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Need a big, smooth curve? This method will do it!

Curved lines in any project are both a blessing and a curse. They’re a blessing for the eye of the beholder, but a curse for the poor guy who has to make them.

Executing a perfect, fair curve—particularly a large one—isn’t easy. If you cut one freehand, you’re often faced with hours of sanding to true it up. I build custom fireplace mantels, which often require a horizontal front board with an arc that follows the insert below. I can’t afford to use such a slow, inexact method, so I’ve adopted a much more efficient and precise approach using a router.…