One day while organizing my shop, I happened upon my circle cutter – a rather unruly looking device. It reminded me of watching YouTube videos of people making wooden jewelry such as rings and the like. Given the capacity of the tool, I decided to make a bracelet. Read on to hear of my mishaps and see this thing in action!
I inherited this little device from my father and this was the first time I ever used it. I donned my personal protection equipment – full face shield for this bad boy! I wasn’t taking any chances!
The circle cutter mounts in the drill press and should be operated at a slow speed. At first, I had that thing whipping around at 1500 rpm! I wondered why I was smelling smoke. After I completed the cut, I noticed hot burn marks in the scrap piece of pine. So hot, I’m glad it didn’t catch the saw dust on fire. I decided to reduce the speed down to 150 rpm and cut from both sides of the material – success! It was time to craft the bracelet out of a nice piece of hardwood.
The method was refined and produced a perfect circle. The outside diameter was roughly cut on the bandsaw and shaped into a circle with a jig used on the disc sander. Alternatively, I could have used a hole saws if I had them in the correct size. The edges were rounded on the router table and then sanded smooth. The bracelet was stained and spray lacquered.
While I may not be eager to jump into the jewelry business, I had fun trying something new. I used a tool for the first time and I improved my finishing technique. For now, the bracelet is displayed as a show piece; Jill said it was clunky. Would you wear it?