Round over and ovolo cutters

These are one of the most useful edge moulding cutters, as you can produce both profiles with the same cutter. These are generally used to soften the appearance of square-edged worktops, window boards and furniture. By lowering the cutter a top step can be routed. By performing a second pass on the reverse of the workpiece, a full bull-nose can be achieved. The round over is self-explanatory, whilst the ovolo has two small shoulders at the extremes of the radius. To use the same cutter for both profiles, you have to vary both the depth of cut and the size of the bottom bearing, or you can combine the two and have a round over with just a single shoulder.

Rounding over the arris of a frame using a tiny radius bit makes an enormous difference to the finished effect, particularly if it is done after assembly. Available in a huge range of sizes up to the biggest 38mm radius, these cutters are an essential profile for your cutter kit.

They are also made with guide pins rather than bearings, but these are obviously not as versatile as they are not interchangeable, but they will get into tighter corners. Variations with bottom cut, with or without a guide bearing are used for panel cutting.