# Not sure how to cut a chamfer. HELP !!!



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

I have a round disk that's 1" thick x 5-3/4" diameter, and I need to cut a 60-degree x 1/2" high chamfer around the perimeter. I can think of two *DANGEROUS* ways of doing it, but I'm looking for a non-911 solution.

I don't care if there's a center hole because I'll plug it.

I also need to drill 36 equally-spaced holes, centered on the face of the chamfer, but I know how to safely and accurately jig that.


----------



## marcuscraft (Nov 14, 2012)

I would head to the bandsaw for this…tilt the fence, hole in the middle of the piece to pivot around (just like cutting a circle).

If you dont want a hole showing, just plug it with a dowel. Better safe and have a dowel showing than cut off a finger.


----------



## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

You didn't mention if you had a lathe or not because that's precisely the sort of work a lathe does well.

Outside of that I'd consider a radius jig that can be presented to a stationary sander at an angle.


----------



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

I have done something very similar before with a 45 degree chamfer. I used a chamfer bit on a router table and used a starting pin to do it freehand.
Use an Incra Protractor to lay out the markings for the holes (every 10 degrees for 36 holes) and drill them prior to doing the chamfer


----------



## firefighterontheside (Apr 26, 2013)

I think you'd be safe with the router. Either with a hand held router with the piece sort of anchored so it won't move. You may want to make a few passes. Other way is on the table freehand. I do this frequently when making quilt stands. The pieces are oddly shaped, but I need to round over all the edges. Use something to pivot the piece into the bit then maneuver it all the way around. Again you may need to make several passes. I understand though that when something feels unsafe, it may make it unsafe. Be sure that you are not making a climb cut, that would be unsafe and could pull your hands into the bit. Take care.


----------



## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

I would make a jig for my table saw something like this. I would start at the corner and make several passes moving the fence in a little each time until I reached the desired depth. I would place the circle into the guide and raise the blade into it while turning the circle backwards to let the blade cut into the material. 








DISCLAIMER:
The drawing is for the conceptual idea only, you should improvise the idea to make it work safely for you.


----------



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Okay, here's an odd idea. Mount the disk with a bolt and nut in the center hole. Put it in a drill press. Glue some 60 grit sandpaper on an angle block and clamp it to the table. Bear down on the drill press handle till the correct depth chamfer is reached.


----------



## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

+ JAAune


----------



## splinter1000 (May 4, 2014)

I would use a 12 inch disk sander with mitergauge slot perpendicularly arranged to the surface of the disk (Delta has a combination disk / belt sander with this capability but you can easily use a temporary table with the aforementioned slot clamped on to the table of a benchtop 12 inch disc sander). A small moving block that includes a small pin pricking the center of the workpiece is moved in the miter gauge slot toward the spinning disk to produce the chamfer ( i.e., the table is obviously tilted). A stop block can be affixed in the miter gauge slot to ensure that the desired diameter is maintained. A preliminary planing to remove most of the material will reduce the sanding required. See the following:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-twl_q2F472M/T2Lc5tTJzwI/AAAAAAAABHI/jqwcgH8rhuQ/s400/Sanding+Jig+for+Circles1.jpg


----------



## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

Wood Lathe

Arlin


----------



## Fettler (Dec 6, 2012)

Like you inferred that's extremely dangerous to do on a table saw. The blade's forward momentum is going to try to chuck the work piece at you. Any lateral movement can cause the blade to bind.

You could do this with safely with a hand router w/ a guide bearing, pinned piece + table router, a jig for a bandsaw, a lathe or possibly a custom shooting board.


----------



## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Router table if ya have one.
Bill


----------



## TerryDowning (Aug 8, 2012)

Wow, this discussion really highlights the creativity, and versatility of wood workers.

Rarely is there one and only one way to perform an operation.

So much depends on available tools/machining capability.

Great ideas and suggestions.

Good to see that the OP is asking a question to keep himself safe.

I Really like this site for this reason. (among others) Great Job everyone.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

A lathe would be the easiest and safest tool for this job and if the lathe has an indexing system the holes could be marked with that and if the holes are 90deg. to the bottom they could also be drilled while still mounted on the lathe using a Jacobs chuck to hold the bit.


