When working with various types wood you always need to know the detailed variations in its processing. Before you cut a circle in plywood, you need to know all the options, because you often have to adapt to the situation. There are many options for carrying out such an undertaking, and they differ radically.

In order to cut a circle from plywood, you can use both professional tools and improvised means.

Power tools or hand tools?

Tools and materials:

• drill;
• jigsaw;
• hand jigsaw;
• milling machine;
• nails;
• rope;
• chisel;
• hammer;
• stationery knife;
• sandpaper;
• compass.

When determining the diameter of the future circle, it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of the working cutter.

The most popular option among all is a jigsaw. This tool allows you to cut not only circles, but also any other geometric shapes. Its only disadvantage is the need to form additional grooves at turning points (corners), but this is not noticeable when creating a circle. It is very important to choose the right nail file, because... they come in 3 types: vomiting on the left, vomiting on the right, vomiting on both sides. After the canvas is selected, cut out a circle of any size.

An ordinary hand jigsaw. Before cutting a circle from plywood using this tool, you need to make sure that the workflow is accessible. The main difficulty is the limitation (usually up to 30 cm) due to the physical structure, i.e. It will not work in deep places. When starting work, not from the edge, but directly from the center, the nail file is threaded last.

Milling machine. Very convenient option, but requiring rigid adhesion to the surface, for which a self-tapping screw is screwed into the center of the circle. A circle can be made of any diameter, and very quickly. Sometimes there is not enough working handle, which is why you have to make all sorts of improvised brackets, which can be a channel, a profile, a block, a board or even a rope, but with a rigid hitch it is much more convenient. This tool makes a fairly wide hole, so before starting work you need to carefully measure the future structure.

It is necessary to select only sharp nails, and sand the edges of the resulting workpiece with coarse sandpaper.

Nails. A very popular method in cases where the work must be done “yesterday”, but the tools will not be available soon. It is worth noting right away that the work ends up being quite rough, so it is used as a last resort. All you need is a hammer, 2 nails and a rope. One nail is driven into the center of the hole, and the other is pulled on a rope to the required length (radius), after which a circle is drawn with a firm movement. Such circles with pressure continue until the circle is finally cut out. At the very end, the nail is removed from the hole, turned over and carefully beaten with a hammer to achieve a more accurate seam.

Chisel and stationery knife. Here everything is much simpler, because first you need to draw a circle with a compass (pencil), after which this circle is circled several times stationery knife under pressure. The peculiarity of the stroke is the movement not of a knife, but of a sheet of plywood, so as not to break the metal, and this action is repeated on 2 sides. Then a chisel is applied to the prepared seam and with gentle blows it is brought to the opposite seam (2-3 blows are usually enough). At the very end, a circle is knocked out with a hammer, as in the version with nails.

Plywood sheets are rarely used in the same format in which they are offered for sale. Most often, plywood is additionally cut. Often the task arises of obtaining a workpiece of a certain shape. How to cut a circle from plywood, even without having a special tool at hand, we will tell you in more detail.

1. It is recommended to cut only on dry plywood. Humidity increases the resistance of the board and increases the risk of fractures, veneer delamination and other defects.
2. Replace cutting tool It is better immediately when primary signs of dullness appear.
3. When using electric jigsaw In order to obtain the cleanest possible edges of the workpiece, the cutting line should be directed along the fibers, but when using hand tools- across the veneer. In the latter case, there may be more chips, but the tool most likely will not leave the cutting line.
4. When transferring drawings or other elements onto plywood, try to ensure that flaws (spots, knots and cracks on the material) go to waste and not to the plywood itself.
5. If the task is complex, for example, cutting out a round product, then you need to think about using a special tool (a circular or ordinary saw will not work) or original improvised means.

How to cut a circle from plywood

The hardest thing to decide is how to cut smooth circle made of plywood, if there is no special tool at hand. But even in such a situation there is a way out - improvised means. What is the essence of the method:

1. The main tool is a wooden strip with a pair of nails.
2. The first nail must be driven through the strip and then placed in the very center of the plywood piece.
3. The second nail should be as sharp as possible. It is driven in at a distance equal to the radius of the circle from the first one. The point should protrude from the strip by about 5-10 mm or more (depending on the thickness of the plywood sheet).
4. By rotating the bar relative to the first nail, the second nail forms a groove and gradually deepens in the plywood
5. Rotations are carried out until the plywood sheet is completely cut.

Instead of a bar, you can use a high-strength cord, but the principles of obtaining a circle do not change.

