Free Faceplates!!

Stuart Ablett

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Location
Tokyo Japan
.......OK, not quite "Free" but dirt cheap for sure........

I bought the Beall wood threading tap, sized for my Nova DVR 3000 lathe, that would be 1 1/4" 8 TPI.

I'll show you how it works.......

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OK here is the basic set up, I have;
A block of wood, (dense hardwood, side grain is the best)
A chuck and jaws that will hold said block of wood
A 14mm box end wrench
A Dill bit sized for the tap you have for your lathe
A wood tap, sized for your lathe
A dill chuck with a MT#2 on it to go into the tail stock
A lathe, and some Pam cooking spray

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You start by putting the wooden block in the chuck, and the drill chuck in the tailstock and the drill bit, in the drill chuck

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The you drill the hole, with the lathe on a fairly slow speed, I find that about 400 rpm just right.

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Make sure you clean the hole out well, then you remove the drill chuck and bit from the tail stock, and get the wood tap and the 14mm box end wrench.
I put the box end of the wrench on the square part of the tap, with the wrench on there so the wrench angles towards the headstock, not the tail stock.

From this point on the lathe is used UNPOWERED until the tapping is finished!


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You can see the wrench here contacting the banjo, this holds the wrench from turning, which, is like having a third hand. BTW, Beall does recommends to do things slightly differently, they use the open end, which works, but I find this way, I can concentrate on keeping the tap going into the wood more consistently. (the RED arrow show the wrench contacting the banjo)

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OK, now you move up the tail stock, without anything in the MT hole, the end of the tap goes in there. Move the tail stock so the end of the tap goes in the hole of the MT and the tap goes in the hole you just drilled, with the wrench contacting the banjo, you are now free to turn the spindle of the lathe with one hand and the tail stock with the other hand. You can see the knock out bar I put in the handle on the spindle side, this makes it a lot easier to turn. The tail stock is turned to apply only slight pressure on the tap, once the tap starts to dig in, it pulls itself into the wood.

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A shot of Pam cooking spray makes this even easier :D

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When the tap bottoms out, stop turning, if you keep going, you can split the block of wood.

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Pull the tailstock out of the way, and lock the spindle on your lathe, then using the wrench, back the tap out of the hole

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You should have some nice threads in your hole now.........

Cont..........
 
Part II

Now you need to face off the block and do a little cutting.

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First, I need a little bump or ridge on the block, as my lathe has a flush bearing right behind the spindle, so I need this bump as a spacer.
mine needs to be 44mm, I mark it with my dividers, which are set to 44mm, making sure to touch only the left leg of the dividers.

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I turn the face off, leaving this little ridge, or spacer, I also turn the threads off on the inside just a touch.

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A close up.
Your lathe might be different, figure it out, what can and what cannot make contact when the block is screwed on all the way.

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This is how the spindle of my DVR 3000 looks

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Here the block is screwed into place, you can see the space that the bump or ridge provides, without it, the block would rub on the face of the headstock........... not good.... :rolleyes:

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Now it is just a simple matter to turn the blocks nice and round and flat on the face, I'll use these two for jam chucks or some such thing, having a couple around is really convenient.

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I make them into face plates of a sort, and then use them to mount my Donut chucks or my leather faced power strop.

Well, I hope this was of some interest to some one, the $27 or so the tap costs, plus the drill bit, (if you don't have one in the right size) is a good investment, as you can make a lot of fixtures for you lathe that just bolt right on.

Cheers! :wave:
 
Stu when you thread a piece wood they can also make super nice glue blocks. When I thread a glue block I can usually use it a dozen times by then it is gettng thin then scrap it and make another. Nice pic's Stu.
 
Wow, $18 for something that can save me $100's in the long run....I think I need one of those. My dad uses a tap he got from a auto parts store, more expensive and he said it is harder to use. thanks Stu.
 
Can't see it Stu.

I know, I made two of them, and only saw my mistake when I was writing this thread :doh:

I used "Endgrain" you are supposed to use side or face grain :bang:

Oh well, they will work for Glue blocks, like Bernie says.

Jeff, in some ways, they are better than faceplates, one thing is, if you get too close to one, you don't dull your gouge on it :D

if find them real useful and I make up six or so at one time, easier that way.

Yes the one for cutting wood does work better than the metal working one, and it was a LOT cheaper than the metal working one too!

Cheers!
 
