Does anyone know if we have a router bit like the following?
http://www.rockler.com/1-dish-carving-router-bit-1-4-shank
I want to create a shallow rectangular jewelry dish. Would it be best to make it in in two halves or is it possible to plunge cut using our router table?
I wouldn’t bet on having a shaper like that.
As for technique, I think that I would make a template out of MDF, and use a router with a collar for that job. You might need to do it in stages depending on big a bowl you want to carve (you would need to have enough template for the router to have a steady base.) If you did it in stages, I would say to have a little more than half the bowl exposed, and then flip it along the long side to get the other half of the bowl. That would let you get double the width.
(Building a jig would let you do some mass production, too, which is nice if you are making gifts.)
I found a suitable round over bit and used the following fence, is there a better way to use router table than just clamping extra boards down?
I couldn’t see if that router bit was center cutting or not. Just being that it is a wood working bit I would assume it is. One may plunge with a center cutting tool. If you don’t want to spend the money or wait on an expensive tool you can always just model your dish in 3d and CNC it. A ball nose cutter would work fine for what you want to do.
It won’t let me upload the solidworks file. Is there a way to attach a file to a post?
While I think what you did is pretty great you may be taking off too much at once and that is why you are getting those marks in the center. I would start with a very shallow cut. Then give the wheel one full rotation (1/32) for every cut after that.
I also think you might need to build the jig into the fence. The slots use standard nuts (cant remember the size off the top of my head) but you could make some thing slides left to right and then move the fence back in steps. That way you are making uniform cuts instead of the swirls. This would help prevent the tear out when you go against the grain. I am not guaranteeing you will get better results but its what I would try.
No matter what you will have to sand after wards.
Also you may want to using the plunge router but you will have to make a template. It might actually be easier. See image.