Customer Reviews and Photos for:
Rockler Ellipse/Circle Router Jig
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Average Rating:
3.6
(42 customer reviews)
$89.99
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1) Submitted by
Jim Thomson, from Waterford, NY
on 9/18/2012
Customer Rating: 
I purchased this jig for custom sign shapes for my sign carving business. The instructions were very clear and easy to have for reference right on the jig. After playing around with the jig on some scrap plywood, I gave it a try. I used a 1/2 inch spiral upcut bit in my plunge router and made gradual cuts in 1/4 inch increments. Very easy to use and made a perfect oval! Just take your time and take some practice cuts before you make a formal cut. The jig is very high quality, sturdy and fits my PC 890 series like a glove. I am using it again on a large custom sign and am looking forward to it. Great tool!
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2) Submitted by
Bib Jurgens, from Littleton, CO
on 3/22/2012
Customer Rating: 
I have own it for about 3 years. This is a great jig , it comes with a 1 1/2" hole that you can use with a brass guide, in that way you don't need to bolt it to your router and the cord will not wind up on you and you can use it on any router you have. But with all oval jigs it has a built in error, but you can over come that by using the magic donuts rings that will take the error out of the jig You will not see the error until you want to make some oval picture frames or mirrors, the narrow parts are thinner but that's the down fall with all oval jigs. If you want to see how to make the donuts or how to use used them with 1 1/2" brass guide go to the routerfoums.com All in all I would say it's a great jig.and well worth the money.
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3) Submitted by
James, from Chamberlain, NA
on 6/29/2011
Customer Rating:
I recently bought the ellipse jig to use with my Rigid Model 2930 2.25HP plunge router. I routed some oval tables out of plywood with a finished oak veneer surface. I used a half inch spiral upcut bit, which left no splintering. I had no problems attaching the jig to my router and it worked extremely well. You do have to make sure you have a good workbench and that your work and ellipse base are firmly secure. You also have to make sure your router power cord does not get tangled. I was able to consistently route out seven 18x36 inch ovals and was very happy with the results.
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4) Submitted by
Matthew, from Edgewood, WA
on 4/11/2011
Customer Rating:
I bought the elipse jig and was very happy with it. The only modification I would recommend is to lightly chamfer the edges of the sliding keys so they don't catch on the jig plate intersection. Simple to use and acurate. I bought the large base plate so I could do a 36 x 24 coffe table. The only issue I found with the large base plate is the sliding keys were sloppy which gave a variance of 1/16 of an inch which magnifies to a 1/8" variation. the keys in the small jig plate fit snuggly with no play. I just use the sliding keys from the small plate in my large plate.
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5) Submitted by
Randy, from Holland, MI
on 1/28/2011
Customer Rating:
Whoever invented this product is a genius. I was a little apprehesive about how smoothly this jig would perform because there is so much that has to go right to make it work. I was very happy with the performance and the end result. Set-up was a breeze, and it fit easily on my Hitachi plunge router. I had to cut an eliptical opening out of a trash container top and it turned out perfectly. Thank you Rockler!
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6) Submitted by
Victor L. Abate, from Mount Pleasant Mills, PA
on 10/7/2010
Customer Rating:
This is an excellent jig. I have been building fine furniture for years, and you need to use the tool for which it was designed. I took this out of the box, and cut a 36" circle from 1" hard maple. It took 4 passes, but the top came out beautiful. Not done, I then attached a 1" bull-nose bit in my router, and used the circle jig to cut the bull-nose. This is from Rockler, a company who designs tools for the home workshop. Again, stick with using the tool for which it was designed, you will never be disappointed!
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7) Submitted by
Lance from TX
on 10/7/2010
Customer Rating:
This jig works great, remember to measure twice, check three times, cut once. Also I would recommend lubing the dovetail keys, this makes the jig work like a dream.
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8) Submitted by
Carl Nagel, from Holland, OH
on 6/20/2010
Customer Rating: 
I am trying to make picture frames for 8x10 oval, canvas mounted, 1/2" thick, photos that we gave to our children. This jig is nicely made but it is limited to making larger ovals with larger than a 2" difference between the major and minor measurements. I believe the jig does not allow less than 2-5/8" difference. I returned the jig.
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9) Submitted by
Ron Harris, from Shelbyville, KY
on 2/8/2010
Customer Rating:
I bought this jig and last weekend cut my first circle using the jig and my router (EVER). The jig is very easy to use and the table top turned out GREAT. This will make a addition to my shop.
