Brian explained that he would show us “therming” (Art Liestman – on line) which is off centre turning multiple pieces of timber at the same time.
He had 2 identical circular jigs with inner tenon recesses for the pieces (that have tenons on each end) , that were to be turned, were placed. When put together, the 2 jig end plates with pieces in between looked a bit like a ‘cotton reel’.
The ‘cotton reel’ was put on the lathe and held with chucks at both ends.
The set up should be tight but with enough movement to allow to index turn the pieces.
You set the indexing that you want. Then you must move each piece to the first index line. When all 4 are setup, Tek screw through the jigs into the pieces. The screws should be off centre (to the pieces)
Start the lathe slowly, 500rpm, and speed up to about 1200rpm, or to what you are comfortable with.
Turn to the depth require. Bryan suggested that you make a template to set the depth. This will ensure even shapes.
When you are happy with the first setup, you take out the screws and set the pieces to the next index line. Replace the screws and turn the second part.
Repeat this 2 more time, and you should have 4 pieces the same off centre shape.
Bryan pointed out:
Ensure the jig setup is always tight on the lathe.
Remember to replace the screws
Start the lathe slow and increase the speed slowly to your comfort level.
Report 25 September 2024 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
Warning: graphic descriptions and metal working references. This report contains references to metals and metal devices, and may be harmful to some woodworkers. If you are affected by this report, you may obtain help at South Auckland Woodturners Guild Inc. | Turning Tomorrow’s Treasures (sawg.org.nz).
The demonstrator this week is Jon Pearse. Jon was introduced as our resident inventor, and it is noted that in addition to his skills as a metal working machinist, Jon has completed all his the required courses and obtained his National Certificate in Woodturning in less than 2 years.
Check out Jon’s YouTube channel where he posts regular videos, including a number where he makes jigs for the wood lathe. The Hobby Machinist NZ – YouTube.
In this report you will see how Jon successfully blends his metal engineering abilities with his woodturning talent.
Jon began by welcoming the audience in German, a language he has been studying for a while. He went on to discuss in simple terms how a rose engine works, and showed us a couple of bowls which have recently been embellished by club members on the SAWG rose engine (there is an “ornamental group” within SAWG which meets every fourth Monday night of the month; newcomers are welcome, contact John Whitmore).
The stumbling block for the common turner, of course, is the outrageous price of a rose engine – commonly upwards of USD$100,000, out of reach for most of us. This set Jon to thinking about how he could replicate some of the functions of the rose engine with a jig that could be used on the wood lathe and developed within the ranges of a manageable budget for your average Joe Turner.
The components of Jon’s jig are a mixture of steel fabrications made in his workshop and pieces purchased cheaply from Chinese sources on the internet. He described the construction in a relatively simple manner and logical order.
First up is a 1 ½ inch boring head, typically used in a milling machine for boring holes. Jon will attach a variety of cutters to the boring head and drive it using the headstock spindle of the lathe. The cutters are secured with grub screws. The boring head is inserted in to the spindle via a number 2 morse taper, but it also requires a tie back rod to prevent accidental self ejection. Jon made the necessary modifications in his metal workshop.
The body of the jig is fitted on the bed way of the lathe. It is made up of: A metal base plate and spacer block which tightens on to the bed and can be slid to the appropriate position. The purpose of the spacer block is effectively to elevate the jig to the required cutting height, which is in line with the centre height of the spindle. While Jon built his base plate and spacer block out of steel, it could potentially be constructed from wood or other materials.
Next Jon attached a cross slide table to the spacer block. The cross slide table is a positioning mechanism with two planes – one which moves laterally across the bed, and one which moves parallel to the bed. Fine positioning is achieved with hand wheels on each axis (just like advancing the tailstock quill on your wood lathe).
Sitting on top of the cross slide table is a 4” rotary table mounted vertically. This can be precisely turned from 0° to 360°. Affixed to the front of the rotary table with bolts is an adapter with a 1 ¼” x 8 tpi thread which the chuck from the wood lathe can be screwed on.
