L-O-N-G tool rest.....

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
OK, I'm getting at this spindle work stuff, I have to admit, it is a whole different animal than most of the stuff I've been doing on the spinny side.

The spindles will be about 26", by 2 1/4", I've had a really hard time with whip, with not getting a smooth cut.

Here is the LONG tool rest I made up......

new_long_rest.jpg

I've tired high speed, low speed, in between, and I've got SHARP tools, I mean SHARP!! but, still.............???? :dunno: :dunno: :huh:

I'll be working on it on Sunday, ALL DAY.....

I made up a MDF power strop for the grinder......

mdf_edge_strop.jpg
This works REALLY well on the lathe tools :thumb:

Took ten minutes to make, cut it rough, made it round on the lathe, then put it on the grinder, trued it up again, a bit, added some rouge honning compound, and I'm in business :D

The leather one I have works great too, but if I'm on the lathe working....makes it kind of hard to use, this is DEAD easy!

I'm going to have to make a steady for this spindle work, I guess......

Any tips and or tricks for this stuff?

I'm doing the "Supported" by hand cuts, and cuts as light as I can make them...... more practice I guess........ :rolleyes:
 
Not much I can off Stu as I have turned very little long spindles but I have seen what your dealing with. Sandpaper is your friend! :)

I did see a steady rest once that should work for spindles. It consisted of two wheels against the back of the spindle, mounted on a simple L shaped bracket. Your turning tool makes the 3 contact point. The wheels were skate wheels.

With the welder you could whip one out in just a few minutes.

Look the the first photo on this page, It's similar to what I saw.

If you want some old iron for you new lathe :D This is cool.

Hope that helps some, but I bet you were all ready on this.

Jeff
 
Well, I think I can adapt my bowl steady to this spindle work, I just need to adjust it slightly.....:rolleyes:

attachment.php
 
I tried to make some spindles for display shelves for my wife' bell collection. Before starting, I remembered that my father, who was a professional furniture maker, always bought his spindles and slender posts. When I started turning them, I found out why. Even with a steady rest, things get real 'whippy' and turning can be impossible. Type of wood makes a huge difference. I was trying hickory and that is a fairly flexy wood. Comes a point where the time and effort exceed the value of the end result. :( Sorry, no help here, I'm just ruminating. :eek:
 
Hi Stu

Long spindle work can really be frustrating sometimes. How are you with your skew for planing those long straight sections? If you are comfortable, now you can practice with one hand, while you steady the tool and the wood with the other! :eek: Once you get the wood round, you can use the fingers of your non tool holding hand to gently steady the spindle. If you burn your fingers you are pushing too hard.

First, get all the detail work done on the ends. Put the tool rest up high, so the skew is cutting almost on top of the spindle. Get it into position and hold it with your dominant hand. With your other hand, place your thumb on top of the skew and wrap your fingers around behind the spindle. Now you are ready to cut. Light cuts are essential here. The harder you push with the tool, the harder you are going to have to push with your fingers, and that starts to hurt real fast. With a little bit of practice, you will be able to keep your fingers on the smooth parts of the wood and avoid the part that is being cut at any given instant. This goes a long way to reducing chatter and those ropy looking cuts, and does it a lot faster and easier than working around a steady rest. Good luck with it!

Bill
 
Hi Stu,

One other thing that has not been mentioned is to make sure you do not have too much pressure on the piece being turned. Maybe the tailstock is a little tight. It can cause flexing on the turning. Try backing off the the ram a little.

Also, nice looking long rest you have there. When I was doing Shaker chairs, I made one out of hard maple that was about forty inches long. It worked pretty well for those long back posts on the no. 7 rockers.

Best wishes,
Dave
 
Thanks David, I did try that too.