----------



## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I would be inclined to make a jig for the bandsaw where you would first tilt the table to 45 degrees and have the jig designed to add 15 more degrees for the total 60 required. While it would leave a rough finish, you could use the same jig on a disc sander, again, tilted to 45 degrees and finish the surface to the final dimension. You could then tilt the drill press table 15 degrees the other way to register the 36 holes that need to be bored perpendicular to the chamfer face. Getting all 36 holes evenly spaced could be done after cutting and sanding, with a protractor, sharp pencil and patience while laying out. A brad point bit would help keep the holes dead on your mark.


----------



## pastorsteve70x7 (Dec 8, 2013)

*WHY HASN'T ANYONE ASKED WHY HE'S BUILDING A SPACE SHIP?* I THINK THIS IS A PROTOTYPE FOR SOMETHING BIGGER.


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

Good Lord. I go out to mow the grass, and I have about ten solutions waiting for me. *THANKS, EVERYONE !!!* I've picked up some creative problem-solving buddies in the process.

Mowing gives me a chance to meditate, so here's what I've come up with …
1. I don't have, or have access to, a lathe, but I have done some sorta-turning on my drill press.
2. I thought about making the chamfer with both my table and radial arm saws, but they're still my least-favorite tools for experimentation.
3. I know there's no such thing as a 60-degree chamfering bit, but there is a 120-degree v-grooving bit. That would serve as a 60-degree chamfering bit if I put it in my router table and put the stock face down. And because of my Radial Wave Lamp project, I just happen to have one !
4. I'll need to put the rough-cut disk on a sled, with a threaded pivot so I can loosely bolt it down, and then advance the sled toward the bit. Since the bottom of the disk will be facing up, I'll drill a stop-hole close to the edge and insert some sort of knob to rotate the disk. I'll make the chamfer in multiple passes until it's 1/2" high.
5. Or … because it's so small, I could just sand it on my drill press with sandpaper glued to a 30-degree ramp.

I think Craftsman on the Lake gets the prize. Less, sometimes, is more.


----------



## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

I would use a panel raiser. Something like a 3 1/4" Cutting Diameter x 1 3/8" Reveal x 1/2" Shank 15* bevel


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Scribe two lines (side and top extremes of the chamfer), use a block plane to cut to the lines with downward strokes with the tool.


----------



## InsideTheBox (Oct 25, 2013)

I think Steve Kreins is onto something.


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

I love Steve's comment. It *DOES* look like a flying saucer.

But it's actually the base for something far more exotic-my Colored Pencil Fruit Bowls. I was going to use a set of 24 pencils, but the 36-packs were on sale for far less (???) so I bought them out and changed the design. The "artist " pencils at Michaels were two bucks per pencil, but the 36-packs of "wannabe artist" pencils were $4.99.

Here's a conceptual look at the 24-pencil version. I'm guessing that 36 will increase the structural integrity.


----------



## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Router table would be my choice.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

How about a CNC?


----------



## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

I've tried this sort of thing on a drill press. The difficulty is avoiding wobbling of the disk. The panel raising bit on the router table would do a good job, but that is a lot of wood to hog off in one pass. I'd take multiple shallow passes.


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

*oldnovice:* Thanks for the tip! I'll run right out and get one. 

*runswithscissors*: I've done similar "turning" on my drill press. For the 1"-thick x 5-3/4"-diameter disk, I'm going to try a 3/8" bolt with the thick fender washers. That should eliminate any wobble.

Once again, I've been searching for a tool/jig that I already have. My *Sand Devil *from my pal Richard Hummel at Woodpeckers has the sanding ramp that I need. EUREKA !!! I love it because it holds a standard 3×21 sanding belt that's easy to advance when the abrasive wears. It's a belt sander without a motor.


----------



## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

Things like this always intrigue me, so I had to try it. 
I found it to be easy and safe. 
It did take a couple of adjustments to get the teeth positioned correctly to cut good, and I did give it a quick sand, by hand, to clean it up a little but it took hardly anything being that mdf is so soft.
Not saying anybody should do it like this, but just showing that IN MY OPINION, 
it was safe and NOT Extremely Dangerous as had been stated above. You can see that the jig completely covers the blade and the chance of it catching and throwing the pc out of the jig is minimal as long as you know what you're doing.


