If you are interested in buying one of these tools they can be purchased at Woodchuck Lathe Tools
I am waiting on arrival of two tools a friend is making up for me. They are for lathe work and accept radius carbide cutter inserts. The tools are made from some 1/2″ x 1/2″ x 18″ square steel bar that I sent him. He is milling a slot in one end of the bar for the cutter to seat, as well as tapping a hole to secure the cutter. I told him not to worry about turning the other end of the tool round to insert in the handle.
I’m excited to try out the tool and so have started preparing the stock I will be using for the tool handles. My first step was to take four pieces of 4 pieces of cherry and 4 pieces of maple, each piece was 3/4″ x 3″ x 15″. I milled and cut each piece down to 5/8″ x 2 1/2″ x 15″ and glued them together.
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
I then mounted a 1/2″ straight bit in my router table and raised it 1/4″ above the router table. I set the fence 1″ from the edge of the bit and also set up a stop block 4″ from the near side of the bit. Using this set up I routed a 1/4″ x 1/2″ x 4″ stopped groove in each of the four pieces.
Finally, I squared the end of each groove using hand chisels. I was tempted to glue the pieces together but decided to wait until the tools arrived so I could do a test fit of the bars in the grooves.
At the demo by Fred Holder, I attended he turned a sphere and used a set of sphere calipers. They are available online but are pricey, so I did some more searching and found a great article by Al Hockenbery. It involves a bit of math but is a fairly quick and easy way to turn a sphere on the lathe. This article describes and illustrates the process.
One of the nice things about the spheres is that they show off the end, face, and side grain in a small area. They also look so cool and feel so good to hold!
I find a nice size piece of wood to start with is 3″ x 3″ x 4 1/2″.
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
First the math. You first need to turn a cylinder that is round in cross-section. Then you will turn that into an octagon and finally turn that into a 16 sided polygon before blending all the angles into a perfect circle. The pictures below illustrate this and you can see that the sides of the octagon are 0.414 x the diameter of the initial square.
Mount a piece of wood between centers. A 3″ x 3″ x 4 1/2″ piece is a nice size, yielding a sphere about 2 3/4″ diameter which fits in your hand nicely and feels good to hold. Grain orientation is not important, although it will affect your choice of turning tool. I like to use a bowl gouge to rough turn the cylinder.
Mark the center point of the cylinder and find the diameter at that point. Layout that dimension on the cylinder, centering it about your first mark.
Now turn tenons on either side of the cylinder. Turn the tenons down to a diameter of 0.414D. (D = diameter of the cylinder)
Now layout two more lines on the cylinder that are 0.414D apart and are centered around the centerline of the cylinder. Make a straight cut from these lines to the edge of the tenons. You should now have a shape that is an octagon in cross-section.
Mark the center point of each of the newly created flat areas. These two marks, along with the first mark on the centerline of the cylinder, will be on the surface of the sphere.
Turn the tenons down a bit more. Then mark the center points of each area between the lines and the edge of the flat area. These are the red lines in the image below.
Make straight cuts between adjacent red lines to turn the octagon into a 16 sided polygon. Try to make the cuts as straight as you can, you can see in the picture below that one of mine ended up a bit concave.
Using a bowl gouge or a skew held flat like a scraper, blend all the flat parts in, creating the sphere.
In order to finish the sphere and turn off the tenons it needs to be mounted between a set of cup centers. To make the cup center for the headstock side chuck a piece of scrap in a jaw chuck and hollow it out slightly. Make sure that the sphere fits against the edge of the concave are and does not bottom out in the hollow.
Next mount another piece of scrap in the jaw chuck and hollow out a v-shaped hollow. Place a 60-degree live center in the tailstock and check that it fits snugly in the v-shaped hollow. Turn a tenon on the end of the piece.
Turn the scrap piece around and remount it in the jaw chuck using the newly created tenon. Hollow a cup on this end.
Mount the sphere between the two cup centers and carefully turn the tenons off. As you can see I cut the majority of the tenon off with a handsaw.
When sanding the sphere I put a piece of high friction router mat between the cups and the sphere to protect the wood. I also re-orientate the sphere between the cup centers a number of times in order to get the sphere as round as possible and to sand the whole surface.