More traditional methods for making a circle from plywood using a suitable tool:

• jigsaw - electric or manual. Initially, a sketch is made in pencil (for example, using a template), then a cut is made along the lines, and the finished part is additionally sanded with a file or sandpaper;
• milling cutter. An excellent tool for making a circle from thick plywood. The standard ruler is fixed with a self-tapping screw in the center of the circle. Next, the cutter rotates along a given radius, forming a hole with the correct round shape.

Why do you need a plywood circle?

Before you think how to cut a circle in plywood with a jigsaw, you need to clearly understand why it is needed. Subsequently, either the resulting round-shaped blank itself or a plywood sheet with a hole of the correct shape can be used.

Where it might come in handy round blank from plywood:

• for making various crafts and templates for them;
• used as a base for a wall clock;
• be used for subsequent figure cutting or decoupage;
• act as the seat of a stool, a kitchen tabletop or coffee table etc.
• for creating various souvenirs, for example, boxes, etc.

You may also need to cut out the correct circle from plywood for subsequent use of a sheet with a hole:

• installing a mortise sink into the countertop;
• getting a ceiling with a cutout underneath lighting fixtures round shape ( spotlights or one chandelier);
• for the production of furniture with decorative facades and other elements, etc.

Any design, whether in your home or in production, involves working with metal.

Often, during the operation of this material, the question may arise: how to cut a circle in?

It deserves attention because of the choice the right tool and technology directly depends on the complexity of the process of performing work and the quality of its result.

Metal can be thin or thick and durable, so a variety of tools are used to cut it.

The choice of materials and cutting technology also depends on what diameter the circle is needed and how even it should be.

Using a jigsaw

If you need a perfectly even circle, you can use an electric one to cut it out.

The work is carried out in several stages:

• First, the thickness of the metal is determined and the appropriate saw blade for an electric jigsaw.
• Before cutting a circle in metal with a jigsaw, mark the outline of the circle that will be cut on the working plane.
• Using a drill and a drill (with a diameter of eight to ten millimeters), a hole is cut out from which work will begin.
• A jigsaw saw blade is placed in the resulting gap and cutting continues as planned.

Cutting using this tool does not take much time and effort. Moreover, using a jigsaw you can get a circle with perfect edges. But this tool is used only for working with metal of minimal or medium thickness (for example, 2 - 3 mm).

Using an angle grinder

The grinder is used when working with thin metal. Educate with this tool round hole you can by following these step-by-step tips:

• Before cutting a circle in metal with a grinder, markings are made so that its contours are clearly visible.
• Along the entire length of the intended drawing, short sections are cut with a grinder disk, which will eventually be connected.
• The figure will look more like a polyhedron than a circle. Therefore, after cutting is completed, the product is processed and cleaned until the edges become sufficiently even and smooth. You can also use a grinder for processing. If the circle is wide, you can sharpen the contours with a large disk.

When processing a cut circle using a grinder, you should be careful that the disk is inside the hole and, at the same time, is located in the same plane with the work sheet.

Cutting a circle in thick metal

In order to outline the exact contours of the figure that will be cut out of metal, you should use a ruler, a marking compass and a marker.

First, using , the required width of the compass connector is set so that it matches the required diameter of the circle.

Then the center point of the circle is determined on the metal plane.

Contours are drawn from it using a compass.

So that they are clearly visible during the work, they should be drawn with a marker.

Application of cutting torch

A circle in medium-thick metal can be cut using a gas cutter. The work takes place in several stages:

• The outline of the circle is outlined.
• The instrument burner lights up.
• The combustion torch is adjustable.
• The torch is carefully and slowly drawn according to the drawn drawing.

Using this method, you can cut a hole in metal that is about four or five millimeters.

Application of welding machine

If you don’t have a gas cutter at home, you can use a welding machine.

It needs to be adjusted to the most high level current

Then the burning arc is placed against the contour and held there until a hole is formed.

Then you just need to slowly move it along the drawing until you get an even circle.

But the most important thing is to correctly adjust the power of the tool.

For example, if metal about four millimeters thick is used, a device operating at about 150 amperes is required. If the metal is thicker, the power of the tool will be greater.

To speed up the process, it is better to use thin electrodes. However, they burn out quickly and need to be replaced. Because of this, there will be a need for frequent heating of the metal, since during the replacement of the electrode it will have time to cool down.

How to cut an even circle from metal with a cutter is shown in the video: