As I experiment with pyrography I have found that my taste in burn heat is higher than most wood burners and pens tolerate.

A friend turned me on to the “Priddle” style wood turning system, I used this as a starting point for the one that I built.

The “Priddle” article does a nice job of describing the necessary parts and procedures to build the base unit, so I will not repeat them. I was able to procure all the parts. Of importance is the selection of the battery charger and the burning wire gauge.

I found nicrome wire @ Jacobs Online and choose 18 ga (NW18008).

Next I looked up the autoignition temperature for wood which is between 500 & 900 deg F. These values are clearly more than one might need for simple burning but the name of this device is “Flame Thrower” and I did not want to under design this new toy.

Next I went back to the Jacobs site and checked the Temperature-Current table and found that 10A would provide heat temperatures of 1000 deg F using 18ga wire. 10A became my goal for the battery chargers top current.

I was lucky that I had an old HF battery charger that I could modify that had a winding with 10- 50A capacities. Note to readers, you do not need or want 50A, believe me I tried it…. I have recently seen a different version of this battery charger in HF for under $40.

As the “Priddle” plans show, an electronic dimmer switch is used in series with the primary to adjust the output current of the burner. I found this control method to be sufficient but lacking in granularity. I will investigate a switching power control method  later on.

I modified and mounted the elements as shown in the photos. One important mod was the removal of the charging control circuit. You do not want any current limiting or control on the output of the transformer in this application. Luckily on this unit it was modular and could be removed and wired around easily. I would provide more detail but every battery charger that has charging control will need a unique set of modifications.

I built the pen generally using the Priddle approach. As you can see in the photo I used PVC instead of wood with a substantial stain relief in the handles butt. The copper wires that connected the handle to the burning wire terminals were bent into ripples to help remove heat. I made this change during testing.

This burner provides plenty of burn capacity and can light almost any wood species on fire. In fact in some types of wood it will simply vaporize the surface (not that useful, but fun to watch). The corrugated copper connections and PVC handle provide excellent heat isolation. At very high temperatures my hands were very comfortable and the terminals did not melt.

Make sure you use heavy duty lamp cord for the pen connection to the unit to minimize the wire heating.

I am using this in my shop for on-the-lathe surface treatment for high heat applications. I plan to keep experimenting with the use of purchased tips (more choice of shapes) and a smaller handle. I am also considering designing a more modern power supply with a larger range and granularity than most available over the counter. I imagine a digital control with automatic electronic shading adjustments.

Pictures are below, so enjoy!

Battery charger from HF, with dimmer & jack

Body, terminals, copper & tip

Body, terminals, copper connections & Nicrome tip

Cable restraint

I never cease to be amazed how much good lighting can improve your work.

Makes sense that if you can’t see imperfections, you don’t know enough to correct them.

While visiting Home Depot, I noticed that small 250 watt halogen work lights (PN 520-656) were for sale for <$5.

For some time have wanted to add a high powered overhead system to my stubby, but they seemed expensive. A shop made system can be seen in the pictures below. I didn’t create plans because I think the design is self explanatory, but if you need more information please leave a comment.

Features:

• Overhead mounting keeps lights out of the way
• 2 lights mounted on a bar that can slide left to right
• Lights can be tilted independently of each other
• Light bar can be rotated around its axis
• Entire system can be routed around mount axis
• Entire system can be adjusted up and down
• Low cost: lights $10 plus parts from scrap bin.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events release

buy The One and Only

Phantasm II buy

Overhead array

Can rotate around 2 axis, left-right & up & down

Flashbacks of a Fool move

In fact I nearly forgot it was there, and I almost forgot one of its limitations. When you pull out the bed the lift will no longer work because it is fixed to the end of the lathe’s stand.

With a little prompting from a discussion in the stubby users group forum I decided to give a new design a try.

Think “prototype” when looking at the photo’s below, welding and fit isn’t very good yet. If this design works well I will make it pretty on the next iteration.

The mount

The slide

On the slide

Stowed!

Proto Assy

Sliding plate

The Alibi the movie

The Iron Giant divx

The Day the Earth Stood Still move

I used this style tool on the “Mortar Project & Video” .

I found that when turning plastics, acrylics and solid surfaces conventional gouges tend to grab. As a result you don’t get the smoothest cut. I reasoned that the flute and fine edge of a conventional gouge is to aggressive for a material that is solid, making it dig and then shatter the material. I ground these solid surface tools to have the best of both worlds with a bevel like a gouge and a cutting edge like a scraper.