I needed to make a donut chuck so that I could mount a 12″ bowl on my lathe and finish off the bottom of the bowl. I have a set of cole jaws for my jaw chuck, but they will only expand 10″.
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
The first step was to take a 16″ x 16″ x 3/4″ piece of plywood and find the center. I marked out three circles of 9″, 15″ and 15 3/4″ diameter. I laid out eight points on the 15″ diameter circle and drilled 5/16″ holes and inserted 1/4-20 tee nuts at each of these points.
I took another piece of 16″ x 16″ x 3/4″ plywood and placed it below the first piece. Using a transfer punch, I transferred the centers of the eight tee nuts to the second piece of plywood and then drilled 1/4″ holes at each of these points. I bolted the two pieces together using 1 1/2″ 1/4-20 bolts and cut the two pieces of plywood round, just outside of the 15 3/4″ circle. I used my jigsaw to do this as the workpiece would not have sat flush on my band saw table and I did not want the heads of the bolts to scratch my band saw table. As an aside, I used the new Xtra-Clean (T308B) blades from Bosch and was impressed at how easily they cut and how clean the cut was on both the top and bottom of the plywood.
Using my center finder I located a face plate I have dedicated to this donut chuck and attached it securely to the first piece of plywood.
I mounted the face plate and plywood pieces on the lathe and turned both pieces perfectly round. I marked a 9″ diameter circle on the front piece and drilled a 1/.4″ hole through both pieces using a drill chuck in the tail stock. I took the piece of the lathe and drilled a 5/16″ hole 3/8″ deep in the back piece of plywood and inserted a 1/4″ tee nut in that hole. Then I bolted both pieces together suing another 1 1/2″ 1/4-20 bolt.
I remounted the piece on the lathe and made a mark on the sides of the plywood pieces to help align the two pieces. Using a parting tool, I cut the 9″ diameter circle out of the front piece of plywood. I cut at an angle from the center out and took care to make sure I did not cut too deeply into the back piece of plywood. Because of the tapered cut and the center bolt the internal circle did not come loose. I had to remove all 9 bolts to take it out.
Lastly I cut a piece of high friction router pad cloth and using spray adhesive attached it to the inside face of the front section. This will help to both hold and protect the surface of the bowl.
The tee nut inserted in the center of the back piece can be used to mount a scrap piece of plywood to. A tenon that matches the internal diameter of a bowl can then be turned onto that scrap piece enabling you to mount the bowl in the donut chuck directly on center.
In my excitement at how easily the bowl mounted and how smooth and true it ran, I forgot to take a picture of the mounted bowl before I finished off the bottom. Here is a shot of the bowl mounted in the donut chuck, with the bottom finished and sanded.
I have a project coming up where I need to be able to mount a face plate accurately to a work piece. So I made a center finder for my face plate. You can buy really nice ones made out of aluminum but it took me about ten minutes to make this one.
I first mounted a scrap piece of wood between centers and turned it round. I then mounted it in a jaw chuck and brought up the tailstock for support.
I measured the internal diameter of the face plate using calipers and then turned the piece so that the face plate fit snugly around the piece.
I mounted a drill chuck in the tail stock and drilled a 1/4″ hole as deep as I could into the piece. Then I parted it off.
To use the center finder, I take the 1/4″ punch from my transfer punch set and place the point on the exact center of my workpiece. I then slide the center finder over the transfer punch and slide the face plate over the center finder. The face plate is now accurately positioned over the center of the work piece and can be screwed to the work piece.
Over the weekend of February 14th and 15th, 2009, our wood turning club was treated to a demonstration and hands on session with Fred and his wife, Mildred. Fred publishes the magazine More Woodturning
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
Fred demonstrated turning Chinese Balls and spheres. The making of the Chinese Balls was fascinating. A Chinese Ball is a ball within a ball within a ball. The specialized tools Fred uses allow him to make a 2 1/2″ diameter ball with four other balls inside.
After marking the ball at ten different places the ball is held in a custom chuck and a tapered hole is drilled at one of the marks.
