AccuRight Band Saw Circle

[Olaf Vogel]

I'm considering one of these as a Christmas present (um..for myself).
I mostly turn green wood, so quickly cutting a blank round on a bandsaw would really speed things up.

ex. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...tting-Jig.aspx

Has anyone tried this product and what are the opinions?
thanks

Olaf

[Roger Chandler]

I have an earlier version of this, Olaf. It works well, once you get it adjusted correctly and placed the correct distance from the blade. Make sure you follow the setup directions closely. The newer version is an improvement over the one I have, but they did come out with a support arm for mine that I got and installed on it, but have not used it yet for a blank.

A good green wood bandsaw blade is a must, but they do work well..........I am glad I made the purchase on mine over a year ago. Carter has a video link on their website that will be beneficial to you if you watch them use the unit.........like they say......a picture is worth a thousand words!

[Steve Mawson]

I have the older one as well but find that it works fine. Sometimes I put a piece of plywood between the pieces of the circle jig to keep the blank more level.

[Mike Cruz]

I'm interested to know if there is a weight limit to this jig. I've put some pretty hefty blanks on my circle cutting jig (not Carter...home made). While my jig is "removable", I keep it on all the time because it is a bit involved to detach.

[Dale Gillaspy]

I made myself one out of plywood for about $6. I don't use it much, I mostly draw a circle with marker on the wood and cut freehand. It is going to be turned round on the lathe anyway, so a precise cut is not mandatory. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't spend the money.

[Mike Cruz]

Dale, I have to say that I'm not sure I agree... The more precise the circle, the bigger the turning/less waste. If you cut a perfect 12" blank, you can probably rough that to darn near 11 3/4". But if you do a free hand cut that isn't as precise, what could have been an 11 3/4" bowl, might be about 11"...that is only 3/8" difference per side, but it matters...to me, at least. I've also had trouble getting a good circle "drawn" on something that has a NE (whether to be turned NE or to make that NE the bottom of the bowl). With a circle cutting jig, you get a good circle even with a NE...which, for me, is the biggest benefit.

[Jon Nuckles]

I cut a bunch of circles out of corrugated cardboard and each has a small hole in the center. I lightly nail on the largest one that fits within the blank's dimensions and then cut around it on the bandsaw. This allows an accurate circle even with natural edge pieces and the small nail hole marks the center for mounting. I will often mark the other side using the cardboard circle and nail to start the blank between centers on the lathe. Nothing I invented, of course, but it works well and is free.

[Dwight Rutherford]

I use cardboard circles also. All I want is to be able to get the blank mounted on the lathe.
All of my pieces are started between centers so I can adjust for the best grain pattern. Because of this very few end up being the same diameter as the raw blank.

[Olaf Vogel]

Great feedback - thanks!

Firstly, Ive not had a bid enough saw to do this - til now.
Got a new (to me) one a few months ago, but have to finish building my shop before I can set it up.

So I'll probably give it a try.

thanks

[Thomas Canfield]

I looked at the Carter video and do not like the jig from what I saw. It requires you to have the piece cut to the right distance for the start of circle and does not have a flat surface for rough surface of wood to ride on and will likely have catches. Here is a post that I did some time back on home-made jig that allows you to push the table into the blade eliminating need to precut and also have ease of adjusting diameter. It can be made from scraps requiring only a section of T-track and screws, and some self tapping screws to make center points. Several friends have made one and made minor adjustments for their different saws. I think that it is probably the second best design that I have seen, but a lot cheaper than the commercial unit that is better. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ail&highlight=