Lathes.

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks Upsy; we hope to give the turned box to Carole sometime today so it will be a nice surprise for her.

Most of my work I take great pride in but occasionally I do a job that I describe as rough and ready; I've done such a job this morning having just broken off for a brew. Over the years I've bought industrial rolls of abrasive paper from Rufforth Auto Jumble; these rolls depending on grit ranged from £8 to £16 per roll; three of the more recent purchases have been sitting on the bench in the way of opening a cupboard so this morning in my quest for workshop tidiness I decided the time had come to do something about them. I looked at board material I have in stock and having taken rough measurements ran some of these through the saw bench for ripping and the radial arm saw for cross cutting; all sharp edges were knocked back with abrasive paper then the new shelf unit was assembled; I added a very thin plywood back this just an offcut that I could press into service; holes were drilled to accept screws and the screws run home using my Makita cordless drill/driver. Nothing at all fancy but the shelves have now got the rolls of abrasive off the bench. It's not the ideal place to put the shelves beneath the lathe but it's very handy for access; if chippings/dust become a problem I have lots of heavy PVC sheeting so can add a cover.

This kind of job would be ideal for a novice to gain experience on; the shelf unit cost virtually nothing because the materials are offcuts from other jobs; a handful of screws costs little but the time taken to make them is time well spent. Lots of people hire skips and throw unwanted flat pack furniture into the skip; this is very useful material to scounge; it costs nothing and doesn't occupy a lot of space when flat but it's extremely useful for such as making one of these shelf units or adding workshop cupboards.

Time I got something done before another day slips by.

Kind regards, Colin.

Rough and ready shelf unit costing virtually nothing but very useful.

Rolls of abrasive paper with instant access; six of the grits mostly used.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I decided to add a curtain to the new shelf unit and also to cover the bottom row of threading tools to make clean up easier and quicker.

Bron liked the holly vase I turned so much as a prezzie for our departing neighbours I turned a similar vase from holly for Bron yesterday taking around 4 hours in the afternoon; I'm speeding up with practice and gaining more experience with each piece I turn. Holly is a lovely timber to turn and looks nice once finished; it takes a high polish with little difficulty. We're visiting our friends in Hull on Wednesday so I think I'll turn a lidded box with finial as a gift for them; I'm finding turning these small boxes to be addictive.

Finishing materials I use;

http://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eB...ategory=42282&pm=1&ds=0&t=1525776144000&ver=0

http://yorkshire-grit.com/Product-Page/

https://www.tesco.com/direct/libero...n-wax-polish-clear/454-9826.prd?source=others

https://www.hampshiresheen.com/

I've used Black Bison wax for many years and "Clear" is best for most of my turning it smells nice and feels nice.

Kind regards, Colin.

New curtain added behind lathe.

My second holly vase; Bron will add flowers shortly; holly takes a nice finish and turns easily.

 

[Ian]

What a lovely present for your neighbours (and now Bron!) . I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for any suitable logs I find nearby, as there are always trees being pollarded around here - so I'll see what I can find .

You really must get through that abrasive paper - those rolls are HUGE! Seems like a fair price for rolls that size too.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Carole popped round this morning and is delighted with the lidded box; on Wednesday Bron and I are visiting friends in Hull and we'll take along the vase and flowers to show them before giving them to our neighbours; we visited The Range today and Bron bought silk flowers so has now put her vase and flowers in pride of place on the mantle.

Once you get a lathe Ian you'll turn into a magpie on the lookout for anything useful. I could kick myself because last year I felled and disposed of a very big holly tree; at the time I hadn't turned any holly. The only problem with collecting logs is having to let them dry which can take considerable time and with a risk of the logs splitting if dried too quickly; many turn "wet" logs but leave them over size then they dry much quicker but are prone to lots of distortion hence having to turn them bigger than needed but once dry they are remounted in the lathe and finished.

Yes the rolls of abrasive paper are big but if available at the right price I grab them; they would cost a great deal of money to buy retail but I look for them at Rufforth Auto Jumble; I've also got packs of 50 sheets each abrasive paper in lots of grits; these only cost £5 per pack at Rufforth; its a case of being lucky on the day but I always take along a lot of cash just in case; I buy my tooling at Rufforth too; do you have an Auto Jumble within reasonable distance; it's amazing what can be bought for little money? The abrasive paper lasts a long long time when bought in big rolls.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Ian]

Really pleased to hear Carole likes it .