Using the special cutting tool a series of four different cuts are made in the hole. The cut is supported by a 2 1/2″ diameter resting surface on the tool in order to control the depth of each cut.
After the cuts are made a tapered wax plug is inserted. This helps to support the cuts. The ball is then rotated in the chuck, to line up with the next mark and the process is repeated.
After all the holes and cuts have been made, the ball is removed from the chuck and the wax plugs are removed from the ball.
The finished Chinese Ball!
Fred also showed us how to turn a perfect sphere. This is the starting point for making a Chinese Ball.
I will write more about turning a sphere in another post as this is what I focused on during the hands on session.
This is a nice project as it requires a number of different techniques including face turning, spindle turning, drilling on the lathe and reverse mounting on tenons. The end result makes for a beautiful and useful gift.
Cherry Earring Stand
To download these instructions complete with the pictures click here.
To download these instructions without the pictures click here. This should make it easier to print out and take into the workshop with you.
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
I used two pieces of cherry, a 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ block and a 1″x1″x6″ piece of spindle stock. The larger piece will be used to make the top and base of the earring stand as well as to reverse chuck the top and base. The smaller piece will be used to make the upright stand of the earring stand. For the spindle stock you could easily use a pen blank. If all goes well you could actually make two tops and two bases from a piece this size.
Mount the larger block on the lathe between centers. Orient the grain so that it is perpendicular to the lathe bed, much like you would mount a bowl blank.
Turn the piece round and turn a tenon, sized for your chuck, on one end.
Remove the piece from between centers and mount it on your chuck. Re true the blank and true the front of the blank. Using a 3/8″ drill mounted in a drill chuck in the tail stock drill a hole 1″ deep. (I forgot to take a picture of the hole being drilled)
I have a jig that I purchased from Craft Supplies. The jig is used to drill the holes from which the earrings will hang. It would be very easy to make a similar jig from acrylic plastic. It is 2 1/2″ diameter and has a 3/8″ tenon on the center of one side. There are 24 3/32″ holes drilled 3/16″ from the edge of the jig. To download a scale diagram and instructions to build a jig click here. If you purchase the jig it will also come with a set of instructions for making the Earring Stand which are different to the method I chose to use.
Mount the jig in the hole drilled in the blank and then drill all 24 holes to a depth of 5/8″. The locating pin is inserted in the first hole you drill to keep the jig aligned. While the jig is mounted draw a line on the face of the blank outlining the diameter of the jig. This will define the diameter of the top of the earring stand. After removing the jig mark a line 5/8″ diameter on the face of the blank. This will define the area on which the finial of the earring stand sits.
Using a parting tool, part the blank about an inch deep and 1/2″ from the edge of the blank. This defines the top piece of the earring stand.
Turn this section down to the line that was defined by the outline of the jig. Then shape the profile of the top. Leave the center 5/8″ flat as this is where the finial will sit. Also take care to ensure the edge of the top is no more that 3/16″ thick and that the holes are not more than 3/16″ from the edge or it will be difficult to insert the earrings into the holes.
Sand the top and if you plan on using a friction polish for a finish, apply that now. Then part the top off the blank and set it aside for the time being.
True the face of the blank and the chuck the 3/8″ drill in the tailstock drill chuck again and confirm the hole in the center of the blank is 3/8″ deep. Mark a circle of 5/8″ diameter and another of 3″ diameter on the face of the blank. These will define the areas where the upright stand will sit and the diameter of the base. Also mark a line 5/8″ from the edge of the blank. This will define the total thickness of the base.
Make a parting cut about an inch deep to define the thickness of the base. Also turn the blank down to the diameter of the base.
Shape the profile of the base taking care to leave the center 5/8″ flat. Sand the base and if you plan on using a friction polish for a finish, apply that now. Part the base off and set is aside for the time being.
As you can see there is enough of the blank left over to make a second base and top. If you are planning on making two earring stands repeat the above steps and make a second base and top before moving on and finishing the bottom of each base and top.
True the face of the blank and turn a 3/8″ diameter tenon on the face. Reverse mount the base of the earring stand on the tenon. Check the fit is secure and the base is running true and then finish the bottom of the base. Turn a concave profile so that the base will sit flat. Sand and apply your finish if you are using a friction polish.
