The bowl goes to college

Posted on January 15, 2008

The bowl that I turned this weekend is already in use in my daughters dorm.

Travel Mug

Posted on January 13, 2008

The winter issue of American Woodturner featured the turning of a travel mug. I bought a mug insert some time ago from WoodCraft and it was sitting on my project bench waiting for motivation. Since I needed a Christmas gift for a friend and I wanted to try turning a staved vessel using fixed angle router bits, I set about planning this project.

Using SketchUp I modeled the stave angles and dimensions to insure the wall thickness accounted for the taper in the mug insert. If you want a copy of the model register and leave a comment at the end of this post.

I started by making a SketchUp model of the mugs form to get all the angles correct and insure that I accounted for the mugs taper. The mug is larger at the top than the bottom and it is important that there is enough wall material to allow a taper to be turned without cutting through the walls. The model allowed me to create and fit the stave’s just like the real thing. I followed with a real prototype, making a cross sectional glue up by cutting and routing one stave and then slicing it into small sections. This step verified that my cutting and routing setup would produce closed glue lines.

Summary:

The project required an interesting mix of wood turning and woodworking skills. The router method of creating angles yielded perfect glue lines but was a bit challenging to set up. I don’t know if this is easier than setting up a sled on the table saw or not. The technique for rolling the glue up on wax paper outlined in American Woodturner works much better than my manual method. The metal mug inserts are not all exactly round and the dimensions (especially the lip) vary slightly so don’t expect to make these in batches. Each insert needs to be turned with its own hollow form.

I was very satisfied with the outcome!

The detailed turning process is below.

Donnie

I set up the saw to cut the stave’s accurately by using a accurately cut template to set the fence. Precision is critical to get a good glue-up of the stave’s.
After making a sanding sled I put the stave’s through the thickness sander to insure that they were all uniform size and finish.
Next I set up the router with my 22.5 degree bit and routed the two angles. The setup of the router height was critical. It took a number of passes with scrap wood to get it right. Make sure you use a feather board to hold the stave consistently up against the bit. The key is to get the top of the bit to line up and cut exactly at the top of the stave.
The form was then glued up with Gorilla glue and a couple of pipe clamps. Use wax paper under the clamps and on work surfaces to make clean up easier. Wear latex gloves to keep from having to remove skin to clean up your hands. Don’t forget to wet the mating surfaces before you apply the glue. Polyurethane glues bond better with moisture. After an overnight wait the clamps are removed and the form is mounted between cone centers, then turned round.
The plug was made from a piece of oak that was glued to a waste block and turned to size in a separate step. The glue block was left on the plug and served as a mating surface for the tail stock live center. After drying overnight the pugs waste block was parted off leaving a closed end that was ready to re-chuck for hollowing. I used a cone center to align the mug and then tightened the chuck.
The hollowing process is one of trial and error to get the insert to fit . I used a hook tool and termite tool, both worked well. I made a template that matched the OD of the insert and used that to get the basic internal shape, depth and taper.
Then the insert was fitted by hand.Wipe chalk on the mug insert, push it into the form and rotate. Pull it out and look for the chalk that was transfered to the inner wall, then cut those areas back. I got this tip from American Woodturners article.
Part off excess material until the form is the correct length. Then cut a rabbit at the edge of the form to receive the lip of the insert. Once the lip and the inner profile is cut install the insert and bring up the tail stock with the cone center installed. Cut the outer profile of the mug with the insert installed, this method insures that the outer profile exactly matches the inserts lip. Mark the orientation of the insert in the form so that you can get it back exactly in the same place. I found that every insert is slightly different and not always perfectly round.
I applied the finish while the piece was on the lathe. Then, using my shop made laser depth finder I checked the location of the bottom so that I would not go through it when I parted it from the lathe.
The completed hollowed form looks like this. I finished it with several coats of satin polyurethane so that it could withstand spills and cleaning.Note: instructions for turning this mug are also available from Woodcraft. I found that both the techniques from this set of instructions and the article in American Woodturner were helpful.

» Filed Under Hollow Forms, Instruments | 8 Comments

Measuring Lathe Misalignment

Posted on January 13, 2008

I noticed while turning this holiday that my tail and headstock were out of alignment. I noticed it while drilling a piece with a Jacobs Chuck in the tail stock. The bit seemed to struggle finding the center and that caused me to investigate.

I don’t know what the formal technique for measuring this misalignment is but here is what I came up with. It uses standard shop tools and materials. Nothing fancy!