When a wooden bowl or lidded box is held stationery in the chuck (with tenon still on obviously), it can be manually presented to the cutter(s) to produce an infinite variety of patterns and decorations.
The components bought on the internet (boring head, cross slide and rotary table) cost in total about $230 NZD.
Jon made a number of cutters from HSS 8mm drill bits and centre drills in his workshop, but Holm advised cutters can be purchased on the internet from the USA.
Jon demonstrated how the jig operates, firstly on the side of a lidded box. He laterally inserted a pointed 90° cutter in to the boring head. After securing the base of the lidded box in the chuck, he adjusted the jig so the box was adjacent to the cutter and parallel to the side of the bed.
With the lathe running at 2000 rpm, he turned the hand wheel to move the cross slide table in which engaged the cutter. After making one cut, he advanced the rotary table by 20° to make the next cut. Rinse and repeat. Jon made 4 cuts then moved the cross slide 4.5mm so that more cuts can be made further along the side of the box. For this second row of cuts he also phased the angle on the rotary table by 10°. This offsets the second row of cuts to produce a brick wall type pattern. He explained that it would take too long to complete all the cuts around box with multiple rings of cuts spaced apart, so he handed around finished pieces which demonstrated the nature of the cuts he was making. The pieces included patterns made with a flat bottom cutter. While some samples showed cuts were sharp and clean, others, particularly those made with the flat bottom cutter, had visible signs of tear out. Jon put this down to the type of wood used (which was soft), along with the flat bottom cutter.
The flat bottom cutter should only be used with dense tight grain hard woods.
Next Jon used a 45° detail cutter to decorate the top of a lid. The detail cutter is mounted in the front of the boring head. This cutter is used to make barley corn designs, about 1/4mm deep. The top of the lid needs to be flat, and the jig positioned squarely on the bed to achieve a consistent depth of cut. Using the cross slide table, the jig is adjusted so the cutter tip rotates between a picture frame line on the outside of the lid and the centre of the lid. The lid is then advanced gently in to the cut. After starting with the rotary table set at 0°, it is turned to 10° to make the next cut. This process is repeated over and over until the pattern circumscribes the whole lid.
With some slight adjustments to the cutter and the jig, and also using the ‘bump’ and ‘half-moon’ cutters, Jon demonstrated different patterns on the sloped outer perimeter of the lid. As before, he did not complete a pattern because of time constraints, but the finished examples he passed around were stunning in their precision, detail and finish quality. This is amazing considering the whole set up and operation of the jig is manually performed: Jon described it as using his eyecrometer. If you remember using a sprirograph, the patterns achieved with the jig are exactly the same as those that astounded us as kids.
To cap it off, Jon showed that the jig could also be used to make patterns on other materials and he demonstrated cuts within aluminium.
Jon has made a YouTube video on this jig. If you want to watch it here is the link: Ornamental Turning Device (youtube.com).
Thanks Jon, for an absorbing demonstration. The cleverness of the jig aside, your commentary and presentation is totally enjoyable. You’d better start thinking about what you are going to do for your next SAWG demo.
Club meeting: 18 September 2024 Report by Roger Pye
As usual Dick had done his homework on producing various cruets from recycled plastic. So, his demo was a story in three parts.
Part One – Selection of recycled plastic.
The plastic to be reused for turning must be HDPE. For recycled plastic, the ID is 2. It is most commonly used in the production of milk bottles. Other sources are available, white pill-bottles from your chemist is worth a try.
Having obtained your collection of HDPE scrap it must then be broken down into small pieces. A good pair of secateurs will do the job.
Part Two – Rework the scrap plastic into a suitable “turning” size.