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10) Submitted by
Tim Myers, from Murphy, TX
on 10/12/2009
Customer Rating:
I have only made circles with this so far but have been very impressed with how solid this piece of equipment is. I even made several rings as little as 1/8" thick 15" inches in diameter from MDF and it was accurate enough to cut the ring perfectly. So far a fool proof product.
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11) Submitted by
Mike Shields, from Bloomington, IN.
on 9/27/2009
Customer Rating:
Excellent addition to my workshop! Worked great right out of the box. I am a devoted Rockler customer. Thanks!
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12) Submitted by
Don Clark, from Jacksonville, FL
on 1/12/2013
Customer Rating: 
I purchased this jig specifically for a project that has a 5" circle cut-out, and this jig is not capable of producing anything below about a 9 1/2" diameter circle because of the way it is constructed. I would not have purchased the product had I know about this lower limitation.
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13) Submitted by
Mark D. Spivey, from Tomball, TX
on 6/30/2009
Customer Rating:
Excellent jig. As a novice the thought of cutting an oval is intimidating at best. The Rockler Ellipse/Circle Router Jig made cutting a breeze! I cut 2 identical oval tops for a couple of end tables I refurbished and had zero problems. Easy to adapt to a Skill brand router. Would recommend to anyone!
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14) Submitted by
Jamie, from Houston, TX
on 12/19/2008
Customer Rating:
Good product, but came with a crack in it. I needed to use it so didn't bother trying to exchange it, just went ahead with it. Not sure why it cracked, Rockler should package better. Still ... good product.
Editor's note: A call to our customer service at 800-279-4441 and will be able to replace that for you Jamie.
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15) Submitted by
Dan, from Park City, UT
on 12/14/2008
Customer Rating:
As was said before, keep things tight and this jig works like a charm.
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16) Submitted by
C. Arnold, from Pasadena, MD
on 11/17/2008
Customer Rating:
This jig was bought to do eyebrow arching in my den/library for each partition of my built-in project. At first I made a custom homemade wood jig to retrofit the jig to my old craftsman router from the 19th century and it worked but was cumbersome. I needed a new router anyway and purchased a porter/cable that was designed for this jig and it fit like a glove. With the right bits and router this jig is great! It has very smooth glide action across work piece from its phonolic construction. Very easy to use with instructions listed on the jig itself.
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17) Submitted by
Todd, from Woodland, CA
on 10/17/2008
Customer Rating:
The thing works great. You just have to make sure everything is tight. I had one failure where the pin came out of the pivot point and it made a big mess out of my wood, an oak barrel head, and snapped the bit. $$ Other than that it's doing real well.
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18) Submitted by
Justin, from New Haven, CT
on 10/13/2008
Customer Rating:
I used this jig to cut 6 circles all the same size then cut 5 of them into donuts. It made cutting circles I could stack and be the same a breeze. I can't wait to get to use it again.
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19) Submitted by
Lee Vanden Brink, from Thousand Oaks, CA
on 7/18/2008
Customer Rating:
Very good deal for $, but you need to round off the four edges of the dovetail keys a little with sandpaper and then spray a little Top-Cote on it and the Rockler Ellipse Jig will work perfect, beats paying a lot more money. Works best with a plunge router.
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20) Submitted by
David Bassham, from Carrollton, TX
on 2/29/2008
Customer Rating:
I am making a small oval table with an inlay 1 1/2" in from the edge. I cut two perfectly symmetrical oval templates in about fifteen minutes right out of the box. The only thing I did was put some beeswax on the dovetail slides. I guess I have to disagree with those who had trouble with this jig. So far I like the results.
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21) Submitted by
Tom Pawloski, from Jacksonville, NC
on 2/7/2008
Customer Rating:
Product made a difficult job simple. Better assembly instructions would have been appreciated. Still a great product.
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22) Submitted by
Tom, from Allen, TN
on 9/3/2008
Customer Rating:
I have 2 routers, this item won't fit either, I've tried to send it back, but it will cost way to much, I still have it, just don't seem right.
Editor's note: This item is pre-drilled for Porter-Cable 690/890 routers, however it can be used with any router with 6" base footprints by drilling additional holes to match router.
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23) Submitted by
Irwin Rappaport, from Fort Myers, FL
on 12/20/2007
Customer Rating: 
Well it beats freehand cutting, calculations, or making/cutting templates, but it's not quite ready for prime time. The sliders ("dovetail keys") were sticky, had to scrape plastic away to smooth them, then lube them with graphite from a soft pencil, and finally they began to slide instead of sticking tight around the curves. Getting the little holes in the knobs to mate with pins of the sliders can be a task filled with frustration. Instructions were basic, but without any of the "how to" tips needed to get the thing working smoothly, quickly, and easily. Eventually, an elliptical arc for a small end table top front did emerge. The jig is solidly made, and a good design, but it needs some more thought to make it easier to get it working for you, and a lot more instructional info on the same subject.