Every time there is bad weather, a tree comes down near us - perhaps I need to take my chainsaw along .

I've had a Google and it looks like there's an Auto Jumble on at the airport car park near us at the end of the month - if I'm free I'll bob along and check it out (looks like they've got some other aviation events on too - bonus! ). I've been buying relatively tiny rolls of sandpaper from B&Q and get through it quickly, so it's worth me getting some big rolls that will last a while.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Ian; I hope Carole doesn't show it to all her friends otherwise I might end up with requests to turn more; free of charge of course.

A chainsaw is a very handy machine to own; I have a 20" petrol model and its not only seen lots of use around our gardens its saved us a great deal of money; felling big trees is easy getting rid of the brash is a lot more difficult; the thick branches and trunks are cut into short lengths and given to wood burning neighbours; I'm amazed by how much a small bag of firewood costs these days.

If you get into woodturning Ian and want to dry your own timber how about building a small kiln? Logs to look out for are any fruit trees like cherry; apple and pear also I've found holly turns beautifully. If you have space to build a small wood drying kiln then green timber can be bought cheaply and once dried you'll not only have more than enough for your own needs but plenty over to sell at a decent price.

I used to buy wet or dry abrasive paper by the sheet at our local auto store and these I think cost around 30p each whereas if available at Rufforth I pay £5 per pack of 50 sheets; the big rolls are excellent to have because it's just a case of tearing off what's needed; I've had a workshop for over 50 years so am pretty well set up regarding just about anything I need apart from raw materials which I'm always on the lookout for.

I've just completed turning another lidded box with finial; this one is for our best friends who we're visiting tomorrow; for a change I thought I'd add a black finial and I had bought black Indian ink so was keen to try it out; the meranti I turned the finial from is rather open grain so the finish isn't as good as I would like but I'm still a novice turning decorative pieces; I'm enjoying the learning curve though and so far I'm using timber I have to hand.

Once you buy a lathe Ian you'll then be looking out for excuses to use it; enjoy making all the silly mistakes and learn from them; it's the quickest way to learn but always use common sense and be safe.

Kind regards, Colin.

Another lidded box with finial; holly base; oak lid and stained meranti for the finial. Nice projects.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Here's a job I did using my lathe. A few years ago I bought a Wilmac bandsaw through eBay described as "Seller refurbished" and without motor. I paid £150 and when I collected it at first it just looked rather tired and scruffy but back home on the bench I wondered what part of this bandsaw had been refurbished; it was very rough indeed and in need of a total restoration which suited me because I enjoy this kind of project.

I had a suitable motor in stock together with pulley and drive belt so this was coupled to the bandsaw easily enough. I completely stripped this bandsaw right down to bare metal but modified it; the main drive shaft was rough so I designed and turned a new shaft adding keyways as needed; this is a simple enough job to a lathe owner assuming the lathe operator has a little experience in turning accurately for the bearings and pulley. I bought new square bearing mountings complete with bearings and mounted these as seen in the pictures; the bandsaw looked strange until it was given a decent paint job brushing on machinery enamel;

https://www.paragonpaints.co.uk/

New bands were bought and the guides adjusted; the motor was wired in and I use this bandsaw a lot these days;it has a decent 6" depth of cut with a 12" throat but it occupies a small footprint; 3 more new bands arrived yesterday they being 78" x 1/4" x 4 TPI. I must get around to adding dust extraction because it puts out a cloud of fine saw dust.

These restorations do take time but are very well worth it giving a better quality machine than the tinny machines on offer these days at cheap prices. Bearings and drive belts are cheap enough; motors cost more together with correct DOL starter but the motors can be bought second hand; I believe this bandsaw might have had a direct drive motor installed when new but now its converted to belt drive any suitable sized motor can be installed. Most people would scrap a machine like this but I see such machines as friends for life once fully restored.

Kind regards, Colin.

New main drive shaft to my design.

Stripping the old finish to bare metal; a job I dislike doing but worth the effort.

New bearing and drive shaft installed band wheel side. Looks rather odd.

New bearing and main shaft installed motor pulley side.

Completed with bandsaw and motor mounted on a simple no cost baseboard; looking like new.