The shape and size of your blank is determined by the dimensions of the end product you wish to make. This involves using dense and strong wood to construct a mould which will be capable of withstanding high pressure. Normally the mould will be made in two equal halves and be held together in two opposite directions with coach bolts. (ie Eight bolts). Using a Forstner drill bit, drill a centre hole to the depth required. A close fitting “ram-rod” is needed to apply pressure when your scrap plastic is inserted.
Your item to be made will require a predetermined weight of plastic, (ie Prior to turning) Weigh-out this weight in scrap and proceed to soften as follows. Use an oven or other form of controlled heating. Maximum temperature 180º. A couple of Teflon sheets (obtainable from the Warehouse or Briscoes) help to avoid your softened plastic from sticking in the wrong places. When softened at 180º and using gloves, start kneading your soft plastic and eliminate air bubbles. While still soft, or if necessary reheated, insert into your compression mould and apply the best pressure you decide is necessary to achieve a solid blank of plastic.
A typical wood-vice will suffice, or other like cramping tool. Remove from mould by unbolting the two halves of your wooden mould.
Part Three – Making a plastic cruet set
These items are really a matter of choice. Bear in mind that a mould can be made to match any simple shape. The outer section of a mustard cruet and an inner bowl for it can be formed in premade moulds and cleaned up for use with sharp tools. Typically, this is likely to be a repetitive production line set-up.
Run your turning speed as low as 500 RPM. With sharp tools a good finish is possible. When sanding, choose a slow speed as any friction gets hot and will melt rather than sand. Perhaps wet and dry sanding could achieve a better result.
Using the same mix of recycled plastic, a matching set of salt and pepper grinders can easily be added to this collection. Because the plastic “Crush Grind” elements are inclined to slide around inside the actual cruet set of holders, some effort should be made to dig out notches for the grinder components to “lock-in” within the newly turned holders.
Conclusion
SAWG are fortunate to have a Dick Veitch who is clearly committed to exploring every nook and cranny of woodturning and then demonstrating to members how to use plausible and worthwhile methods. This is just another example.
Club Meeting: 11 September 2024 Report by: Bob Yandell
The club had the good fortune to have 4 experts present on the key equipment we have or use either at the Club or at home:
Bandsaw
Bench Grinder
Lathe
Chucks
Bandsaw – Mark Williams
Mark outlined his background associated with Bandsaws which began as a Saw Doctor in the Waipārera Sawmill through sales at Thode and his current position at Carbatec. Starting with the history of bearing blocks of Black Maire soaked in oil, multiple steel bearings through to Ceramics, again with oil and then the current home used bandsaws and their bearings. The affect of oil and sawdust on the performance of the bandsaw.
The structure and choice of the Bandsaw blade was explained and the correct unfolding and folding of the blade drew admiration from all present. The ideal blade is a bimetal blade, 6TPI and 1/4 inch. The blade should be tensioned as much as possible and once tensioned a maximum of 5mm movement side to side. Clean the wheel with turpentine to remove any sawdust. Regular cleaning is recommendeD
Grinder – Dick Veitch
A quick overview of the key safety features to be observed.
Safety shield should be put down after use.
Lock the slide once correct position has been set.
Never put Tool Steel on CBN wheel.
The white or blue wheel (Aluminium oxide) is for tool steel tools. The aluminium oxide wheel can be cleaned and flattened with the diamond dresser. Tool Steel sparks much more when being ground, if in doubt test your tool on the aluminium oxide wheel.
Lathe – Roger Latimer
The focus was how to remove the clean and maintain the Headstock , tailstock and the banjo.
The focus on the Headstock was the need to be sure to remove the power source and wait at least 5 minutes before removing the cover plate as the unit is designed to hold power for a short period to prevent damage. The Headstock only needs to be cleaned once a year or when an error message “0 or 1” is displayed. The locking pin is made of steel and the indexing wheel is made of aluminium so susceptible to damage if over loaded. Vacuum the dust out and be careful if blowing.
The tailstock should be cleaned more frequently as dust can get in the quill. Keeper plate is subject to wear on the headstock side due to the pressure exerted when drilling, it can be turned around or should be replaced. It needs to be lubricated with graphite grease.