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24) Submitted by
Al R. from FL
on 11/2/2010
Customer Rating:
The Jig works fine after you round the dovetail pieces and add some wax to the sliding parts.
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25) Submitted by
Jim Mitchell, from Kingsland, TX
on 12/18/2007
Customer Rating:
I do interior mill work on expensive homes. I make elliptical moldings often. I purchased the Rockler jig.
My concern is that it is sloppy. I routed a 1/4 groove and it was almost 5/16 because the dovetail keys are not machined very accurately (thus causing a lot of play in the latteral direction). I tried metal tape on the keys and waxed the parts that slide and that seemed to help, but not to my satisfaction. The circle mode worked well. This is a great jig for average cutting.
I think that focus on the machining is needed a little bit more. I need more accuracy.
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26) Submitted by
Scott Bolden, from Front Royal, VA
on 10/14/2010
Customer Rating:
I made this jig 2 years ago in my shop. Pretty much the same design Out of 3/4 lexan, wish I would have known! But keep up the great products!
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27) Submitted by
Rich, from DeMotte, IN
on 5/25/2009
Customer Rating:
This jig is a bit dissapointing. After having some problems I started an investigation of the causes and realized that the dovetailed slides were way off on thier angles. The dovetail in the slotted base is sitting at just about 17 degrees. The matching slides with the pins in them are 19 1/2 degrees on one side and 15 degrees on the other. That makes for binding big time. Add that to the pins coming out at unreasonable times and youve got a lot of trouble.
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28) Submitted by
Patrick Sexton, from Cambridge , NY
on 1/4/2007
This is one of the best items Rockler has offered in years. It is so simple to use and eliminates all the guess work I had to do in the past. If you like making Ellipses or Circles this is for you and especially when you don not have to go to the extra expense of a band-saw.
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29) Submitted by
Ronald Embrick, from Danielsville, GA
on 1/17/2007
The Rockler Ellipse and Circle cutting jig is a great tool. It really saves alot of guess work and drafting time. I don't know if I am missing something here or not. The only draw back is that you cannot cut a 8"[or smaller]circle. Maybe Rockler could come up with a smaller slide plate for the dovetail slide pins. Other than that it is a GREAT TOOL.
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30) Submitted by
Bill McQueen, from Lincoln, AR
on 12/28/2008
Customer Rating:
I was disappointed when my Bosch plunge router didn't fit. The site said fits most routers, I tried some some other routers my friends had and they didn't fit either. Finally I discovered the Porter cable router 690 fits. I think you should drill some more holes in like it like I had to or supply a universal plate. Other than that whine, it's a great product.
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31) Submitted by
Bryan, from Sanders, NJ
on 12/10/2010
Customer Rating:
For cutting out elliptical designs this jig works very well. It requires a lot of work space but makes it easy to use a large sheet and get more pieces with less scrap and waste which is a problem with any non-square cutout.
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32) Submitted by
Tom, from Lincoln, NE
on 11/10/2007
Customer Rating:
Works great in theory. Not so well in reality. Fine particles of dust will cause the slides to bind, along with the slides and groves not being precision machined. Slides will stick making the ellipse rough in spots. Extremely difficult to line the router bit with the desired ellipse size. Marking on the arm showing the centerline of the bit would be very helpful. Instructions leave a lot to be desired in these aspects.
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33) Submitted by
Ken Horii, from Barrington, RI
on 11/17/2007
Customer Rating:
This product is simple to setup and I have had very good results. I do recommend that anyone using this jig apply soap to the sliders before cutting to lubricate and ease the movement of the slides through the guide. Once you do this, the jig works wonderfully- if you don't it will be sticky and difficult to move.
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34) Submitted by
Gary Grant, from Wilmington, NC
on 9/24/2007
Customer Rating:
I recently purchased this jig for cutting out discs for column bases on a local historical home. It is fantastic for cutting out circles! The problem is that I had to spend about 30 minutes drilling new holes to mount I to my Bosch router. I was surpised to see that it did not come with slotted holes for "universal" mounting. It would have also been nice if that were mentioned somewhere before I purchased it. Once I got it fitted, to my router, it worked great!