Donnie

This is a picture of the misalignment.The vertical is out of alignment and the horizontal is nearly perfect.
Cut a 2×3 inch piece of Plexiglas with square sides (the slide) and hold it between the tail and headstock centers . We will mark each side of the glass and use its transparency to measure the error. I hold the slide by hand lock the tail stock down and then using the quill drive the centers into the plastic making a mark on both sides.
Mark the holes made by the centers with a Sharpie by scribbling over it and then wiping it off, leaving the indent highlighted. Hold the slide up to the light and with a knife and small square scribe a line (on one side) through the center of each mark.
Now using a caliper measure the distance between the two lines.

» Filed Under Tools | 1 Comment

Stubby tailstock lift

Posted on January 9, 2008

Over the holidays I updated and completed a number of jigs in my shop.

Band saw fence
Drill press fence
Table saw sled

But the most fun was the face lift that I did to my stubby!

I’ll admit I went a bit crazy but hey it seems to work really well.

These modifications require close alignment to the lathe, so if you plan to add one to your lathe be prepared to do some custom fitting.

I used this setup all weekend and it seems to work great, time will tell if I decide to keep it!

Enjoy the videos below first they are silly but show how easy the lift operates!

Click on these videos to see the magic!

Drawers: top drawer doubles as tool storage during turning. Insert keep shavings out of drawer.
Loading the lift
Lowering the lift, note the use of your foot on the pivot arm to control decent and lift.
The lift in the “stow” position
The lift in the “unload” position
The lift drag can be adjusted with the pivot wrench. This wrench is also used to easily remove the pivot arm in the event it is in the way. I suspect it may interfering with some hollowing tool setups.

» Filed Under Tools | 4 Comments

Happy New Year

Posted on January 8, 2008

I haven’t posted since before Christmas so I bet you think I just kicked back and abandoned the shop. Not hardly, I have a gaggle of stuff to report on. I had three weeks of vacation so I spent time with the family and wore out the turned.out.right shop.

Below is an inventory of stuff I worked on as gifts. Some of them I will expand on in future posts so stay tuned and if you haven’t gotten a feed from this site make sure you do, so you don’t miss the new stuff!

I also added a new page to the right that outlines stuff that is “work in progress” in the shop.

BTW if there is some wood turning challenge that you want me to attack or just have questions don’t hesitate to use the comments sections on each post.

These things were made as Christmas Gifts:

Wine Glass: I made a set of wine glasses. Note the hand etching. The wood is Cedar and finished in polyurethane. Hey there is a free instruction method on making these.
Travel Mug: I decided to try out the travel mug that was in the Winter issue of American Woodturner, “Java With Style”. It is make from 8 types of hardwood and was a gift to a wood turner. I will share what I learned from this project in a future post.
Pens: one pen from acrylic and one from malachite. Both finished using plastic & metal polishing technique. These are patriot pens.
Flower Arranger: made using a flower arranger and myrtle wood. Finished in polyurethane. Myrtle is a fun and easy wood to turn.
Open form: this was my first time turning Madrone and it was a delight. The inlay is a new material I tried and will highlight in a future post. You won’t believe what it is. This was a gift to my wife.
Ring holder: this Masur Birch piece is popular with the ladies. Sitting on the back of the sink it holds their rings while washing hands. Masur was a pleasure to turn but is very expensive. The wood is burnished and polished with Tripoli and buffed with wax.
Bird House: I previously turned two birdhouses for my wife (on the left and right) leaving an empty hook. The middle birdhouse turned from Holly and Spalted Maple completed the set. The birdhouses are finished in a high gloss lacquer.
Salad Bowl: I owed a co-worker for bringing me a some large pieces of Silver Maple. This wood was very hard and to my surprise very dry. The wood was harvested this summer. I’d rather turn bowls this size… wet! It is finished in Walnut Oil from the salad section of the grocery store. Note some cracks formed near the pith and were filled with black CA. I still wonder if the notion that all dried finishes are food safe is really true. I will do some research and post on the subject.

» Filed Under Collections | Leave a Comment

Plans: PenTurners Parts Cabinet

Posted on December 17, 2007

For some time I struggled with methods to keep my pen bushings and parts organized and every time I revisited a pen I needed to re-identify the bushings and drill bits to match the pen kit.

It was my wife that came up with the idea of using pill bottles. This easy to make cabinet uses up all those pill bottles and for a good cause ….. Shop organization!

This pen turners cabinet is designed to be space efficient and portable and the best feature is that its almost impossible for the bottles to fall out.

Your purchase includes a PDF of the plans and a FREE 3D SketchUp model.

This cabinet hold 60 bottles, that’s a lot of pen bushings!

Its now available in the store!

