# looking for advice on cutting a deep oval hole, please help!



## brandon7985 (Mar 10, 2010)

Hello everyone,

I come to this forum disconcerted after much fruitless internet research. I am relatively new to woodworking. There is a project I am gathering tools and supplies for. To put it briefly, I need to cut a small elongated oval hole 3-1/8" deep, approximately 3/4" x 3/8" and also a 1/2"x1/2"x3-1/8" rounded-off square in a block of wood. I might be able to make a 1/2" diameter circle work rather then the rounded-off square IF the tool I buy to cut the oval hole cannot also cut the square hole. Tolerances on these measurements and their placement in the block are not tight, except on the shape of the oval, which needs to fit an insert relatively closely.

I know that the ideal tool for this job is probably a milling machine (are there wood-specific milling machines?); however I do not have $700+ to drop on one of those. The best route that I have found is to purchase a drill press and a milling bit and, hopefully an x-y table if the budget affords. Space is relatively limited, so I am looking at the Delta DP350 bench-top drill press with a 3-1/4" stroke. The next step up in stroke is a much more expensive floor model.

I would be very grateful for opinions on this. Will this setup work or is there a better option? Is there such thing as oval mortising? If so, it would probably be difficult to find the exact size mortising chisel that I need.

Thank you!!


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## brandon7985 (Mar 10, 2010)

ALSO, I forgot to mention, I am looking for suggestions on wood. I am looking for affordability, but the wood needs to be hard enough so that 1/4" or 3/16" thick walls between the holes and the edge of the block will be strong enough for daily handling/fumbling around - nothing rigorous.

Thanks again!!
Brandon


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

maybe a router and template. 3 1/8 long cut might mean a special order bit, but i'm sure available. harwood? wondering about bit flex.


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## brandon7985 (Mar 10, 2010)

Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean. Was I unclear above when I meant that the 3-1/8" was the depth of the hole?


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Does this have to be one single piece of wood or could you glue up several less thickness to get to your desired overall thickness. Also does the hole go all of the way through or does it have a bottom?

If you can use the glue up a router and template would work.


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## Keith W (Jan 26, 2010)

I think I would use a router and the longest straight cutting bit I could find and a template. You could start the hole from both sides and finish the hole with the drill press and chisels. That would leave the exposed edges with a clean cut and in the shape you want them in.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*deleted*

deleted


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## chubbyhubby (Mar 7, 2010)

Along the same lines as slatron25, can this be several pieces glued together to form a laminated block? If so, maybe just the 2 outer pieces need the oval openings, and the interior pieces could have larger and less precise openings, possibly just a 1" round hole. Either way, a router, and template is the way to go. You could use a template from one side, and then use a bottom bearing template bit from the opposite side, following the hole made with the template. Even if you did make an x-y table for a drill press, it would take a lot of practice trying to freehand the table movement in order to make an oval. Trust me, as a toolmaker, I have used milling machines A LOT. If you have a friend in a machine shop, this would be a quick job for a CNC mill. Any more info would be helpful. CH


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## Bigik (Dec 3, 2020)

I'm struggling with making a dugout too


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Unless I messed it, you did not write what is the project. If we knew that suggestions could be better.

george


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

this is a ten (10) year old thread - anyone that needs assistance in cutting a deep oval hole,
I suggest you make a new thread of your own with sketches, drawings or photos.

.


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