8mm Diamater Bar

[Adam]

I want to cut a couple of curves on my router - and think the best thing is to pivot it using the same holes the fence mounts in. NMA tell me its 8mm diameter bar.

Can anyone suggest a place to get it, convenience over price may be the key here - do B&Q and people sell this sort of stuff? Alternatively - any online suppliers recommended? I probably need about 2meters in total

Adam

 

[RogerS]

Adam

Do you mean a continuous length of 2m?

If shorter lengths will do then maybe threaded 8mm rod from your builders merchants like Travis Perkins might work.

I bought 3m lengths of threaded rod from off the web (but details in my other PC and can't get to it until the weekend)

Roger

 

[Alf]

Dunno about B&Q, but the local "Home Hardware" ironmongers round here have metal stock in a display - 1m lengths iirc - 8mm rod included. I assume you don't want a 2m length do you? :shock:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Adam]

Dunno about B&Q, but the local "Home Hardware" ironmongers round here have metal stock in a display - 1m lengths iirc - 8mm rod included. I assume you don't want a 2m length do you? :shock:

Cheers, Alf

No! :lol: 2 x 1m lengths would be fine. Doesn't have to be threaded, although I don't suppose it matters.

Adam

 

[RogerS]

1m threaded rod aka studding is fairly standard at Travis Perkins. Easier to get then straight bar perhaps.

 

[Neil]

B&Q have bar in various sizes, although I'm not sure if they are metric or not. Presumably it wouldn't matter too much if it was slightly undersized?

Also are you sure you need 2 lengths? Most trammel systems I've seen just use one bar.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Adam]

Also are you sure you need 2 lengths? Most trammel systems I've seen just use one bar. Cheers, Neil

Good point - I was jsut thinking itd be more rigid.

Adam

 

[Scrit]

Any engineers merchants or steel stockholder who caries tool steels should be able to supply 8mm diameter turned silver steel bar stock (or if you had a DW625/MOF177, 10mm - my Bosch GOF1700 seems to use 3/8in, though) at a reasponable price. If in the North West try K-Supplies, they charge £1.75+VAT for 13in lengths, or £11.76 for 2m lengths - plus VAT of coarse. I'd be wary of using threaded rod as it might damage the openings in your router base.

 

[gidon]

Adam
My local B&W (Warehouse) sells 6,8,10 (IIRC) metal bars in 1m lengths. Quite reasonable too. Axminstersell shorter lengths - probably not what you're after but still.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Barry Burgess]

I want to cut a couple of curves on my router - and think the best thing is to pivot it using the same holes the fence mounts in. NMA tell me its 8mm diameter bar.

Can anyone suggest a place to get it, convenience over price may be the key here - do B&Q and people sell this sort of stuff? Alternatively - any online suppliers recommended? I probably need about 2meters in total

Adam

I made a circle cutter with two 8mm threaded bars (1000mm) from B&Q. Most iron mongers sell them in 3m lengths
In the end I shortened them to 600mm as it was more workable.

 

[Alf]

Just checked what I have in the workshop, and 8mm "cold drawn" (iirc) is amongst the varieties I've got from these common metal stock displays - couple of quid a length I seem to recall.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Waka]

[quote+"Barry"] made a circle cutter with two 8mm threaded bars (1000mm) from B&Q. Most iron mongers sell them in 3m lengths
In the end I shortened them to 600mm as it was more workable.[/quote]

barry

Got any pic's of the jig?

 

[jasonB]

Just look in your yellow pages for steel stockholders, ask for bright mild steel bar. 3.0m is a standard length. I would avoid studding as it usually ends up a little undersize and may damage the alloy base casting after time.

If you prefer on-line then these people have most bar & rod and will supply what length you want.

http://www.collegeengineering.co.uk/materials.htm

Jason

 

[JFC]

Why not make a circle cutting jig up ? its a lot safer to use than the bar method . I made mine out of a strip of mdf with a ball shape at the top , the ball shape was big enough to take the router base and a 50mm batten all round . I drew a line down the center and drilled a hole in the ball shape on the C/L , then placed my router on the ball shape part and lined up the two groves on the router base with my line making the router centered . Then fixed 3 batterns around the router base to hold it in place . I can now drop the router into the jig when i need to use it . On the other end of the jig i can put a screw into the C/L to give me any curve i want . Hole jig took no more than 10 mins and a few of cuts .

 

[Barry Burgess]

No Waka I have not got pictures - I will try and take a picture over the weekend -its very simple
I am now using my Triton router for circles.

 

[Anonymous]

Just to throw a spanner in the works, if you intend to use the rods regularly and want to store them easily in the box with the router, the Mod Rods from Trend are quite neat. They come in a pair, each about 300mm long IIRC, and screw together so you can go as long as you want by adding additional rods. I think they are about a tenner a pair.

Andy

 

[JFC]

The rod idea is fine i find its the crappy hand tightened pivot thing that holds the whole circle thing together thats the problem . Or have they come up with something else since i binned mine ? I tend to bin alot of things from trend come to think of it :lol:

 

[jasonB]

I use an MDF version of this, the bottom design.

Jason