The banjo can be adjusted and a light lubricant applied.
Chuck – Ian Connelly
Remove the jaws.
Use quality circlip pliers to remove the circlip from the back of the chuck as the tension in the clip is likely to break cheaper versions. Ensure the position of the slides are marked (use a sharpie) or a centre punch to mark the first slide. For a supernova chuck hit the insert with a wooden mallet and the protective dust cover will pop off. Remove the scroll ring and slides. Clean using throttle/carburetor cleaner as it will not leave a residue and apply a light coating of grease.
Reassemble in the reverse order. Push the slides into the centre. You may need to rotate the scroll ring to get it to seat correctly on the slides.
I serviced one of my chucks to make sure that I was following the directions and I failed, hence the need to move the scroll ring until the slide adjusters located. Refer Teknatool.com – How to service Nova Chucks.
A thorough and comprehensive series of demonstrations. Needs to be repeated.
Club Meeting: 4 September 2024 Report by : Anwar Jahan
Turned from a 2 X 4″ pin oak Machined accurately (rectangle) Screw chuck to hold
Other timbers that work – Rimu, Oak, etc. Speed 1200 rpm Spigot for a 30 mm chuck Using parting tool for making spigot Used 35 mm bowl gouge First get the feet right Then start hollowing till the spigot
If you make it thin then you can make holes and patterns Eye ball for the depth of the tea light candle height Make it roundish at the bottom where the spigot Then you can blend or remove the spigot Touch up the sharp edges and sand the underneath If turning is good, minimum sanding is required Turn the project around and mount it on the 30 mm chuck Use a jacobs chuck to drill 1.5″ hole
Support the jacobs chuck drill at 250 rpm mankind sure it does not go through the bottom Make a Bead, keep checking the depth. Turn at 1200 rpm to make the curve Can increase to 1400 rpm, thickness between 3 to 4 mm As a guide mark the side with pencil for guidance (stop and see) Can use sheer scrape cut to get better finishing
Then shape the bead (keep checking depth by placing the tealight candle in the depression) Use parting tool and skew chisel for shaping the bead Now reverse mount the project in 30 mm chuck in expansion make to take off spigot
Pyrography
Design of decoration inspired by Greek pottery in 1000 B.C. Black in the background and then coloring
Burn master – use 5B pencil to ensure no damage to fibres of wood Free hand drawing of flower Creating a deep groove or scar to the depth of 1 mm Razor tips also can be used Pinky finger to be used as support on wood for stability Try to get smooth curves Clean tip with brass wire brush to remove carbon build up No need of shading pyrography if you are going to color it At level 4 on the burn master Use fan to blow smoke away from yourself for health and safety reasons Random pattern – frame the edge
Treat over burns with nail polish remover or thinner Can use 600 grit sandpaper for tidying up
Acrylic paint and dyes Soak leaves in water with brush opens the fibres Then dip paintbrush in dyes and apply (blend colors) Kauri wood has gum so could react differently Color should be medium thick so it’s evenly coated Dye on top of acrylic
Terry started off with an interesting story about some of his Deer Antler Boxes having pride of place between tow intricately carved antlers worth over a million dollars each.
The buttons are what is shed after the antlers are harvested for their velvet a supposed aphrodisiac.
Terry started by flattening off one side on a belt sander so it can be mounted on a wooden faceplate with hot melt glue. He drilled a hole in the centre of the button and the face plate was prepared with a nub in the centre for location purposes.
The assembly needs to be turned relatively fast (2000rpm) as the surface is uneven. With the handle of the gouge well down cutting above centre. Terry explained that wider wings and a smaller bowl look better and a smaller piece of button can then be used for the lid, the spigot needs to be flat an parallel. There is no grain so a good finish can be achieved with a skew used as a negative rake scraper. Sand to 400 grit and then use the sanding pad for a finer finish. Apply EEE or Shellawax finish. The item will take the Timberly Textura well.
