# how to Groove a Soap Dish? Please Help



## somewoodwork12 (Mar 2, 2010)

I have a question, im going to link two picture below of a soap dish and I want to know how is the soap dish surface groove made on it, what tool was used to make it, I would appreciate your insight. If the link doesn't open the question is just about an oval surface groove on top of any soap dish, so the soap stays inside the dish. Thanks

http://www.southerncrafter.com/Wooden%20Dish%20Oval%20New.jpg

http://soappotions.com/images/roundsoapdish.jpg


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## kodiak (Feb 15, 2010)

I've never done this before but I'm thinking :

cut out a template with your scroll saw and use a template guide (p 193 in the lee valley catalog top of page) on your router with a dish carving bit ( p 184 lee valley catalog bottom of page)

I'm watching this to see if I'm right or if there is a better (easier way) to do this 
hope this helps or gives you a idea in the right direction


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## RvK (Nov 22, 2009)

I second the template/router method, thats how people make the chip n dip trays, which is pretty much the same thing just on a different scale


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## somewoodwork12 (Mar 2, 2010)

Kodiak and Jei'son I know that method, and that way will only give you a straight bottom, the pictures show a curved bottom with the middle part being the most shallow portion and the edges less shallow, but thanks for the try guys


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

I guess it can be done either on lathe or with a router using a template with dish cutter bit & also crown molding bit.

Template :
http://www.eagleamerica.com/images/uploads/6702_3000_popup.jpg

Dish cutter bit
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/orderstatus/html/smarthtml/graphics3/topdish.jpg
Crown molding bit
https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/graphics/horizcrw.jpg

I'm sure other fellow LJs have better idea.


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## somewoodwork12 (Mar 2, 2010)

woodwormthe the crown molding bit is not the right tool for it because the biggest bit comes in 2.75 or 3 inches, I need a wider cut, and plus I don't think thats the correct way, there must be another way they do this, because I've seen huge soap dishes that have this cut, Please try again


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

I think for the round shape one is easy to be done on lathe, but the oblong shape one surely cannot.


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## somewoodwork12 (Mar 2, 2010)

woodworm yes the round shape one would be easy on a lathe, but what I'm trying to figure out is how they did the oval one, and when we figure that out we can do any shape we want basically. Im sure the correct way to do this is not on a lathe, there must be an easier and a more simpler way. Thanks


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## Skalizar (Jan 3, 2010)

CNC? Or is it specifically handmade?


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

In a production type setting, the oval dishes (and round for that matter) would have been done on a CNC Router with a cutter similar to the crown molding bit.
If you look closely, the dish does have a flat bottom.


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## dryhter (Jul 14, 2008)

If you are only making one or even a couple, I would think using a router to hog out most of the waste and then a carving gouge to refine the shape should make short work of this project.

Here is a link to a spoon carving site which is similar to what you would be doing HERE


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## MrHudon (Aug 11, 2009)

I think a core box router bit and a template may be better then a dish carving bit because of the greater radius dimensions available. Maybe a core box for the inside edges and a dish carving for the bottom?

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2121&tagem=rv


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## millmgr (Nov 17, 2009)

Thinking WAY outside the box- imagine cutting the soap dish in half across the dish. The profile revealed is a big scoop with a flat on each side. If you made a knife in that profile and put it in a cutterhead- a plunge cut would make the round soap dish while advancing the piece or the cutterhead while in the cut would make the oval shape. I would think this would be extremely dangerous for kickback unless you could use a long board and put a series of plunge cuts in the length while antikickback fingers and feed rolls held the piece tight. Kind of thinking a moulder running an S4S with a seperate adjustable head doing the plunge as the feed was periodically stopped. Or a cutterhead for rosettes could be made in the same shape and put in a drill press or overhead router and plunge cut for the round and moved sideways for the oval. Also potentially very dangerous. Not recommending either option, just putting the concept out there.


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

Try making a router sled. Use curved side rails to match the curve of the inside of the dish. Try this link

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/45

much smaller scale , of course.


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## somewoodwork12 (Mar 2, 2010)

Thanks for all the input guys, but after some thought and prior condemnation of woodworms theory I think woodworm got it right, it was a method mentioned here by him but with a twist, get it "a twist"  (clears throat) ok moving on…. with a little emphasize on the horizontal crown molding bit, you would have to make a template in this case an oval one, but instead of using a bowl bit which would have given you a flat bottom, you use a crown molding bit  which will give you that curved bottom, problem solved im going to make one soon and will post my pictures up. Thanks for all the help guys God Bless and visit my website www.thewordthetruth.com Jesus Christ's return is close at hand, repent and give yourself to Christ before its too late


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## somewoodwork12 (Mar 2, 2010)

If people know of any other ways please post them. Thanks


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## bigike (May 25, 2009)

don't know if anyone posted this yet but, i hope the old tymers here vouch for me on this. You can make a jig if the soap dish is circle like the pic u cut a "V" in a piece of ply clamp it to the TS and lower the blade put the work piece in the "V" part of the jig and turn on saw raise blade 1/16" at each revolution of the soap dish untill u get to the depth u want. CORRECT if wrong on the jig? You can also use a bowl and dish cutter on the router.


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

Since this topic is particularly interesting I like to further figure it out how it can be done. 
*Making groove on soap dish using horizontal crown molding bit:-*
It is important to note that the horizontal crown molding is considered large bit. It is safer to use it on the table mounted router. The smallest bit's diameter available in the market (as far as I know) is 1-3/4", thus we cannot use the standard template guide bushing which the largest ID (inner diameter) is less than 1". Perhaps we need to make a speciality sub-base out of 1/4" Thick clear lexan with 1-13/16"opening and also a guide bushing with the same ID to cater for 1-3/4"D bit. The guide bushing will be in the form of ring. Cut a ring with 1-13/16'ID and 2-7/16"OD to get 1/2" wide ring and glue it up to the sub-base. 
The template diameter (for round dish) or opening (for oval dish) must be 9/16' bigger than the final/intended diameter/opening of the dish groove, because the area that will be removed by the cutter when using a guide bushing is restricted by the outer diameter of the ring/guide bushing. 
Rough drawing of the ring guide bushing glued up to the sub-base : 
http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee343/Masrol/Woodworking%20Question/Picture006.jpg

This is just a rough idea. I need more input from other Jocks if the above theory can be done and the speciliaty guide bushing will work.

Thanks!


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## woodworm (Jul 27, 2008)

*"V" Part Jig on Table saw*
Bigike,
I stand to be corrected, it's just my 2cent without any experiment.
If I figured out the "V" Jig correctly, I think we will not get the intended groove's depth of the dish in relation to the width. Coz, to get the intended width, we need to raise the saw blade, the higher the blade the wider and deeper the stock is removed. So we cannot get shallow groove.

It's nice if you could include a kind of sketch drawing thus easy fo me or maybe others to understand.
Thanks Bigike.


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## ryno101 (May 14, 2008)

The way I immediately thought of was making a router cradle with a pivot point… I remember reading an article in FWW about a guy once who made stools with Axe Handles for legs, and that was how he cut out the seats. I can't seem to find a link to the article. Am I just confusing the issue here?


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