Repeat this procedure for the top of the earring stand.
Mount the spindle stock between centers and turn it round to about 3/4″ diameter. Mark out for the tenon, upright stand, tenon and finial. The measurements shown in the picture are 3/4″, 3 7/8″, 4 3/8″ and 5 3/4″ from the head stock end of the blank.
Turn the tenons to 3/8″ diameter. I use a wrench to check the diameter, calipers work as well. When making the tenons take care to undercut slightly so that the stand and finial will sit flush on the base and top.
Mark the blank with the details of the desired profile and then turn the profile of the stand and finial.
Make the starting cuts to part the tenons, checking the depth of the holes in the base and top in order to determine the length of the tenons. Do not part all the way through. Sand the piece and if you are using a friction polish apply that now.
Continue shaping the top of the finial and part the piece off at this point.
Cut the tenons using a handsaw. Do a dry fit of the whole piece checking tenon diameter and length. Adjust where necessary and then glue the four pieces together.
I finished my earring stand with a couple coats of spray lacquer.
This is the process I use for building an end grain cutting board like the one below. I made this using maple and cherry. I started with 2 pieces of maple and 2 pieces of cherry. Each piece was 3″ x 30″ and approximately 3/4″ thick. You can use thicker boards if that is what you have and the boards do not have to be equal thickness. The thicker the board you use, the wider the lamination’s in the cutting board will be. This will also affect the final length of the cutting board.
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
From one of the cherry boards rip two boards, one at 2 1/8″ and another at 5/8″. Do the same with one of the maple boards.
From the second cherry board rip two boards, one at 1 5/8″ and another at 1 1/8″. Do the same with the second maple board.
Lay them out as shown in the next picture : 2 1/8″ cherry, 5/8″ maple, 1 5/8″ cherry, 1 1/8″ maple, 1 1/8″ cherry, 1 5/8″ maple, 5/8″ cherry, 2 1/8″ maple. Glue them together using Titebond III. I use Titebond III because of it’s water resistance properties.
Once the glue has dried, flatten the board by running it through a planer.
Crosscut one end of the panel square. Then set up a stop block so that you can crosscut the panel into 1 1/8″ pieces. If you want the final cutting board to be thicker, then you can crosscut the panel into 1 1/4″ pieces, however you will have less pieces and so the final cutting board will not be as long.
As you are crosscutting the panel you will reach a point when the panel is deeper than it is wide, and is no longer safe to crosscut. At this point, remove your cross cut sled, set the fence and rip the panel.
As you crosscut the panel, take the pieces and stack them in the same order, flipping them 90 degrees so the end grain is exposed. I ended up with 24 pieces.
Now take each second piece and flip it end over end to get the pattern.
Carefully transfer the pieces to your clamps taking care to keep them in the right order.
Take each piece, except for the piece closest to you, and flip it 90 degree. All the pieces should now be laying face grain up, ready for you to spread glue on. Again I use Titebond III.
Once the glue is spread, flip the pieces back up one at a time, taking care to make sure the pattern lines up nicely. Clamp the glue up. I used some cauls on the sides to help with lining the pattern up. Take care that the pieces are all sitting at the same height, the more care you take with this the less sanding you will have to do once the glue dries! I glued all 24 pieces at once, but was rushed to do it in the glue open time. It would be better to glue 8 pieces at a time and then to do a final glue up of the resulting three sections. Whichever way you do, take the time to do a dry run so that you are familiar with what you need to do during the glue up and have all the necessary clamps, rollers, hammer etc on hand.
I’ve shown a lot of pictures of the glue up to try and make it clear what to do.
Once the glue is dry the cutting board needs to be sanded. Hopefully you have a drum sander, if not you can use a belt sander and random orbital sander. I used a belt sander the first couple of boards that I made. Trust me when I say using a drum sander is a lot more fun! Whatever you do, don’t try and flatten the board using a planer. End grain does not plane well. You will ruin the board, the planer will kick it back at you and you will scare the hell out of yourself, even if you don’t get hurt. Trust me on this! Use a belt sander or a drum sander.
