Woodpeckers has re-released their Radius Quick Jig router template set One Time Tool.
Each template has 2 radii, and they offer 6 jigs, for a total of 12 radii ranging from 1/8″ to 1-1/2″, in 1/8″ increments.
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They’re sized to work with your router table, as shown in the product imagery.
It’s a neat-looking way to add round corners to your work. But, they’re also pricey. The jigs are $40 each, or $240 for the set of 6, with a case included. If you want a custom-fitted Systainer, add $60 to the price.
The last time this One Time Tool was released, I slightly regretted not purchasing it. But, I could always make my own template, and there are other commercially-made templates, such as Rockler’s.
I really wanted Woodpeckers’ precision corner jig instead of the Quick Jig, because it looks like it could work with a router table or on larger workpieces with a handheld router. But, Rockler’s is close enough that I’d probably go in that direction.
See Also: Rockler corner radius jig (which is on sale for $35 as of the time of this posting)
Woodpeckers makes great products, but $240 for the set is a lot. Every time I see these, I think about what I’ve done to achieve round edges in the past, and the Radius Quick Jigs calls to me. But then I think of all the other ways I could put $240 to use.
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$240 buys the Rockler template, a hole saw set, and thick material that I can make into my own templates for other sizes.
But, you cannot ignore the simplicity and ease of use of this set.
If you find yourself wasting a lot of time making templates or hunting down circular materials every time you need to radius corners on your woodworking projects, this might the jig for you.
For me, I love Woodpeckers tools, but I might pick up that Rockler template set. If I get a lot of use out if it, maybe I’ll turn my attention back towards this Woodpeckers set the next time the One Time Tool is re-released.
Maybe I’ll order one size, to satisfy my editorial curiosity, but which one?!
Ordering Deadline: 9/17/2018
Shipping ETA: 12/2018
Buy Now(Set via Tool Nut)
More Info(via Woodpeckers)
Compare(Rockler Radius Template)
J.B.
I really need something like this, but man that price. I LOVE the WP tools I have and typically think the cost per return is worth supporting U.S. made quality tools. Though that is usually on tools that aren’t easily made in shop and require greater precision. That precision jig would be much more tempting at nearly half the cost per template with greater utility.
Paul K
I make a lot of radius corner shelving. Started out as a safety idea with a toddler and then I got to liking the look. Don’t own a router, I just trace a plate (dinner/dessert/saucer, glass, half/dollar depending on radius) rough cut and orbital sander. I’m not making heirloom quality stuff though and it all get’s painted. Stacking the pieces for sanding gets them pretty uniform.
Brett
OT but got any recs for paint that’s durable for shelving and cabinets but not a total pain to apply?
Paul K
Spray paint. Stuff in cans. Limited color selection sure, but fantastic for the purpose, match the rest of the room where you have flexibility with color around the shelves. Not sure what “total pain” is to you, spray is a total $%@!& to get into corners and you have to cover the whole room in plastic if you can’t move your project. But great hardness and durability. And really easy if you can pre-paint flat parts before assembly.
If you wan’t satin or semi-gloss “regular” paint, Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel is great to work with (IMHO, not everyone’s) is water based and hardens up fantastically. Does take a bit to fully cure/harden – weeks – but is great when it’s done, and you don’t really have to wait a month to put something on it, just saying it will be awhile before you realize why you paid $80 for a gallon (wait for sales). Love it.
SW Pro-Classic Alkyd Enamel is also really great for the purpose. Both the oil and water based. I find oil-based a “pain” myself but it’s bullet proof paint once applied, and may take a practice run or two to understand the best application technique to get a good surface (really, do practice a couple times). Water based version is easier but plan on 3 coats, which is also a “pain”.
Other surviving regional paint stores may also have good stuff.
Big box store “premium” flat and eggshell are fine on shelves you’re just putting books or other stuff on and don’t plan on scrubbing (like a kitchen cabinet) much. And easy. And “cheap”. I wouldn’t use their satin or semi-gloss on a shelf or cabinet because i don’t think they EVER fully harden, years later you can still mark with a fingernail.
I’m not a professional painter. Just someone who has tried a lot of paint.
Cristobal
Oftentimes you can find similar tools on eBay that are reasonably priced. Here is an example: I am not affiliated with the seller.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F232806650175
Stuart
I’ve seen other Woodpeckers knock-off tools before as well, and just can’t see myself buying them.
Cheyne
My main concern being precision. Woodpeckers are pricey but are exactly what they say they are and last forever.
Travis
Precision, this knockoff is just a radius in solid aluminum. Not much to get wrong. It will make each corner the same.
Flotsam
I don’t see where spending almost twice as much will give you any better final result. That seems like a reasonable price , thw Woodpeckers price is just outrageous
Framer joe
American made,American jobs,
Cristobal
To be fair, I own two products from WP. They are both impeccably made and I don’t regret purchase them. So obviously I have nothing against the company. That being said, I haven’t seen any evidence that the eBay jigs are intentional knockoffs. I have seen many similar jigs; some that predate the WP jigs. There is nothing incredibly complex in their design which would justify the WP asking price, or justify some sort of intellectual property argument in my opinion. WPs also make an expensive, very pretty and precise version of what is essentially a speed square. Would you consider this a Swanson knockoff, or simply their take on a common design. With the advent of affordable cnc machines I believe companies need to bring something special to the table if they want to charge super premium prices.