Remove any wax from the foot before remounting for the upper surface. Use a hot air gun to remove from the faceplate or it can be parted off.
Mount in a small jaw chuck and flatten the top. Drill a hole in the centre to the depth required and measure the wing width to scribe a circle for the hollowing. A recess and small bead can now be cut for the lid to fit into, the inside can be finished with a small round nosed scraper.
Another button mounted to a faceplate as before is now prepared and cut to fit the recess prepared for it rough shape the lid. Using the base as a jam chuck finish the lid using tailstock pressure for safety. Finish as per the base.
A hole is drilled in the lid to take a piece of dark wood to make the finial, which is glued in preferably with 5 minute Epoxy sand before reducing the finial point as it will be very delicate and could fly apart as Terry’s did.
The body can then be mounted onto a chuck using the lid recess to carefully reduce the spigot to for a neat foot of your choosing.
Thank you Terry once again for a well put together and informative demonstration.
Club Meeting: 21 August 2024 Report by: Garry Jones
Shannon gave a quick introduction of himself and what his demo was going to cover this evening
Inspiration – He started off talking about what things you can get inspiration from by thinking out side the box of woodworking and showed us a pottery cup that his daughter had made and decorated by using a screwdriver to make the patterns
He also talked about using other tools that you might have lying around in your shed and experimenting with patterns and not to be afraid to try something new as it might lead to something exciting
Shannon then talked to a few bowls that he had experimented on and embellished with different methods and tools and showed us the techniques he used
He then demonstrated how he uses the Woodcut Pro mount artist clamp that had a bowl attached and created a pattern with a Phillips screwdriver into the walnut bowl, when he had completed the pattern he then filled to marks with a coloured wood filler (Timbermate) that he purchased from Bunnings
Next he moved onto the demo about Paint Carving- He mentioned a friend of his that is doing this type of art Hikurangi Edwards, she is worth while looking up if you want inspiration to get into this medium.
Shannon demonstrated and talked about how he prepares the bowl and how many layers/coats of paint he puts on and this depends on what you want to achieve, he used Resene test pots for the paint and typically put on 30-50 coats. He also mentioned that the paint takes a lot longer to dry in the winter between coats so this might be something you want to think about.
He showed us the tools that he cuts the patterns with which is just a normal lino cutting set that he got from an art shop but you can also get them from Bunnings/Mitre10 or Temu etc
Cutting the groves for the pattern is a lot easier that cutting wood as the is no grain to create resistance but you do need to make sure that you control the depth and pressure during the cut
The audience asked a lot of good questions and Shannon gave very good and informative answers, one question was “can you use a Dremel on the paint” and he said he didn’t know but had a Dremel with him so he tried it and guess what, it worked, so we all learnt something
Shannon then invited members to come up and have a try which a few of us did and found that it was reasonably easy to do so hopefully we will see some examples of the demo on our Show n tell in the future
Thank you Shannon for a very informative and inspiring demo
Club Meeting: 14 August 2024 Report by Graeme Mackay
Janet provided an interesting and colourful way of using other materials such as metal wire for inlays into wood.
The sections and techniques were clearly defined with examples, demonstration pieces and a whole array of tips and assists. The overall goal being to insert metal wire into turned and carved Wood Craft pieces. And as the demonstration proceeded, Janet highlighted an arrangement of uses that this form of embellishment can be used. Janet showed design layouts and ways in which you apply your own particular application skill level.
Cloisonné:
Janet showed aluminum cloisonné wire that is rectangular in shape. Working from standard sizes and commercial based products. Also she showed how to use round copper wire using the same techniques.
Channeling:
Carving channels to fit in wire is an important part of the wire application and one that needs much practice and patience. Clean grooves are a constant for this and the laying process. Carving a channel deep enough that 1mm of the wire protrudes from the surface of the wood. Remember to keep your wood shaving for later.
