Building a Round Table Top

[Brian Livingstone]

Hi,

I have a client looking for a 48 inch round tabletop.  Material to be either birch or maple.  They would like the tabletop to be 1 1/4 inches thick. 

I have the Carvex with the circle cutting jig.  Would this be best or do you think this would be a good project for the OF2200 with a spiral cutting bit and a circle cutting jig.  I have been coveting the 2200 for some time and would love to buy it for just this project.

Thanks.

Brian

 

[rvieceli]

Buy the 2200 and the accessory kit and then add $1300 to the price you were thinking about charging for the table.  [eek] DONE!

 

[Richard A.]

  I'm sure the Carvex would work just fine. But, any excuse to buy a new tool is a good one. Then again, I guess I'm a tool wh__e. lol

- Rich

--------------------

Hi,

I have a client looking for a 48 inch round tabletop.  Material to be either birch or maple.  They would like the tabletop to be 1 1/4 inches thick. 

I have the Carvex with the circle cutting jig.  Would this be best or do you think this would be a good project for the OF2200 with a spiral cutting bit and a circle cutting jig.  I have been coveting the 2200 for some time and would love to buy it for just this project.

Thanks.

Brian

 

[rvieceli]

All kidding aside, [tongue]

Even if you use the Carvex to get the top to the rough dimensions, I think that the router would useful to clean up the edge and/or put a profile in it.

Ron

 

[semenza]

I did a 48" round table top by using a trammel  point to simply draw the circle.  Cut with jig saw near to the line (with in a 1/16") then sanded to the line.

Lots of methods to do it.

Seth

 

[Tayler_mann]

Use the carved to make a pattern out of 1/4" MDF and use the 1400 with a pattern bit to finish the job.

 

[tjbnwi]

Carvex, clean up with router.

Tom

 

[bobfog]

Cut a template out of cheap MDF with your Carvex and then use a bearing guided pattern bit in any router to duplicate the circle.

That way once you have your MDF template the rest is idiot proof and if you mess the template up you can start again and not have to cry over ruining the actual top.

 

[Hud]

I have made several round tables that size and have used a trammel center screwed to bottom of table and the routed to shape works great.  It's a lot easier now that plunge routers are available.  I used a similar set up to shape shelves (2.25" thick) with a 155" outer radius and 137 inner radius.  This task would have been much easier with my OF1400 rather than the Stanely/Bosch I used.

 

[Cheese]

[member=22566]Hud[/member]

I used a similar set up to shape shelves (2.25" thick) with a 155" outer radius and 137 inner radius. 

Just curious if you have a photo of the curved shelves to post. They sound interesting. [big grin]

 

[Holmz]

I do not have good things to say about the longevity of this tool, but for circle it is brilliant.
=31

 

[sancho57]

Trammel,and 2200 with a spiral, bit

Or make a template and 2200 with a template bit

 

[Stone Message]

I have done several round or semi-circular table tops using a variety of materials including oak.

To do a really fine job you need to finish with the router using either a template or a trammel. With material as thick as you describe, particularly if your maple is hard, I would start by using the Carvex to get rid of all but the last 2-3 mm.

If you are happy to use a trammel you can avoid putting a trammel point hole even in the underside of your top. Lightly sand the centre of your top to make it reasonable smooth. Take a smooth and flat piece of scrap with a trammel point hole at its centre and join it to your top, at the centre, using double sided tape. For a top of the size you intend to make you will need about 8-12 square inches of double sided tape to guarantee a sound union. Alternatively have the trammel point under the top and fill - somewhat easier !

I have recently made a circular platform for a child's Jolly Jumper (or whatever it is called - it might be Jumperoo) out of 18 mm MDF cut as a ring about 890 mm in diameter. I will try and include some footage of it in my next Workshop Notes video due out in the next couple of weeks. I will show the hexagonal hollow ring being made and then cut into a circular disc by trimming on the inside and outside using my trammel.

If trammels are not your thing then do use the MDF template mentioned above. In my view the key to this is to use the router for the final perfect edge unless your client actually wants something less formal.

This is an ideal opportunity to get the OF 2200 which is one of Festool's 3 most elegantly designed and engineered tools.

Peter

 

[DiscoStu]

Go on then Peter, please let us know what the other two are?

I'm guessing you'll say TS55 and Domino 500? Unless you say the OF1400 and OF1010!

 

[Brian Livingstone]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  I think I will go with the carvex, then the 2200 with a trammel and a spiral bit.

My dealer has a 2200 collecting dust.  Let's see if he will give me thirty days to pay for it !

All the best to everyone from frigid Nova Scotia !

Brian

 

[Stone Message]

Go on then Peter, please let us know what the other two are?

I'm guessing you'll say TS55 and Domino 500? Unless you say the OF1400 and OF1010!

This is just my opinion as I have not had the opportunity to try every tool that Festool make....

The three machines which I think are the best designed and engineered are the OF2200, DF 700 Domino and the Conturo.

To give a more rounded response; I also think that the CMS concept is very clever, the CT extractors are amazing and the DF500 Domino is my most useful tool.

I cannot manage without my Kapex and the ETS EC 150 is my go-to sander.

Peter

 

[jacko9]

Any router that you have will do the job easily.  I just cut a strip of 1/8" plywood drill holes to attach to my router cut a hole for the bit and a center pin.  Take shallow cuts 1/16" at a time and you will have good results.  I have cut many tables with my Porter Cable 7/8 hp router - works like a charm.

Jack

 

[Tinker]

I have not done any round tabletops yet, but am planning to do a small table with half round drp leafs for my daughter for next Christmas.  I have used several methods for cutting round lazy suzans of varying sizes, all of which i am sure would work with a rond table top.

The first time, i set up a jig on my ban saw table using my CMS with one of the metal dowels under the wood tray and just spun the tray around into the BS blade.  My daughter wanted it to be left rough edged, so that was the finished edge.  I have used all of the methods discussed above as well.  I like the trammel method with the center pin into the under side of the wood so the hole is hidden from view when project is finished and flipped over as Peter Parfit mentioned the best.

I do not have a 2200, but for 3/4" to 1" thick cuts, trimming with BS or jigsaw to within 1/16 or 1/8" outside of the circle and then my CMS as a trammel and my OF 1000 router has worked fine for me.  I do have the OF 1400 and a couple of PC routers that can work just as well for the size projects I have done.  I use an upcut spiral bit for the routing part.

Tinker

 

[Brian Livingstone]

Hi,

Here is a photo of the tabletop I have been working on.  I initially tried to use the Carvex with the circle cutting jig.  I don't think it was designed to work with such thick stock (1 1/4 inch hard maple).  I ended up making a trammel to fit my OF1400 out of 1/4 inch hardwood plwyood (AB walnut no less !).  I used a 1/2 inch up cut spiral bit that I bought at Lee Valley.  With four passes, it worked perfectly. 

The glue up was a bit challenging.  I used the largest dominos for the DF500.  I staggered the dominos at 28 mm and then 40 mm to try to keep the stock flat.  It worked reasonably well.  I used my RS2 to flatten the top.  What a nice finish sander !  It reminds me of a big old Caddy floating on the tabletop. 

I was looking for an excuse to buy the OF2200, but I couldn't pull it off.  The OF1400 was more than capable.

All the best. 

Brian

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Brian

That is a lovely bit of work - I really like maple. I still hate myself for burning maple on my fire when we lived in Canada.

Peter