Tapering round stock

Peter Rideout

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Nova Scotia, 45°N 64°W
Hello Everyone
I may have mentioned, my wife is a weaver and handspinner.
I'm in the process of designing some sort of simple turntable for un-spooling big cones of yarn in preparation for setting up the loom.
I'd like to make a cone-shaped spindle to match the inside of the cardboard yarn cones.
Somewhere I recall a jig for sizing dowels on a router table. Has anyone tried something similar for sharpening the end of round stock about 2 1/2 " dia down to about 1 1/4"?

I know someone will say lathe, but I just have an old salvaged clunker and no decent turning tools.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm looking for quick simple solutions, because there are a lot more important projects on the list. (Me thinks I might have to bite the bullet and buy a roughing-out gouge -suggestions there would be welcome too.)

Thanks and best regards
Peter
 
Any old chunker lathe can do that job. Just sharpen your roundnose scraper and work on the piece that way. Trim the corners with a Bandsaw so you begin with a "Closer to round" piece then use the scraper to smooth and taper. You really don't need a gouge
 
I'll second Bill's suggestion. A scraper and the 80 grit gouge should get you where you need to go.

Another option would be to see if any of the turners here are willing to make one for you. I'd offer to do it for the cost of shipping, but I'm buried with work right now and can't commit to any additional things on my plate for a little while.
 
How many do you need Peter?

You could combine two tools, put the router on a jig, non the right angle over the lathe, then put the piece on the lathe, turn the lathe on and run the router over the lathe :dunno:

Cheers!

PS Hi Gerald, have not seen you for a while! :wave:
 
Thank you for the ideas guys.
I think I'll give Bill's a try. I'll taper it off with the BS then see what I can do with the roundnose scraper.
I only need one spindle, so a router jig as Stu suggested would likely take more time than I have. (How many days to Christmas now Stu?)
The old lathe is one my FIL saved from a yard sale one time. It's truly awful, and the tools are worse (no name anywhere on them, odd, seemingly un-sharpenable carbide-looking tips on some). The one good thing is, as long as it's all I have, I'll never be lured down that slippery turning slope!
It's -16C here tonight, winter's arrived. Nice and cosy in the shop, though :)

All the best
Peter
 
I agree, with only one to do, the bandsaw, then the old lathe sound good. If you have trouble getting it as smooth as you like, or as straight as you want, get some PSA sandpaper, maybe a #60 grit to start with, and put it on a board just longer than the cone, you can press this against the cone as it is turning, running from the headstock to the tailstock and make a nice straight cone.

Flap sanders on 4" angle grinders are helpful too.... :rolleyes:

Best of luck............ Oh yeah....... one month to go :wave:
 
My wife is an avid sewer and machine embroiderer. Which is to say she uses a lot of thread, much off 5000 meter cones.

She was quite happy with a dowel I stuck in a block of wood, tilted up at about a 30 degree angle. The thread comes off the top of the cone very nicely... the angle is enough to keep the cone from sliding off, and still not interfere with the unwinding. I have a lathe and could do something fancy, but this 5 minute solution has kept her happy.
 
there was a simple way to do round tenons at the end of a dowel.on a tablesaw I use the same technique to make axles for the couple of bbq carts I made.

Place a piece of 3/4 inch plywood, lets say 12 inches by12 inches on the tablesaw top to the left of the blade. Clamp it down so that the front edge of the ply is right up to and over the blade.
For example, lets say the round stock is 12 to 14 inches high, 2.5 round as you say.
Set your fence right up against the blade but not over it.
Turn on the TS, and raise the blade at tiny increments, and each time you raise blade, move the fence over the same kerf size as the blade,
Roll the stock with your palms, tight up against the ply, over the blade, rolling it against the fence till it cuts evenly. then move blade up and fence back, in your case I believe want the narrow end first, so work the blade up slowly in small increments till you have your 1.5 inch diameter, then lower the blade a 1/16 with each kerf size you move the fence over.
Roll carefully, its an open blade close to your hands. but remember each time you move blade up or down, you must move your fence accordingly.
You then just sand it over to smooth it out.
Here are the pictures, but you wont be using the pipe jig I used, just lay the wood right on the table since its round.and roll like youre rolling dough.(and you will have to move the fence each cut to get a taper)
Here are the pictures
The pictures will make it simple clear. Will take you 30 minutes to taper down a piece 12 inches.

I know this technique works great, Ive used it several times for different rounding reasons. It isnt my idea. And please remember I am an amateur and only suggesting what Ive read.I lack many tools and have to use what I have to get results I need.
(Im considering using a 4-6 inch wide pvc pipe to turn 4 tapered bun style feet for a cabinet out of the mahogany I have)
 

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(no name anywhere on them, odd, seemingly un-sharpenable carbide-looking tips on some).

If they have Carbide tips they are "decent lathe tools" as for the lathe, I have some yard sale Junque of my own .... a simple Montgomery Ward model my wife's grandfather had in his shed, another HF E-bay offer that had a bent ways that I converted to a Bowl lathe, a mini lathe that has a drill motor for the power supply and another Craftsman copycat I bought on E-bay. Oh, how I wish I had a decent lathe... But I can turn out some ab-so-lutely georgous goodies. For it is not the tool that does the wonders, it is the fellow who holds the tool that does the craft.

Me thinks you give yourself too little credit, Work through with what you have, may take longer or more creatively but you can do it and then be proud of your accomplishments. I look at the WWing shows on TV and think "Sure, If I had one of those" but in reality Roy Underhill and his WoodWright shop is by far the better Craftsman, than Norm and the latest equipment.
 
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