----------



## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

I liked it in the drawing Iwud. perfect proof of concept!


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

Thanks, Iwud. I really appreciate your efforts, and it looks like your way of working makes perfect sense.

*BUT …*

I was so obsessed with making the chamfer that I wasn't thinking ahead to drilling the holes. I thought drilling would be the easy part, but that's probably not true. What I'm going to do is print the plan for the holes as shown below, glue that to my stock, and then hit the hole centers with my drill press table rotated to 30 degrees. If I make the chamfer first, I'll have to find a way to transfer the centers from the plan to the sloping face of the chamfer-too difficult and another chance for errors.

And then when I looked at my section view, I wondered why I want a chamfer at all. The pencils come pre-sharpened (a bad thing for me) so eliminating the chamfer will provide more purchase for the pencils within the disk and reduce the unsupported length.

To be on the safe side, I'm going to reduce the radius of the hole circle from 2-19/32" to 2-9/16".

I want to keep the overall diameter of the base at 5-3/4" because I'll be cutting, and gluing-up, two 1/2" disks from a 6"x12"x1/2" pre-cut piece of Baltic birch plywood-also from Michaels.

So now it's time for me to shut up and just do it.


----------



## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

No problem John,
I've been doing weird stuff on my table saw for over 30 years, I just wanted to test my suggestion to see if it was dangerous or not.

I understand what your saying about drilling the holes and the depth and whatnot for holding the pencils. The only thing is that the drill would start into the wood easier if it was hitting it at a 90 (after the bevel was cut)
It also wouldn't hurt to add a 3rd pc and drill the holes deeper, (other than the cost of another pc of wood.)

Anyway you do it, Best of luck to you, and being safe is the important part..


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2086057/45160/Whiteside-2318-60-Degree-Chamfer-1CL-12-SH.aspx?keyword=&refcode=10INGOPB&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CLezhpCKxr4CFUhvvAod5J8AQw


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

You're right, *Iwud4u*. Again. 

I should drill the holes at a 90-degree angle. So it's back to the chamfer and I'll come up with some way to index the 10-degree advancements. I've never had luck with indexing pins because 36 x .001" error = A LOT.

Think I'll put some kind of pointer on top of the center 3/8" pivot dowel and use that for the advancements. Some of the holes might be a couple thou off, but at least the error won't be cumulative.

And thanks to* AlaskaGuy *for the link to a 60-degree chamfering bit. I'm going to be at a Woodcraft store today, and I'll ask them if I can borrow one.


----------



## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

Mark the divisions on the perpendicular edge of the disk by wrapping a strip of paper with the measured divisions on it. put a mark on the base of the jig to line up with. you will be able to proof your divisions before you drill and the inaccuracy wont accrue. have fun!


----------



## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

If you use a forstner bit I think you would be alright drilling into the disc at an angle.


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

*Iwud4u:* I've found that the spurs Forstner bits in 1/16" increments (I need 5/16") aren't long enough to hit a mark, or a pilot hole, at an angle.

*REO:* I thought about an index strip around the perimeter, but I want to make multiple bowls with a single jig.

And so …

I think a "Wheel of Fortune" approach will work. I'll print a pattern with spokes that's 6-3/4" in diameter, glue that to a disk of 1/8" Baltic birch plywood, and then double-face tape the wheel to the bottom of the 1" thick work piece. The total drilling jig will consist of a MDF base with a 3/8" center pin and indexing pointer, and a loose wheel with printed spokes.


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

Before I finish, I'd like to go back to Terry Downing's comment …

"Good to see that the *OP* is asking a question to keep himself safe."

I'm not familiar with *OP*. Does that stand for *"Old Person"* ?


----------



## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

Original Poster LOL


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

Thanks for clarifying that, *REO*. I don't feel so ancient now.


----------



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

3/8" bolt
Big honkin' fender washers.
Chamfer sanded with Woodpeckers Sand Devil.
Changed dimension of the angled surface from 1" to 5/8" because the pencil diameter is only 5/16" (actually 19/64").
Love the way birch plywood looks sanded at an angle.

*SO THERE, SPEEDWAGON !!!*


----------