Exposed pulleys and dive belts I was taught 55 years ago not to stick fingers in.

Looking more like it in undercoat.

Machining keyways using home made keyway cutting jig in tool post.

New and old main shafts.

Paint top coat.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I'm gearing up ready for winter. I bought 13 small turning blanks through eBay these arrived today and I'm very pleased with the selection; a few days ago Bron and I visited "Turners Retreat" where I bought more blanks plus other useful items. Last night I emailed a company enquiring if they could supply assorted timbers in 80mm size; a quick reply said yes they could but would have to cut this size hence the price would be higher however if 75mm would be OK I was kindly sent a list of timbers and these blanks were £2 or £3 depending on species; a couple more emails and I paid £115 for 40 assorted blanks delivered; I'd much rather buy a good stock of decent blanks now whilst the weather is so glorious than wait until it's pouring with rain or snowing; this is a small price to pay for what will be a very interesting winter in my workshop.

Knowing I'll have so many turning blanks of this size I've spent a really nice afternoon in the workshop with both doors wide open preparing "Jam Chucks". I have expensive mechanical chucks but for the small lidded boxes with finials I enjoy using home made jam chucks which are made from offcuts of 18mm thick MDF; I have a number of 100mm wide strips so used two of these and produced 30 jam chucks cutting the blanks on my radial arm saw against a stop to ensure all were exactly the same 100mm square; I had already cut a round MDF to mount onto the 3" dia faceplate with four wood screws; this round piece is the backing for the squares but this time I accurately added two pronged T nuts before mounting to the faceplate; I made a very simple drilling jig and drilled two 6.5mm dia holes into each jam chuck square these holes align perfectly with the T nuts; the jam chucks can now be secured with two 35mm long x 6mm dia countersunk machine screws; the jam chucks were left square. These jam chucks can be used a number of times for different diameter lidded boxes and they can be reversed doubling their use; MDF is ideal for jam chucks; offcuts cost nothing or very little and when finally used will be collected by a woodburning friend as fuel.

Jam chucks have been used for centuries and they are very accurate indeed if care is taken whilst making them. The pictures show better what I'm on about but a browse of the web or YouTube will explain in greater detail; I'm just adding this because I've not seen jam chucks made this way in bulk blanks with quick release; just an idea I dreamt up to try out. Once the square is mounted then it is opened up to accept the item being worked upon; it's very important a good tight fit is achieved otherwise the work will be thrown out of the lathe; I always bore a large dia hole in my jam chucks to facilitate removal of the turned item. I love experimenting in the workshop dreaming up new methods and techniques; it holds my interest so I never become bored. A productive afternoon costing nothing other than my time and it's been a pleasure.

Kind regards, Colin.

A completed box lid and finial in a jam chuck

Accurately drilling 6.5mm dia holes with aid of simple home made jig on the big drill press.

Just a "V" cut in a scrap length of timber but allows accurate drilling.

A blank jam chuck with machine screws in countersunk holes; countersinking done using depth stop.

Pronged T nuts in position.

Ready for mounting in lathe. Scrap MDF had been used on a welding job; I like cheap.

Faceplate; backing MDF and blank jam chuck in position. A previously used jam chuck alongside.

30 blank jam chucks ready for use; 29 here one on the lathe. All costing nothing regarding money.

 

[Colin]

HI,

I'm having a mix of both wood and metal turning. I've used one of these jam chucks to turn a box lid from what looks like a very rough lump of spalted timber; I turned it between centers then placed it in the jam chuck forcing it home tightly allowing final finishing it sure looks a lot different after a bit of TLC on the Graduate lathe; I need to turn a finial and the box or bowl base.

Yesterday my friend Gary who is an authority on restoring vintage valve radios emailed enquiring if I could turn him a small spindle from either brass or steel; of course I could and I turned this from steel this morning; Gary sent me a dimensioned drawing so it was an easy turning job on the Lorch lathe. The pictures show better than text what I've been doing.

Kind regards, Colin.

Very rough looking spalted blank ready for turning between centers.

The same spalted blank after a bit of TLC turning it into a box lid.

Threading Gary's radio spindle at 4BA. Tailstock used for alignment lathe turned by hand.

The 4BA thread completed; just the sharp edge to soften.