I use the first tool for turning solid surface and the second tool for turning acrylic. I included the acrylic cutting tools because I soon plan to do a post on turning acrylic pens to a smooth finish.

Both are shop made. The first from 1/2″ W1 steel and the second from a set of punches I bought at HF. For information on forging your own tools visit “Heat Treating”.

Different size versions can be made by changing the diameter of steel.

Solid Surface Gouge, 1/2

Grind the tool face to a 4″ radius by holding it against the grinder in a vertical position. The bevel should be ground just like you would a bowl gouge and you can even use your grinding fixture. I grind mine to 45 degrees.

Cutting with this tool is mostly a scrape-ing action but as you get used to it you can tilt it at an angle to get a smoother cut. Cut slow and be sure to wear eye protection.

Solid surface gouge, 3/8

Grind this tool by holding the tool horizontal to the grinder and cut a horizontal radius. The tool itself can scratch acrylic therefore the face of this tool is ground back at 15 degrees and then polished to a mirror finish.More on using this tool when I post about Acrylic pens.

• Use free Google software to make 3D models of woodturning
• Apply a CA finish to a pen
• Turn a bowl from common boards
• Turn a functional wine glass
• Make a metal spinning tool rest
• Make a pen bushing storage cabinet, from simple parts

Then ….buy a woodturning book from Turnedoutright!!

Check out a fellow Stubby owners activities at Turning Trees into Toothpicks

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I especially like the hollowing tool for the Stubby:

Robbo hollowing tool

• Use free Google software to make 3D models of woodturning
• Apply a CA finish to a pen
• Turn a bowl from common boards
• Turn a functional wine glass
• Make a metal spinning tool rest
• Make a pen bushing storage cabinet, from simple parts

Proof of Life video

Then ….buy a woodturning book from Turnedoutright!!

The shaft is a 1″ galvanized pipe reduced to fit a brass compression fitting.

The brass compression fitting holds a 5/8 boring bar (Grizzly H2718) a with a 1/4″ square cutting bit (Grizzly G1507) that as been ground for vessel cutting.

The boring bar can be extended, retracted or rotated by loosening the compression fitting.

The bit can be adjusted with a set screw.

It’s All About Love the movie

• Heaven’s Prisoners buy

Under testing (see video channel) the bit and bar held solid and the large diameter pipe reduced vibration when extended 12-24 inches over the tool rest.

I attached the handle from my Ryobi grinder to the main shaft using a electrical grounding clamp (Lowes).

• Mad Money movie download

Its happened to us all!

You put the chuck on the spindle, load up a large blank, spray some shavings and then when you go to take it off its stuck! This is one of those turning subjects that hosts lots of opinions and not much fact (best I can tell). As you can imagine I have an opinion. In my view its not stuck….. its just real TIGHT!

Uggh! I couldn’t budge the chuck on the spindle. I tried hanging on to whatever I could find but there is no gripping surface on the 1442 that will allow you to lock the spindle…. or was there. Then I noticed the index button. Pushing on the button and cranking on the chuck with a large crescent wrench I couldn’t believe my ears as I heard something snap in the headstock. The clinking noise was the sound of an aluminum tab from the drive pulley hitting the bottom of the headstock housing as it broke off. From the jet manual:

“Headstock Spindle Lock: (G, Fig. 5) Push in pin to keep the spindle from turning.”

Now I was pissed, a new lathe and I had ruined it! With frustration and anger I eyed the three threaded index hole at the front of the housing. I could run a threaded rod into one of these and that surely would hold the shaft still while I broke the chuck loose. With the spindle locked and the large wrench on the chuck …………… I cracked the main tail stock housing …. and pieces fell to the floor in front of me. I was sick to my stomach, you know, that pit of your stomach feeling when you know you did something phenomenally stupid and that the recovery was going to be expensive. Within six months I had built a special wrench, removed the chuck, bought a new headstock casting and new pulleys. I know more now about the innards of a Jet 1440 that any turner should. Believe me you don’t want to go in there! By this time I had a package of plastic washers and everyone at Woodcraft got a piece of my mind about the stupidity of the manufacturer not putting a washer and proper wrench in the box.

I have concluded that all chucks get tight NOT stuck. With the right mechanical advantage chucks are easy to unscrew with or without the annoyance of a plastic washer. There are two parts needed to solve this problem, a way of holding the spindle and a way to grab the chuck for loosening. Below are photos of what I use.

The next DVD review will be Master Techniques of Marquetry so come back soon.
Enjoy…. Donnie

As you can see from above I also had a great fathers day Now I can cut some more fingers!

Thanks kids…..

As you can see Dads files are already in use.

10 Items or Less video