Bill's advice to go almost on top seemed to work the best, and just more time at it, I was able to do an OK job, I think.......:dunno:

The ropy or wavy-ness was light enough that a few seconds with a #120 grit gouge and it as smooth sailing :rolleyes:

OK, some pics.............. Please understand, I'm just learning this, so the results are just beginners results, I'm sure the guys that have done a ton of these will see all kinds of errors! :eek:

table_leg_1st_one.jpg
Well, there you go, got one done! :wave:
Sanded to #320

table_leg_1st_one_head_2_soft.jpg
I did find that the leg looked too............. soft........ :dunno:

table_leg_1st_one_tail_2_soft.jpg
the transitions are too......... smooth???

table_leg_1st_one_head_not_soft.jpg
I needed to add some accent points....:eek:

table_legs_tail_not_soft.jpg
I think this is better, not perfect, but better....?

table_legs_start_2nd_leg.jpg
OK, on to trying to make one look similar to the first one....

table_legs_comparo.jpg
Certainly not a "Exact" copy, but "Similar", especially if they are at opposite ends of the table.....:rolleyes:

table_legs_head_comparo.jpg
Yep, "Similar" might even be stretching is a bit, but I am learning.......

table_legs_tail_comparo.jpg
What do you think?

table_leg_next_practice_hemlock.jpg
I think I need WAY more practice, so hear are the next victim, some pieces of "Hemlock! should be fun......
 
Oh yeah, here are two pics of the "Bango" I made to hold the other end of the long rest.........

spindle_steady_front.jpg

spindle_steady_rear.jpg

1/2" plate steel MIG welded to a thick piece of angle iron, then a 1" hole drilled in it, and another hole drilled in the edge of the plate and tapped for the locking bolt.

Drill and tap the side hole before you weld the plate onto the angle iron.

Cheers!
 
That looks like a thinking man's spindle rest. Tell us how it is working.
BTW, after a few 'refreshments' have you ever tried plugging something into that receptacle on the wall? ;)

It works OK, but I've found out the weak link is the budget inline skate wheels, they are "NOT" bearings, but more of a bushing, on closer inspection:doh:

The do not track straight, but wobble back and forth about 1/8" which is WAY too much, otherwise it works great! :rolleyes:

BTW, that wall receptacle is "Hard" wired :rofl:
 
Steady rests are great, so are duplicators to solve your problems (as stated in your post) but Technique will end both your woes as well.

A story board, Norm calls it a full sized mock-up, will help a great deal when duplicating spindles. Make a full sized drawing of the spindle (could be jut one side divided by a centerline. Include the dimensions and depths of cut. Glue this paper to a piece of 1/4" plywood or to a piece of masonite. Set it as you have set your first spindle (In the picture you showed) From it you can mark each point of measurement and set the depth with a caliper and parting tool. With the Story board in sight, you can make the appropriate cuts to duplicate the drawing EXACT. Time after time after time...

The flexing and runout can be controled by the Steady rest but as suggested before it can be as a result of the tailstock being too tight and after you have cleared some of the thickness in the middle it begins to flex. Starting your work in the middle and working out, will aide in this delima, but often it is due to bearing movement. The headstock bearings may feel smooth and still allow for lateral movement which will allow flex and chatter we all look toward the headstock for this problem but..... The tailstock is also turning and takes on as much pressure. If you have a cup center this is a friction problem but as most of us have live centers now, the bearings may be worn there, allowing the flexing and lateral movement similar to the headstock. Look there as well. Alignment of the centers is another problem, we need to check/recheck often that the centers touch on the headstock and tailstock. If you have a moveable headstock, you need to see that the alignment between centers is exact and on the same plane. As well, the tailstock (although the center points mate) may not be aligned on center with the bed rails and headstock, this would cause a slight runout in the bearings and as the piece lengthens it become more apparent.

Just rambling on with problems I have found with using a variety of uld as well as new lathes and problems that students have had over the years.

The story board for duplicate work and bearing alignment for flex problems.

My humble $0.02 worth
 
Thanks for the advice and the tips guys, I really appreciate it! :thumb:

I got some more done, I've changed up my design, a lot :D

new_top_part.jpg
This is what the new design for the top will look like, I got too thin on the top part, near the pommel, but the idea is there.

new_bottom_design.jpg
And I'm playing with the bottom end design too, you can see the old design in the back, I like the new one better, but we shall see.

Cheers!
 
OK I watched Alan Lacer's "Son of Skew" video, wow he sure is good with that sharp stick :D

OK, I've got a new design, I like it a whole lot better! :thumb:

new_leg_design1.jpg
An overview, excuse the material, just some solid chunks of Hemlock I had. This wood is very soft and really "Chippy" but I think I'm getting the hang of this :rolleyes:

new_leg_design_top.jpg

new_leg_design_lower.jpg
I had a bit of a catch, and I ended up having to make the bead there less round than I wanted......

Cheers!
 
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