Cutting A Circle

[mugwump]

how about a string and a thumb tack to mark out the circle, and then cut it with you shears? that way you can make any diameter you want, and are not limited to the tool/wing divider size? just a thought....

eric

[SouthernCross]

How big?

Generally, take a pipe, sharpen the end on a grinder, wet the leather, pound on the pipe till you have a hole.

Aaron

Oh, heck - now why haven't I thought of that before! So simple and inexpensive it ought to be illegal....

I'll be keeping my eyes open for some "coaster-sized" pipe.

Thanks, Aaron.

[LNLeather]

FYI - While searching for something else I came upon this old thread for ----> Circle Cutting

that also has different ideas for cutting circles...

In this very old thread started back in 11/08, is a link to some other Circle Cutters

that may also be of help. lion-office.com

There are a dozen or so different designs including the one I used to use...

LION Ev-R-Round Perfiect Circle cutter - which was an inexpensive solution to

my less than perfect hand cut circles.

There are a lot of really good ideas and also a couple of other links in that old post for other cutters...

Latest Gadget

and

Olfa Rotary Circle Cutter - # CMP-3

Hope this helps

Edited October 16, 2010 by LNLeather

[PensacolaJim]

Thanks Cheryl

[hidepounder]

This may seem like a silly question... but how the heck do I cut a clean circle?!?! Tried guides, freehand... Is there some kind of tool that I can use, like a compass that holds a blade?

Draw your circle with a compass and then use a round knife to cut the circle. Cut a series of straight or slightly curved arcs until you get all the way around. Don't try to make a freehand cut on a circle unless you really know how to sharpen your round knife and and have some knife skills. Cutting a series of straight slivers is a very easy way to cut a circle. Hope this helps.......

Bobby

Edited October 17, 2010 by hidepounder

[BWL]

When I cut circles of kangaroo that are for lace (generally 2-3 ft in diameter) I use a large set of wing dividers. They are cheap ones from Harbor Freight but are pretty sharp so they scribe a nice line. Since the kangaroo is fairly thin, I then use a set of Gingher scissors to cut the circle out (carefully). Im thinking about getting a gasket cutter and trying them out on kangaroo. Hopefully it will speed things up because the scissor approach takes a good piece of time. I think the determining factor is what you are trying to cut and how large a circle it is.

Hope this helps,

CW

I know this is an old post but, I was lurking and found this. The gasket cutters is a great idea and I bought a set.................. up to 2". when I received them I found they were sharp enough to cut gasket material (paper)

but not sharp enough to cut clean through leather. Anybody know how are who sharpens these.

[zaynexpetty]

Hi

When I started doing leather work I started out making coasters and

(Before I got my clicker die press) I used a really neat gizmo that cut leather in perfect circles...

much better than I could ever do by hand. I got it at misterart.com

lion Ev-R-Round Perfiect Circle cutter.jpg LION Ev-R-Round Perfiect Circle cutter

Hope this helps

Does this cutter cut a circle without making a center hole?

[LNLeather]

Yes, there are actually 2 ways to do it with this tool.

One is with a hole and one without... It's been a while since I used mine but

there is a piece that goes on to hold the cutter in place and it is like a small

round plate instead of the one with the pin. What I did was glue a thin piece

of leather to to the metal plate so there was no indentation the size of the plate either.

Hope this helps

[zaynexpetty]

Yes, there are actually 2 ways to do it with this tool.

One is with a hole and one without... It's been a while since I used mine but

there is a piece that goes on to hold the cutter in place and it is like a small

round plate instead of the one with the pin. What I did was glue a thin piece

of leather to to the metal plate so there was no indentation the size of the plate either.

Hope this helps

Ohhh, okay. I think I will try that out. On that website, they offer an "extender arm" or something for that circle cutter. Would I need that for cutting a 4 1/2 inch diameter circle?

Thanks!

[LNLeather]

Nope - You will not need the extender arm for that.

The LION EV-R-Round Circle Cutter will

cut circles from 3/4 in. up to 6 3/4 in.

btw - looks like Mr Art has the best price for that cutter