for weather gauges. You can make a cut where the inside is waste or where the outside is waste. I got mine from Busy Bee Tools which offers them for a fraction of the cost that Lee Valley Tools does.

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=1006110925061175625&NTITEM=B562

I did not find my drill press, which is a floor model, was ever really challenged in anyway power-wise, since the operator chooses the speed that the drill press quill is lowered into the wood, and thus how agressive the attack is.

A word of caution here is needed: the drill press should be set at a low RPM, and the feed should be very slow, and most importantly the hands should be well clear of this big unwieldly cutter. This means the wood needs to be secured with clamps to the drill press table.

I would not want to do too many wheels this way though, and would go to a router set-up with a jig to do wheels/circles if I was trying to bang them out in great quantity.

[glenn bradley]

I use that type of circle cutter on my delta benchtop DP. the DP does not have a speed that is as slow as it should be so you have to balance your feed rate somewhere between fast enough to not burn and slow enough to not overheat the bit/cutter. It doesn't take long to get the "feel". I still have trouble with red oak though, it just burns sooo easy.

[Ken Consaul]

unless you are looking for a reason to buy a DP and no one will fault you for that. The holesaw will cut cleanly and the expense of the mandrel and saw shouldn't exceed twice the cost of a circle cutter. The mandrel is far more expensive than the saws but then you can use it with many sizes. The advantage is being able to use a handheld drill. I like the Blu-Mol saws better than the ones usually commercially available. Try an electrical supply house.
Were it me, I would use a circle cutting jig on a BS and, to me, if I was hankering for a new stationary tool, that would be a good excuse.

[Frank Fusco]

Lazy way, buy what you need from crafts catalogs. 3" wheels are available from many sources.

[Robert Waddell]

"Lazy way, buy what you need from crafts catalogs. 3" wheels are available from many sources."


Frank, who would buy a 50 cent wheel when they could justify a new tool to the SWMBO? LOL!

That set-up would do a fine job for making your wheel Louis as would many of the other suggestions.

Rob

[Louis Brandt]

Hello to all,
Thanks to all who responded to my thread. My problem is really a little more complicated than I made it sound. I have to make two "wheels", and from these wheels, I have to cut out a donut, meaning that I have to make a wheel within a wheel, and all that I want is the donut (the tire) portion. The two donuts will be of different diameters, and that's why I can't just buy one already made. The real purpose of the donuts are to repair a portion of a turned bedpost on a four-poster Ethan Allen bed. On one of the posts of the bed, (a parrot, believe it or not) pecked into two of the posts and ruined the edges of the turning. I'm trying to mill a new "donut" from which I will need only about half the circle, then sand smooth the ruined areas and hopefully glue the portion of the circle onto the post to duplicate the rest of the donut (the good portion). I don't have a lathe, and as I see it, my only options are a drill press with a circle cutter or a plunge router with a circle cutting jig.
Louis

[Andy Hoyt]

Louis - made on a lathe - fixed on a lathe.

Where are you located? Answer via PM if you prefer. Should be pretty easy to put you in touch with a nearby turner.

Can you post a pic of the affected bedpost?

[Jim Becker]

Yes, a wing cutter on a DP will cut nice wheels. BUT...you need a DP that can get down to a very slow speed to use them safely. Like about 200-250 rpm tops. Many bench-top DPs can't do that, so check first.

[Gary Breckenridge]

:cool: I've made a few wheels. First I cut out a rough circle on my bandsaw and drill the right size hole in the center. Then I put a bolt through the hole that also goes through a block of wood. This block of wood has a kind of stop on it. Lastly I slowly spin the wheel on the bolt and feed it into a disk sander. For a final step I may use a 1/4" round over router bit to put a nice edge on the wheels.:)

[Tom Andersen]

If you fix the workpiece to a sacrifice piece of plywood, you can make it with a router quite easily-