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35) Submitted by
Lyle Haskins, from Tahlequah, OK
on 9/17/2007
Customer Rating:
The design of this jig is very good and it works well for making an ellipse. The problem is in making a circle (at least in the unit sent to me). To make a circle you fasten one of the dovetail keys to the center of the jig base where scew holes are provided in both the key and the base. The unit is designed to fasted with screws through the top of the key which is countersunk, into the base. The problem- the holes in the dovetail key are 9/64" and the holes in the base are 11/64" making it impossible for #6 or #8 screws to thread into the base. There are two solutions: (1) screw & countersink from the bottem of the base into the key (#8 x 1/2" will grip the key) or (2) enlarge the hole in the key (& countersink) to accommodate a #10 x 1/2" screw (which will grip the base). The 3 screws provided are #6 x 3/4" which are too small and too long for this purpose.
Editor's note:
Lyle, the #6 x 3/4" screws provided are the correct screws to you for this purpose, however they do not screw only though the key into the base. The screws are to go through the base and into the material being cut that you are fastening the base to.
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36) Submitted by
John, from La Crescenta, CA
on 1/2/2008
Customer Rating:
I have cut one circle with this. [] it is not a tool for beginners, although with a little thought and care, it seemed to work well.
If I had it to do again, I would look for a more expensive, more stupid proof, and more accurate tool. I do not think it will work well for intricate work, but for [price], it cuts a great circle and does well the job I bought it for.
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37) Submitted by
Lance, from Charlotte, NC
on 8/7/2008
Customer Rating:
I found the jig to be a good idea that was poorly engineered. Silicone spray will make the parts slide easily, but the dovetail slides are just not manufactured with sufficient accuracy for a professional fit. Also the jig isn't drilled for enough router brands.
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38) Submitted by
Matt, from Leawood, KS
on 2/26/2009
Customer Rating:
Jig has a tendancy to slip off the pegs, and the sliding dovetail keys are very loose and required a build up on the bottom to make it fit tightly. Other than that it works like a charm.
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39) Submitted by
Frank Farrell, from South Orange, NJ
on 9/22/2010
Customer Rating:
While the overall quality is good, and the idea is clever, the jig fails to work properly because the slides that act as a movable fulcrum for the swing are sloppy in their dados, cause the jig to bind as the slides cross the center axis and slide into the opposing dado the slides move north/south and east/west as the arm swings. Because of the play in the dado/side mechanism about .035", measured with my dial indicator the jig also cuts a wobble, unless one pulls the router to oneself or exerts pressure in the other direction. I could live with that, but the binding makes it absolutely useless. Definitely returning it.
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40) Submitted by
Richard Coffee, from Carlisle, PA
on 2/12/2011
Customer Rating:
The dovetail slides fit too loose causing less than perfect alignement when completing an oval. If you use a roundover bit or ogee with an inch or greater diameter the support for the trammel will be cut away. The bottom side support is only a half circle. A buyer will need to extend this support for use with larger bits. The predrilled holes for the router plate seems to fit Porter Cable compatible tools only.
I will continue to use it but with modifications.
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41) Submitted by
Larry Floyd, from Mobile, AL
on 11/29/2011
Customer Rating:
The You-Tube video shows the router jig being used with a Makita router, and the video says that the jig is pre-drilled for most routers. It is drilled for Porter-Cable. I have a Makita 3612 and I had to drill my own holes. The product specs are silent on this point. OK for a $25 jig, but not a $90 jig.
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42) Submitted by
Michael W. Curtis, from Columbia, SC
on 5/7/2008
Customer Rating:
The concept behind this jig is ingenius. With just a little more testing and development, it could have been a really good product.
The jig works based on a square base with perpendicular dovetailed tracks and two sliding dovetail keys with pins on them and two attachment points on the arm. By properly spacing the keys, you can get a symetrical eclipse. Set up is fairly easy except for the problem described below.
But there are three problems that make what should be a really cool jig into a royal pain to use. The first problem is that the pins are less than 3/8 inch long and have nothing - absolutely nothing - to hold the jig on them. Getting the arm on the pins is difficult. Keeping jig arm on the sliding key pins while routing is extremely difficult. At the minimum, the pins should have been at least an inch long and it would have been really nice to have some kind of latching mechanism so that once you get the jig set up and the arm on the pins it actually stays on the pins.
The second problem is at least one that can be fixed by the purchaser. The dovetail keys don't slide well in the grooves. I ended up having to slightly round off the corners of the keys and lubricate the tracks with graphite from a pencil. After that, the slides moved smoothly.
The third issue I had was that the jig only has two holes to attach the jig to the wood you're cutting. Yes, when cutting a full elipse, two holes are probably generally enough, but I wanted to cut a half elipse and actually had two boards side by side. Perhaps this arrangement wasn't exactly what the jig was designed for but adding two more holes shouldn't have been that big a deal. I ended up drilling two more countersunk holes.
I give this jig an A+ for concept but a D- for execution due to the problems keeping the arm on the pins.
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