Cutting a Curve on a Kitchen Worktop

Kate Bygrave · Post by **Kate Bygrave** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:01 pm

I wanted curved corners on my worktops as the room is narrow and they would have been a problem with square corners because both side have doors beside them.

I tried cutting a curve with the dreaded jigsaw before I knew how useless it was! Needless to say I have a lovely curve on one side but the other is wiggly where the blade has wandered.

I wondered if you had any advice on how to remedy the situation or tell me how to cut a curve properly so I can trim some more off neatly.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:37 pm

The way to do it is with a router and a straight cutting bit with a bearing. You cut the shape you want on a bit of 6mm MDF and get it as good as you can do. Then you position it and screw this guide to the underneath of the worktop. Set the router bit bearing to align with this guide and the router will trim it exactly to match the form.

I realise that this might be a tad complex but this is the way to do it.

DWD

jamesmorricejoinery · Post by **jamesmorricejoinery** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:46 pm

dewaltdisney wrote:The way to do it is with a router and a straight cutting bit with a bearing. You cut the shape you want on a bit of 6mm MDF and get it as good as you can do. Then you position it and screw this guide to the underneath of the worktop. Set the router bit bearing to align with this guide and the router will trim it exactly to match the form.

I realise that this might be a tad complex but this is the way to do it.

DWD

or you can hire/borrow a trend router jig and router trend jigs have a curve setting on it and its dead true and easy

Kate Bygrave · Post by **Kate Bygrave** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:58 pm

Hi DWD,

I've never used a router before. I found a photo though.

Can you tell me a bit more about the technique?

I presume I need a router that will cut a groove at least the thickness of the worktop plus 6mm?

Does the former need to be the same radius as the curve I need or will it need to be offset.

Also how do I make sure I get neat ends at the cuts to let in the laminate? It needs to be glued on.

dewaltdisney wrote:The way to do it is with a router and a straight cutting bit with a bearing. You cut the shape you want on a bit of 6mm MDF and get it as good as you can do. Then you position it and screw this guide to the underneath of the worktop. Set the router bit bearing to align with this guide and the router will trim it exactly to match the form.

I realise that this might be a tad complex but this is the way to do it.

DWD

Kate Bygrave · Post by **Kate Bygrave** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:00 pm

jamesmorricejoinery wrote:or you can hire/borrow a trend router jig and router trend jigs have a curve setting on it and its dead true and easy

How much do you think one would cost to hire James?

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:26 pm

Have a look at this video which shows the way the Trend jig works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl0AQfthafo

You will see that this system uses a guide bush to fit the jig. The way I suggested is a cheaper way of doing it and uses a flush cutting bit like this http://www.ehow.com/video_4420158_using ... rking.html The bearing will follow the form of the curve you make for your jig.

You need a fairly big router to cut worktops and even then you must do a two or three passes. The cutters blunt very quickly as well.

DWD

Inky Pete · Post by **Inky Pete** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:18 am

If you use a straight bit with a bearing, does it not all have to be done in one pass?

Surely the bearing has to stay on the pre-cut template.

big-all · Post by **big-all** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:45 am

yes pete you need a reliable jigsaw to cut within 2 or 3mm then use the flush trim bit

also if you have a post formed front edge[curved] you need to leave the front edge at an angle of say 20 degrees
in otherwords the front off your arc doesnt touch your worktop it finnishes say 4 inches in front

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:13 am

Yes Pete, what I meant was that I pictured a lumpy original cut made by Kate and that it might need a couple of passes before the bearing actually touches the form. That was not very clear was it? It did work perfectly in the screen in my mind though

DWD

Kate Bygrave · Post by **Kate Bygrave** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:53 pm

I thought I would post a quick update.

Thank you everyone for your assistance.

I managed to buy a router complete with table at a car boot sale for £15!

It all works well as far as I can tell and it even has an attachment so that I can 'pin' a rod connecting to the router to the underside of the worktop.

However the router only has a ¼" collet and there are no straight bits long enough for this. Apparently they would not be stable enough.

I think I will either buy or hire a ½" collet router and do it with that. It looks fairly straightforward; so fingers crossed!

Kate Bygrave · Post by **Kate Bygrave** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:21 pm

Eureka; I've worked out how to do it!

First I rout a 25mm deep straight cut using the radius attachment and following the line of my previous cut to neaten it up.

Then with a 25mm straight flush bearing rout bit, I route from the other side to finish it off.

I hope it works out as easy as it sounds!

thescruff · Post by **thescruff** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 1:53 pm

Loads of practice on some old stuff sounds like a plan.

big-all · Post by **big-all** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:59 pm

sorry not that easy you should only cut around half the shaft diameter per pass
so 6.35 call it 3.5mm 7x3.5 =24.5 now at this stage your router cutter if its good quality and sharp at the start will bestarting to do a good impression off a kipper factory

now you may or may not get a visit from the men with large hoses and braces on the second side it all depends on the quality off the cutter even if the cutter is up to the task matching up the pivot points will be a nightmare because
without drilling a hole from one side to the other you have no way off transferring the pivot point accuratly !!!
you can make a specific board from 6mm ply/mdf with accurate reference lines and double sided sticky tape
and on one off the sides you will break out the front and chip the front edge off the laminate

Kate Bygrave · Post by **Kate Bygrave** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:50 pm

big-all wrote:sorry not that easy you should only cut around half the shaft diameter per pass
so 6.35 call it 3.5mm 7x3.5 =24.5 now at this stage your router cutter if its good quality and sharp at the start will bestarting to do a good impression off a kipper factory

now you may or may not get a visit from the men with large hoses and braces on the second side it all depends on the quality off the cutter

Noted, but as the cut has already been made roughly, then I don't need to take out much wood. But I will take it slowly and ensure i don't create a premature bonfire.

big-all wrote:matching up the pivot points will be a nightmare because
without drilling a hole from one side to the other you have no way off transferring the pivot point accuratly !!!
you can make a specific board from 6mm ply/mdf with accurate reference lines and double sided sticky tape
and on one off the sides you will break out the front and chip the front edge off the laminate

I will be using a router bit with a bearing, so I won't need the pivot point on the second pass because the first pass cut will act as a guide.

big-all · Post by **big-all** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:00 pm

gotcha your rough cutting with a jigsaw
you can probably get away with 6 to 8mm passes dependant on around 5mm of material being left but be prepaired chipboard woktops will blunt router cutters 50 times quicker than a nice bit off pine

Cutting a Curve on a Kitchen Worktop

Cutting a Curve on a Kitchen Worktop

Update

Problem Solved!