Donny

» Filed Under Tools | Leave a Comment

NEW in the store

Posted on December 15, 2007

By popular demand I added two new down loadable 3D models to the store.

Changing Table:

Check it out!

This is a model of a baby changing table.

Trest:

Check it out!

This tool rest is used to spin metal on a wood lathe.

» Filed Under A special offer, Metal Spinning, Models, Tools, Woodturning/working Software, Woodworking | 1 Comment

The Waldon lock WORKS!

Posted on December 4, 2007

Some time ago Walt and I embarked upon a project (the Waldon Lock) to improve the Stubby’s banjo locking mechanism. We built and tested locks, and for some time both of us have used them successfully in our shops. Recently we had another Stubby owner buy and try the lock. Below is an interesting testimony and I thought I would share it with you.

From: A stubby user

To: turnedoutright

I just finished installing a Waldon lock on one of my Stubby banjos, and it is a marked improvement. One of the few complaints voiced by Stubby owners has to do with the way the banjo locks to the ways. Many of us feel that the locking action is not solid enough, allowing it to creep, and requiring frequent re-tightening.The Waldon lock solves this by making everything beefier. The bolt is twice the diameter, so it has a taller nut and deeper threads. The sleeve which slides over the cam is longer and thicker, which reduces bowing slightly. The clamping plate is also larger and thicker.
Now, when I flip the lever, it comes to a definite stop–not like before. Once it comes to that position, I can lean on it really hard without feeling any further movement, and it stays put. I compared it with another leading lathe in the same price range, and the Waldon Stubby is not in second place.


The old locking plate	The new locking plate	The old and new studs

In the above photographs, you can easily see how much more massive the Waldon clamp is. Note, also, in one of the pictures, there is visible damage from use, further reducing their holding power. It looks like continued use would eventually strip the threads, although I have not heard of this happening. A quick fix for this condition is to put on two nuts, as shown in one of the pictures. However, while this does help, I believe it merely transfers the load to a previously undamaged part of the thread, so eventually the problem could return.

I have been using the lock for a few weeks now and it clearly is a noticeable improvement. Surprisingly the banjo is easier to use because of its more solid engagement and disengagement action.

I m glad I made these modifications and think that Omega should include this design modification on all lathes.

Thanks,

Leo

An even more happy Stubby user

As a reminder you can get plans to build your own by emailing me donny@turnedoutright.com

» Filed Under Tools | 1 Comment

TURNED.OUT.RIGHT has a store!

Posted on December 2, 2007

Well winter is here in Utah. Time to turn on the heater in the shop and start using up all that wood I have been hording in the garage.

The big news it that we finally got a formal store and checkout up and running and we are having a sale.

I can now accept pay pal and credit card purchases!

Thanks again to James!

Well almost…… we are still having some problem with uploading MOdelling Wood Turning with SketchUp. For that reason the store shows it as sold out. Go to Modeling Wood turning with SketchUp“. Email me donny@turnedoutright.com if you want to order one. We hope to get it fixed soon.

Check out the sale in the STORE

» Filed Under Site | Leave a Comment

The Pied Piper Visits the shop

Posted on November 26, 2007

I had my friend Dennis visit the turned.out.right shop a week ago. He is an avid flute maker and for some time we have been meaning to get together. We finally did it.

I wanted to make a base Native American Flute (NAF) for some time now and had already drilled and shaped a 30″ poplar blank (nearly a year ago) . After researching NAF’s I became fascinated by the science behind the making of a flute. I also gained a huge respect for the skill and innovativeness of the Native Americans. I wanted to see if I could build and play one.

So… how did I drill a 1 1/4 inch hole straight for 30 inches ,,,, well a picture is worth 30″ of words.

Don’t try that at home……

To start this thing someone, I don’t remember who, said that a 11/4 inch hole could not be drilled straight for 30 inches on a wood lathe. Well that was all the challenge I needed. I proved it could be done, then it sat on my bench for a year.

Dennis had already made one of these beasts so we decided to collaborate.

The following pictures outline the technique and pretty much summarize a night that started about 7:00 PM and ended at 4:00 AM. What the heck we were having fun with something new.

We started with a shaped blank. At this point it has a 11/4 hole down its center and it is about 1/2 inch thick.

We cut the tube into 3 pieces: the mouthpiece (slow speed chamber), the true sound hole section and the body (not shown).

This photo shows the mouthpiece dry fit into the TSH section. The TSH still has to be cut as does the outer diameter of the of the mouthpeice.

The body was mounted between centers and a teno turned on one end. This tenon must slide all the way up to the back of the TSH. The fit had to be tight.