Circle Cutter

[Thom2]

I am just thinking through building a set of building blocks and a toy box as a gift for a nephew. The set has lots of squares, rectangles, arches, arcs, triangles, pillars, wheels, and other shapes I need to fabricate. I am going to use hard maple and other woods. I am trying to find a way to cut arches, arcs and other round shapes without too much hassle, waste and cost.

Getting in here late, and not much to add about general use that hasn't already been mentioned. I will say tho', now that you've mentioned your inteneded use, I seriously doubt if you're going to be pleased with this setup for a "production run". While it will cut nice holes, it is an EXTREMELY slow process. A much better idea would be to use the circle cutter to make templates for use with a router and guide bushings. For that matter tho', you could just use the router and a circle jig to make the patterns.

Or, another route you could go is to use the BS to rough cut the circles, then use a pattern and flush trim bit to 'polish' them up.

You'll have to decide what will work for you, but I personally wouldn't use a circle cutter for an extended run of multiple pieces.

[axa]

I got this one.
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11355
I like it.

True you may need a pilot hole, but what I did was machine an adjustable counter weight to use when I wanted to avoid a hole.
Stable and accurate.

And if your just looking to make a set of toys, circle cutters are alot faster then the band saw + sanding, router set up or what have you.

(P.S. the micro adjustable function of this cutter is worthless, as when you tighten the set screws your measurement falls off. tolerance is loose)