Framer joe
No square compares to a WP precision tool…if you don’t care about American jobs and high end tools,then ya buy Chinese crap
John
Ok, so I watched both the Woodpecker and the Rockler videos. The Rockler jig requires that you snap on a fence once you’ve selected the radius size you’re using. Other than that…
what am I missing? What possible reason could justify a nearly 7x price difference??
Stuart
Made in USA, and anodized aluminum vs. ABS plastic.
Flotsam
Actually the ebay listing above states that it is aluminum
Stuart
He was asking about the Rockler, not the knock-off. The Rockler is made from ABS and glass-filled ABS plastic.
Nathan S
If you know a radius that you’ll mostly use, then one jig makes some sense for $40.
Spending $240 on a set means you either have lots of money to burn, or you plan to make money cutting many different radii.
Stuart
Not necessarily.
I have a large drill bit set. Some bits are well-used and will be sharpened or replaced, others will never ever be used. The other day I needed a P or Q sized bit, and with with the P. That’s a size I hadn’t anticipated needing, and having the index saved me from having to spend money and wait 2 days to get the right bit, or having to improvise in some manner.
I can see myself using some of the sizes in this set, but not all of them. But if or when the time comes and I do need that size, it’s there. I’d anticipate that most will use some but not all of the sizes, but because of how the radii are setup, they might get use out of most of the templates.
My hesitation is that you cannot (easily?) use this without a router table. So what happens if you have to route a radius into a larger workpiece? That’s why I found their corner radius and chamfer One Time Tool more appealing.
But, for me, I think I’ll go with Rockler’s. I might go with one of the Woodpeckers, but again, out of editorial curiosity, so that I have more answers to the “what’s the difference?” questions the next time the One Time Tool comes around again.
ca
You should be able to use these without a router table by clamping the jig to the workpiece.
John S
At minimum, woodworkers should own a small CNC, like an Xcarve, Shapeoko and others. The endless accurate-enough templates that can be made will more than pay for such a machine. WP squares are one thing but these templates (made to .001″ tolerance in aluminum) are in no way necessary for woodworking. Make your own!
I do own several squares and triangles from WP but otherwise they make a lot of fluff. The one time tool concept makes suckers out of all of us at their enjoyment.
Joel
Oh I totally disagree, I definitely don’t…. oh wait a sec… The Xcarve is under a grand. Crap, another tool to add to the list. Well, now I’m definitely going to end up with a cnc to make my own jigs in the next year. Darn you sir.
Nathan
The rockler model I think is still better. I mean again I get it – man room jewelry surprised they don’t offer color choices for your anodizing.
But why isn’t this made out of I don’t know poly-acrylic or nylon or some such.
or a stamped piece of AL and a riveted on set of rails. not pretty but effective – and a lot cheaper.
Andrew Q
I don’t think I would use that, it puts my fingers too close to the router bit.
Bob H
Andrew Q: I Agreed Fully. I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I not a safety fanatic, but any time… a router bit can grab or tear off piece of wood in a very vicious manner! That puts Fingers and Metal, way too close to the router bit. It may work well, but we can not be lucky all the time.
Luke
Yeah I think I’ll just make one in Fusion and print it myself. Yeesh at price.
Luke
Update: actually plenty have already been designed and are ripe for the printing!
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=radius+jig
Nathan
I haven’t drafted free hand in a while but I remember a time you could buy radii aids in sizes as a set for reasonable price.
fred
Consistency is often more important on tasks like these than is precision. If the radius of your corners are the same from one to another then they are likely to look good. A cheap (we often used MDF, MDO and Tempered fiberboard for templates) shop-made jig is usually go enough to get through all but the largest projects . For production work – you might move to CNC rather than a pricey template. As others have said there are cheaper alternatives. Here’s another one:
http://www.eagleamerica.com/product/400-1190/router_access_-_router_templates
chase
I just designed and printed a few of these a while back.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2438336
Not much to it. You could probably come up with something out of wood if you were really careful on the radius. Woodpecker’s tools are really cool, but almost all of them are way too expensive for me to even think about buying.
John804
I just looked at your Thingiverse collection and your blog. You’ve got some great designs. I’ve had your radius jigs in a collection for quite some time. I just need to get the printer, now.
chase
Thanks! Go get yourself a prusa. They are freaking sweet if you are inclined to do a lot of printing.