Once the board is smooth take it back to the crosscut sled on your table saw and trim the edges.
Final sanding can be done with the random orbital sander. If you find any small knot holes in the board, simply fill them with 5 minute epoxy and sand it flush.
Your board is now ready for a finish. However, if you want to “kick it up a notch” head over to your router table. Set up a 1/4″ round over bit in the router table and round all four sides, top and bottom of the board. Use a scrap piece of wood as a backer board to help minimize tear out. Also, if your router is variable speed, slow it down to help prevent burning the wood. Cherry is particularly prone to burning.
To round over the corners, I stood the board up on end. I nailed together a simple jig to which I clamped the board, to help keep it upright and at 90 degrees to the router fence.
To route some finger grooves on the sides of the board you need to chuck a 1/2″ core bit in your router. Set the height at 3/8″. Remember our board is just over 1″ thick and we will be routing a groove on each side. If you set the router bit to high, the grooves will run into each other. Set up some stop blocks on either side of the bit. Take care that the stop blocks are the exact same distance left and right of the bit. This is important because we are routing a groove on both the top and the bottom of the board. If the stop blocks are not set at the same distance either side of the bit, the grooves will not line up on each side of the board. Make a test cut on a piece of scrap to confirm your set up. You can see on my test cut how the ends of the groove on the top line up with the ends of the groove on the bottom.
If you are not familiar with this type of “plunge cut” on the router table, then practice on some scrap. Ruining your board at this point will really make you grumpy and irritable!
If all goes well this is what you should end up with on each side of your cutting board. The board is now fully reversible, you can use either face and pick it up easily regardless.
I finished the board with Butcher Block Mineral Oil. Poke around on the internet and you will find tons of information and debate on which finishes are food safe. From the research I’ve done, I feel that any finish is safe, provided that it is fully cured. This can take weeks in the case of some finishes. I chose an oil finish over a film finish because of the ease of repair of the finish. I’m assuming the board will be used and after a year or so of cutting will be pretty beat up. With the mineral oil finish it will be easy to run the board through the drum sander a couple of times and then apply some more mineral oil.
When applying the mineral oil, pool it on one side of the board. You’ll be amazed at how thirsty the end grain is! Keep on pooling it and spreading it around. After 5 to 10 minutes if you hold the board up and look on the underside you will see the mineral oil has started to come out that side. Pretty cool stuff. Flip the board over and pool some more oil on. After about another five to ten minutes the board should have stopped soaking up the mineral oil and you can wipe off the excess. I used 4 fl. oz on this board.
The finished board measures approximately 11″ x 15″ and is just over 1″ thick.
I am making four pen boxes, two from hickory and two from oak. I find it more efficient to make a production run of a number of boxes than just a single box. These four boxes took me two hours to make, not including the finishing. Short of breaking child labor laws you can’t make these boxes for less than what you buy them. However, they are a fun project and enable you to use special wood for pen boxes which you can’t get commercially.
You can click on any of the images to see a larger version.
The hinges used are the 7mm barrel hinges. Two 6x3mm rare earth magnets are used to keep the box closed.
Prepare your stock first. You will need two pieces of wood 2 1/2″ x 6″ x 5/8″ for each box.
The key to the hinges is to get the holes lined up on the base and the lid. I’ve seen a number of different ways to achieve this, and either most of the ways are to complicated or I’m not that smart, but this is what I came up with.
I chucked the 7mm bit in my drill press and set the fence 1/4″ back from the center of the bit. I also set the drill depth so that the hole would be a hair deeper than half the length of the hinge. It’s a good idea at this point to drill a couple of holes in some scrap, insert the hinge and check that the two pieces of wood are flush.
I wanted the holes to be 3/4″ from each end of the box. I cut a set up block which was 5 3/4″ long. I then placed the set up block against the left hand side of the bit and attached a stop block to the fence.
Place the set up block on the right hand side of the bit and attach a stop block to the fence.
The drill press is now set up for a production run of drilling.
Take your stock and choose the best face of each piece, this will be the outside of the box. Arrange each piece as the finished box will look and then “open” the two pieces as if you were opening the box. Mark the two pieces with a triangle. You will now easily be able to see which side of the piece is the inside of the box and along which edge you need to drill the holes for the hinges.