Wire fixing
Thin CA glue was used to dampen the channels and then wire inserted. Then use sawdust to fill any gaps where your channel might have got a bit wide. Apply CA again and allow it to totally dry.
Sanding:
Speed is not your friend when getting your wood and wire to a smooth even surface. Do not put the wood back on the lathe to skim or use a bench top sander. The friction from the fast movement and heat buildup will soften your CA glue and the wire and bits of wire will pop out. Use a hand held mouse sander or a dremel style drum sander first. Then hand sand down to 400 to 600 grit. Do not use a Beal buff system to polish as it will reheat the wire. Any oil or wax is fine to use.
Glenn started by saying the inspiration for this was a youtube by Ronald Kanne.
He started by mounting the blank on a worm screw, rounded the timber and marked the centre, as well as 30mm either side of centre. Another mark was put 20mm down the side of the blank on either side. These marks were used to take the corners off the blank
The design involves turning out the centre then putting an insert in each side of the flask. This insert area was marked at 105mm.
Glenn then hollowed the vessel and formed a shoulder for the insert to rest on.
The vessel was then turned around and mounted on 100mm jaws in expansion mode. The hollowing was then repeated from the other side.
A Munro hollower was used to hollow under the rim.
Glenn then mixed powdered dye with isopropyl alcohol and rubbed in onto the vessel, using multiple coats to build it up to the desired colour.
Then Glenn moved onto making the disks to insert into the flask. He mounted the disk in the chuck and marked the size as measured from the recess. It was turned to size.
The insert was glued into the vessel, then the process was discussed further and it was determined that his normal process would have been to turn both disks before getting the glue out. (demo nerves)
He then drilled the hole for the spout to be put into
(Let us assume glue had not been used yet) The disks would then be smoothed to final shape, using the flash as a jam chuck. One side at a time with the other recess being used to mount the flask on the 100mm jaws.
He then turned the spout and a stopper from a spindle blank.
An entertaining demo, with techniques and inspiration for us all. Thanks Glenn.
Denise would happily toss away housekeeping in favour of woodturning. Her campervan is ready to roll complete with mini lathe to join in with any convention where there are other woodturners doing their stuff as well. No, she does not travel alone; her husband is there to do the driving and provide the meals or as time permits is out visiting the local sights. So, this time, at her favourite SAWG Clubrooms, she elected to show us how to use other materials than just wood.
Being naturally inclined to produce items of jewellery, her choice was to make a pendant. The materials comprised a 4mm slice of pure white deer antler, together with a 4mm slice of jet-black buffalo horn. These two separate pieces were held in place face to face with double sided adhesive tape. A scroll saw was then used to cut an interesting design.
A drill press is used to drill an 8 mm hole through the joined slabs in the centre of the pendant scroll. When the two 4mm slabs were separated and one of the two pieces reversed, an exact fit is achieved. These two pieces are then permanently held in place with superglue.
With appropriate shaped blocks of wood fashioned to fit and hold the pendant centrepiece in the lathe the outer edge is carefully trimmed. Because of possible variations in thickness, a 10 mm round rubber pad is used at the tailstock.
8 mm diameter black and white infill buttons are turned-up separately about 10 mm long. Each is cut to an appropriate length for insertion in contrasting positions on the pendant.
A dense piece of mounting wood for the pendant is cut to a diameter of 60 mm. A Forstner bit of 38 mm diameter is used to cut out the initial mounting hole. The depth and final diameter are turned to get the exact fit for the pendant. The newly made disc is glued into place using medium Superglue.
A suitable “jamb-chuck” is then made for the final finishing of the new pendant. With the usual grades of sanding and polishing materials the front face of the pendant is brought up to a highly polished and smooth finish. Using the same wooden “jamb chuck”, reverse the pendant and polish the backside.
A small hole drilled through your selected top edge of the pendant will enable the fitting of a cord on which to hang the pendant around your neck.