A friend of mine who is a machinist has made a couple things for my shop - this is steel, YMMV for wood - and he will have the tap chucked in the tailstock, turn the lathe on and then off and make first contact with the workpiece while moving without power. He explained that a moving bit will wobble into a stationary workpiece, but that a moving workpiece will cause a stationary bit to self-center.
 
Stu, I have been doing this for years. I'm too cheap to buy extra faceplates so I got a tap of the same thread as the spindle. I opted for Walnut because of the tight grain structure and the fact that I had a tone of it. After I drilled and tapped the chunk (I did mine cross grained) I coated the threads with CA to stiffen the threads and make them stronger, just squirted it in and let it soak in. After it dried I waxed the inside to help make the threads work better. Then I turned the face flat, then I use it instead of sacrificial piece, I glue brown paper between the work and the new faceplate. After dried I can turn the piece, seperate the paper and reuse the faceplate block.

I have done several of these and have made several different Gismos such as ring chucks without having to sacrifice a faceplate. I use them for Jam chucks and other special holders. I have one made with a holder for a square blank to turn corner rosettes for casement.

They are handy as a pocket on your Kimono...
 
Yep they sure are handy.

If you get a chance Bill, why not take some pics of the various ones you have made, I would think it would inspire others to make some too, I know I'd love to see your various ideas on this.

Cheers!
 
Dang it Stu, I've been looking at those, and your post put me over the edge. (The price directly from Beall was the best price I could find.) While at their site, I couldn't resist adding the Tilt Box to my order. :rolleyes: It can get expensive reading your posts. :p
 
Forty Bucks.............:eek:

For one of theses.........???

tiltbox_big.jpg


Wait a minute, what the heck are you going to use that for on the lathe......:huh:

Ah........ segmented turnings I'll bet :D :thumb:
 
Well, I'll add some fuel to the fire Vaughn......

The blocks that I showed before, were for Jamb chucks etc, but for backing something like a donut chuck, there is no need for such a deep block. This is what I do to make them.....


Basically, what I do, is I make a cube, in my case, at least 7cm square, as my spindle sticks out of the headstock around 3 cm

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Important point, DO NOT put the block right against the chuck, as I drill and thread all the way through the block.

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I drill the block and thread it all the way through, and then I cut the ridge spacer on the block, take the block out, flip it around and do the same on the other side.

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Both sides are done.

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Just a quick slice on the saw, and I have two blocks.

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Put the blocks back on the lathe, and true up the faces, now they can be used to mount a donut chuck etc.

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One thing I have not mentioned is to drill a hole in the side of the block, make sure it is on the side grain, not the end grain.

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I sized mine so the large chuck key for the Titan chuck fits the hole, this way, if the block gets stuck on the spindle, you have an easy way to get the block off.

Cheers!
 
Forty Bucks.............:eek:

For one of theses.........???

tiltbox_big.jpg


Wait a minute, what the heck are you going to use that for on the lathe......:huh:

Ah........ segmented turnings I'll bet :D :thumb:
Actually, I don't have any plans to do any segmented stuff. ;) I've just been wanting a very accurate way to set my saw (and other tools) at angles other than the 90�, 45 and 30 degrees my old drafting triangles offer.� One of those things I'll probably not use real often, but when I need it, it'll be worth having. Much like my 38" aluminum Lee Valley straightedge.
 
I just ordered one of those (the 1" by 8tpi version) from lee valley a couple weeks ago. Just saw it in their catalogue and said "hmmm... that looks useful..."

Tried to make one jamb chuck (I'd never actually used a jamb chuck). My threads did not come out as well as yours on my first one. I'll have to try the pam trick. Also, I tried jamming the thing into the tailstock, but it's not exactly MT2 ready, if you know what I mean. It worked, but it wasn't elegant. I need to try using the tailstock drill chuck, but I suspect it'll be too big for my drill chuck.

Anyway, after your post, I'm more convinced than ever that the thing will be useful. I'm trying not to get discouraged, after all, this is the first time I've tapped anything, wood, metal, or otherwise... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Stu,

You just saved me a ton of money. Never even thought of this (then I am just getting back into turning after a 25 year hiatus). I just ordered one and I have numerous 16"-20" diameter 18"-20" long hard maple log pieces that will work just wonderfully for face plates, etc. :D

Now all I have to do is make a final determination on whether or not I have to disassemble the lathe and replace the bearings (pretty sure I do :(:rolleyes:)

Chip Charnley
 
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