Small Circle with the Carvex

[joiner1970]

Muffel ? Dip Saw ?

I really wish Mafell wasn't such a skunk of a company to deal with from Australia ... I'd honestly be tempted to get one of their jig saws ... with 4 already (3 Festool, 1 Hitachi) that's a dramatic call for me!

I'm not joking about "skunk" ... just trying to be polite - over two years ago and I still resent being rudely told to "go away and talk to their US reseller" ... idiots [blink]

"Muffy, would you be a dear and fetch me my Muffel dip saw?"

Kev, have you tried writing to Mafell senior management?

Great video. I think she's coming on to him there at the end; she'x certainly getting cozy for a reporter...

Tell me you're joking ... Lucia Braitmaier himself told me to sod off and talk to Timberwolf US if I was interested in Mafell. At that point I concluded that his tiny little brain didn't know where Australia was and it cured me of EVER dealing with them.

The UK one isn't much better. I bought the mafell biscuit joiner a few years back and when I opened the box a part had fallen off. When I contacted mafell the guy on the phone just said " oh just super glue it back on it will be fine". Lol a brand new tool and I'm supposed to repair it myself , great. Luckily the dealer was much more helpful and sent me a new unit the very next day.

 

[abgoto]

I'm trying to cut a small circle with th carvex circle cutter. I've cut some medium sized ones, but when I try to do th smallest ones, the pin and base that connects the carvex get in the way of each other. I must be missing something simple.

Back to the original question.

I'm trying to cut a circle with a 56mm radius.  The specs for the circle cutter indicate it can cut a circle as small as 46mm.  At this radius, the base blocks the hole for the trammel pin. How do you cut a small circle?  I'm not interested in buying a Mafell jigsaw, a drill press or hole saw, I'm interested in the correct way to use the tool I have. The only solution I can think of is to trim away the part of the base that is blocking the trammel pin hole. Since the circle cutter is brand new, I'm reluctant to do this.  Any ideas on how to hit the stated minimum radius for the Carvex circle cutter accessory?

 

[semenza]

I am not sure how the OP wants to proceed but I note on the FestoolUSA site that the minimum circle size using the circle cutter is stated at 4 3/8" diameter which would be about the 56mm radius.

Seth

 

[Grasshopper]

I'd say use a 2" hole saw, and cut through painters tape.  I have had success actually running the hole saw on my drill, but cutting it in reverse to minimize chipout.  Depending on your access, I use the center drill chuck and drill (in reverse) until about half the depth.  I then flip the material and line up the chuck, and cut the remainder in reverse. 

Good luck.

 

[teocaf]

i'm not sure where you're reading the spec of 46mm but the carvex manual on page 17 states that you can "create circular cuts with a diameter between 120 and 3000 mm."  that would mean a radius of 60mm which would just clear the pin.  however, if you assume the 46 mm because that's where the pointer ends up when tape retracted to a minimum, i can think of 4 ways that can be done: 

1. instead of cutting away part of base, simply drill a hole in base that lines up with the hole, which should not hurt anything.
2. setup your material to allow the pin to come in through bottom and then it could be pushed in until pointed end hits the bottom of the base from underneath
3.  trim the green head of the pin a bit or order an ekat spare and trim that one.
4.  use a substitute "pin" of same diameter like a nut and bolt setup that has a head low enough to clear the base.
 
as far as "correct way" to do anything in the shop, i don't subscribe to that kind of approach.  i'm more of a "there are many ways to skin the cat" kind of guy.  i don't mean that in an "anarchy type" of way, but i'm always confronted with limitations of equipment and actually relish the challenge of finding workarounds as i try to make various tools do more and more things.

 

[abgoto]

I am not sure how the OP wants to proceed but I note on the FestoolUSA site that the minimum circle size using the circle cutter is stated at 4 3/8" diameter which would be about the 56mm radius.

Seth

Thanks Seth.  My misunderstanding was based on reading the supplemental manual.  On page 16 of the Carvex Supplemental Manual, there is a table indicating that the minimum circle size is 3 5/8" or a 46mm radius.  This is an understandable, although apparently incorrect, assumption as the scale on the circle cutter starts at 46mm.

 

[abgoto]

i'm not sure where you're reading the spec of 46mm but the carvex manual on page 17 states that you can "create circular cuts with a diameter between 120 and 3000 mm."  that would mean a radius of 60mm which would just clear the pin.  however, if you assume the 46 mm because that's where the pointer ends up when tape retracted to a minimum, i can think of 4 ways that can be done: 

1. instead of cutting away part of base, simply drill a hole in base that lines up with the hole, which should not hurt anything.
2. setup your material to allow the pin to come in through bottom and then it could be pushed in until pointed end hits the bottom of the base from underneath
3.  trim the green head of the pin a bit or order an ekat spare and trim that one.
4.  use a substitute "pin" of same diameter like a nut and bolt setup that has a head low enough to clear the base.
 
as far as "correct way" to do anything in the shop, i don't subscribe to that kind of approach.  i'm more of a "there are many ways to skin the cat" kind of guy.  i don't mean that in an "anarchy type" of way, but i'm always confronted with limitations of equipment and actually relish the challenge of finding workarounds as i try to make various tools do more and more things.

Thanks for the thorough reply and the creative workarounds.  You are correct, the paper manual states the minimum diameter as 120mm.  I was reading the Supplemental Manual PDF and on page 16 of that document, it indicates that the minimum diameter is 92mm.  I tend to file the paper manuals, and load the PDFs on to an iPad.