Drill the left and right holes in the lid.
Drill the left and right holes in the base.
Chuck a 1/4″ rounder over bit in your router table, adjust the height and set the fence flush with the bearing on the bit. Rout the end grain of the box first. I use a square piece of scrap plywood both as a backer board and to hold the piece perpendicular to the fence while routing.
Rout the long grain edges of the base and lid.
Now is a good time to dry fit the hinges and check that the base and lid sit flush to one another and the box opens and closes easily. You can see in the picture below how part of the hinge is now exposed and how the roundover allows the base and lid to rotate and open.
The next step is to rout a groove in the base and the lid to accept the pen. I use a 3/4″ core box bit. The first time I made these boxes I used my router table and lowered the box onto the bit using start and end stop blocks. It was pretty scary and I messed up a number of pieces! I now use my hand held plunge router and the jig in the picture below to hold the piece.
The jig is made from some scrap 3/4″ plywood. It has an adjustable fence on the left. I adjust it so that the bit will route the groove along the center line of the piece. There are two stop blocks clamped to the fence to start and stop the cut. The adjustable block on the right holds the piece securely. I clamp the whole jig to my router table to hold it secure. Place both the base and the lid in the jig with the holes for the hinges on the right hand side. That way if the groove is not perfectly centered on the piece the base groove will still line up with the lid groove. Set the depth of your plunge router so that the final depth of the groove will be 1/2″. I’ve found that a 3/8″ groove will not allow the box to close on a Jr. Gent or Statesman. Set the stop blocks so that the start and end of each groove are the same from each end of the piece and that the groove will be long enough for the pen.
I have a home made base for my router which has one straight side. I use this side up against the fence of the jig.
Rout the grooves in the base and the lid. Because of the depth of the groove it is best to do it five or six passes.
Now would be a good time to check that the pen will fit in the groove and the box will close flush.
The last thing left to do is to drill the holes for the rare earth magnets. One magnet in the base and one in the lid will hold the box closed nicely. The rare earth magnets are really strong for their size. I use a 6x3mm magnet. I use a 1/4″ Forstner bit as it is the closest bit I have to 6mm. Chuck the bit in the drill press and set the fence so the hole will be about equidistant from the groove to the start of the round over. Set the depth a hair deeper than the thickness of the rare earth magnet. Drill a piece of scrap to test the hole is the right depth. Set a stop block 3 1/4″ from the center of the bit.
The base and lid are now ready for sanding and finishing. I find it easier to sand and finish the boxes before I glue in the hinges or the magnets.
A few tips about gluing in the hinges:
Don’t use CA to secure them. It will drip down and glue the hinges shut. Don’t ask me how I know this!
Use just a drop of 5 min epoxy. If you use to much it will overflow the hole and glue the hinges. Don’t ask me how I know this!
Do a couple of dry runs inserting the hinges in the base and lid before you apply the epoxy. Don’t ask me how I know this!
After you have epoxied the hinges in, open and close the box a couple of times before the epoxy dries. This will ensure the hinges are aligned properly so that the box can open and close. Don’t ask me how I know this!
A few tips about gluing in the magnet:
There is a right side and a wrong side to each magnet. One side will attract another magnet and the other side will repel another magnet. Make sure you have the sides with the attraction or your box will not close. Don’t ask me how I know this!
Edit 05/01/2011 A readers comment: “To make sure I got the rest of magnets the right way around in the remaining boxes, I arranged the magnets in pairs, stuck together, and then used a perminant marker to put a small dot on the outside edges – i.e. the edges that go into the holes. It was then easy to identify the ‘right’ side of the magnets.”
Put a drop of CA in the hole in the base and set the magnet in the hole. Wait until the CA has dried, orientate the box so the lid is now flat and then glue the magnet in the lid. Don’t try and glue both magnets in at the same time, the CA glue will drip out the hole, the magnets will try suck each other out the holes and it is pretty much a nightmare. Don’t ask me how I know this!
As you can tell, I’ve ruined a few boxes trying to glue the hinges and magnets in. Just take it slowly and do a few dry runs.
