I’ve been using a circle cutter a lot lately and got tired of setting the diameter using the gauge stamped on the cross bar. It’s awkward and not too accurate. So to get around this problem, I found a scrap piece of plywood, cut it square, and marked a cross through the center of the piece, as you can see in the upper photo. Then I drilled a centered hole using the guide bit on the circle cutter. That’s all there is to it.
Using the gauge is easy. Just mark the radius of the desired circle on one of the centerlines you made earlier and place the circle cutter in the guide hole (bottom photo at right). You can use a square to position the cutting knife so it’s aligned with the radius mark, and tighten the set screw. All you need to do now is mount the circle cutter in your drill press and cut out the circle. The result? A perfectly sized cutout every time.