ToolOfTheTrade
I’m not a woodworker & I don’t make furniture or use a router, but I have a very hard time believing that a piece of aluminum square with a radius is worth $40. Or 6 pieces of aluminum is worth $240. If these were machined by hand I could understand the cost, but I highly doubt that is the case based on the prices of their products. USA made anodized aluminum cut and milled by a robot does not constitute a price tag of $40 for a 2 sided flat square with a radius. No way in hell. If it catches the blade or gets stepped on or dropped then I’d rather be out $17 (rockler) than $40 any day of the week. Couldn’t you make this out of wood or aluminum or steel using a compass and protractor and a belt sander and shape the edges with a dremel? Couldn’t be too difficult. Anyways that’s my 2 ¢.
Stuart
A lot of people would rather focus limited time and effort on their projects, and not on making tools, jigs, and templates.
Framer joe
First,USA made products cost more,due to labor costs,unions,workman’s comp, liability etc….it’s not all about just the materials or product.
When you buy American,first it’s usually a much better product and it supports American families…who use that money to buy other foods here. In general your helping your own economy.
Besides that WP makes tools to highest quality that last qenerations…
Frank D
I get that it is a small production, high precision and durability item and thus you have to pay up, but really??
Very hard to read comments justifying buying the kit as just in case that time you need that other size.
How many radius corner shelves does one make? ( they’re way out of style )
And whoever makes it can’t do it precise enough or does not know how to make a cheaper functional thing that looks SAFER to use …. without $$$ thingamajigs?
Stuart
My job is to think about who should buy this, and who shouldn’t.
Who should buy it? Someone that can put several templates (say 4 out of 6 of the double-sided templates) to immediate use, and who might use the others at a later time.
Keep in mind that some woodworkers earn a living from their designs and commissioned work.
You might find radiused edges on bespoke fixtures, signage, displays, or other such things.
For the personal woodworker, it’s hard to spend more than the $35 that Rockler’s is currently selling for.
But, there are some woodworkers who have everything they could want or need, and are looking for a little extra step ahead for corner radiuses.
I have drills in index that I don’t use, and wrench sizes in sets that haven’t seen much use. This isn’t much different, albeit at higher pricing.
Some people buy a set of pots and pans, but don’t use all the pieces. Or knife blocks.
Did you always use all the crayons in the box?
If someone wants to buy the set, I won’t judge. All I’m saying is that it piques my interest until I look at or think about the price. If the templates were more versatile, I’d be a little less pushed away by the price.
Koko The Talking Ape
I haven’t had a need for such a tool, but when I looked at it, my first thought was that I hope the inner corners (where the alignment tabs join the main body of the tool) have clearance cut into them, so that whiskers of wood on the workpiece edges won’t throw off alignment when you snug the template up. You see that kind of clearance cutaway everywhere, for instance at the bottom of router or jointer fences.
And it looks like there is no such clearance. In fact there is a radius, the opposite of what you want. It is tiny, but it is there. I can’t tell if the Rockler has such clearance.
Am I worried about nothing?
Erik
I’ve been very satisfied with every Woodpecker product I’ve purchased but there is no denying that some of them are pricey and some of the pricey one do have lower cost alternatives.
Another similar product worth considering is the Infinity Cutting Tools “Corner Radius Template Guides; 3-Pc. Set”, Item Number: CRT-001, for $24.90.
https://www.infinitytools.com/routing/router-jigs-guides/circle-cutting/corner-radius-template-guides
I own one and I’m happy with it. It looks to me like a more accurate (and less expensive) product than the ABS plastic Rockler product, though it caps out at 1″ radius. It would be nice to have integrated handles/grips like the Woodpecker and Rockler models but each template has 4 screw holes in it that are designed to allow you to screw the template down to your workpiece…but I’m thinking about making handles and using the integrated screw holes to attach them.
Greg
I often wonder if woodpecker sets their prices to be intentionally eye watering, as a form of free advertising because of how much it gets people to publicly talk about their products.
Framer joe
Interesting comments…. personally love WP products…it’s an investment,not just a tool…I don’t buy everything they come out with..but the many products I do have are flawless,high quality tools…I’ll gladly pay more for the best American made product over any imported second rate, communist product….. support your country with your wallet or serve in the military.. freedom has a price,so do great tools
ChrisP
I like this idea. A way to make a jig with OK accuracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2J0sy9ktCc&t=1s
John Kenny
I just ordered the WP. I have the Rockler but, like a lot of my stuff, I beat it up. The ABS of the Rockler has gotten dinged & chipped. I like what I have gotten from WP in the past and my view is you can argue about their price but not about the quality. My goal is to use the templates to knock out a lot of copies of pieces for craft projects.
Redcastle
I have the story stick and some of their jig tools purchased because I wanted a very good tool for a particular job which they have all been so far.
The analogy for me would be the Woodpecker pricing multiple over the lower priced versions of their tools is lower than for instance the Festool multiple in power tools (I am happy to buy high quality and therefore often expensive hand tools on the grounds they will be usable for much longer than power tools).
If these templates were available at around the price in the USA and I needed them I would be interested however if you look up Woodpecker tools on Amazon UK you will see the prices charged over here which will make you laugh.
Not sure I understand the One Time concept where there seems to be more than one opportunity to buy.
Tony
It took foreeeeeeevre to get this mailed to me 3 months later I finally received it.