Tiny spindle ready for posting to Gary with my compliments; a nice interesting little job.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

What a wonderful life; I've enjoyed woodturning over the last couple of days just for pleasure. I've now completed the lidded box with finial as seen below in the pictures; a change of plan; the lid is now the pedestal; I used three different blanks of spalted timber to make the main box with a Meranti finial; these boxes are so interesting to make and something nice to show for a few hours enjoyable work; it's yet another prezzie for Bron to put on display.

No moaning from me whilst the weather is this glorious; Bron says she heard it on TV that the last time we had weather like this was in 1976 the year we married; now at 70 I hope we're still around for the next heatwave in 2058? It can't be long now before I'm complaining about Blackie & Gale?

Kind regards, Colin.

Testing lid for fit.

The completed box on show.

The box interior. What a wonderful hobby woodturning is.

 

[Ian]

I really like the spalted look - it makes for a really interesting piece . What did you use to seal/coat the wood once you are finished, just oil?

It can't be long now before I'm complaining about Blackie & Gale?

Don't jinx it Colin !

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Ian; yes the spalting really does turn a bland piece of timber into something very special. Care is needed though using spalted timbers of any kind because the spalting is fungus and harmful to health so proper safety precautions are a must; the dust from sanding is particularly dangerous; a dust mask is the minimum but I use an air shield; this is a hooded face shield with a fan blowing clean filtered air down the front of my face.

I tend to use Sanding Sealer to fill the grain and let it dry taking only a short time; two or three coats can be given with light sanding to de-nib between; next I've just started to use Yorkshire Grit which is amazing; it's applied as a paste to the stationary work then the lathe at first run slowly to spread it and it feels very rough but then increase the lathe speed and press on lightly; the roughness around 240 grit quickly breaks down to around 1,200 grit leaving a beautiful smooth surface; this then can be waxed; shellac or sprayed with clear lacquer; I don't use oil.

The finishing materials are applied using blue paper towel; I buy this in big rolls at Rufforth Auto Jumble six rolls costing around £8 and they last a long time; using cloth is asking for trouble because if cloth catches it pulls fingers or hand in whereas paper towel tears; never place a hand or fingers inside a revolving item because they can be seriously injured; a single finger with the paper towel loose not wrapped around the finger ensures the paper towel spins harmlessly should it catch.

The pictures show the finishing materials I use most; I really do like using the Black Bison clear wax; it brings up a nice polish and smells nice too; I've used this for many years and a tin seems to last forever. Hampshire Sheen too is a very nice product.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Ian]

Thanks for the pictures and info, Colin. I've not heard of Yorkshire Grit before, so I'll be sure to check this out.

It looks like my lathe purchase has been set back a couple of months, as I need to re-arrange the garage to accommodate one. I measured up last week, and I'm going to have to give it a big rejig to get things to fit. Determined to get one before winter starts though .

 

[Colin]

Hi,

You're welcome Ian and you've still got a good week to sort out buying a lathe before winter arrives.

I don't use my engineering lathe much these days but when its needed it's needed badly and it's always there ready for action; if I don't use it for a few weeks I pull the dust sheet off and run the lathe for a few minutes giving it a drink of oil and a wipe with an oily rag.

You might end up with two lathes Ian once the lathe bug bites; a woodturning lathe is wonderful to own not only allowing useful items to be turned but also to give deep pleasure and interest during our long dreary winter turning decorative items just for the fun of it; once I make a start on the lathe the time flies by at an alarming pace.

Yorkshire Grit and Hampshire Shine are relatively new products but both are excellent;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...w=yorkshire+grit+and+hampshire+sheen&_sacat=0

I bought mine from the link above; here's an interesting video demonstrating Yorkshire grit you might find of interest;

I'm still buying turning blanks stocking up for winter; I like the spalted timbers but I'm going to have a look at burrs too because these can give absolutely beautiful grain patterns. Novices are better experimenting on cheap offcuts before spending a lot of money on exotic timber only to destroy it; it's surprising what a firewood log looks like when turned and finished.

Lathes can be used for many things and below I'm happy to include a few assorted images of things I've made over the years; I always keep a file on each job I do with lots of images for future reference. I'm not smart; I was just taught by top engineers how to use my head and hands to the point I can repair or make from scratch most things I need; many parts are no longer available but its not a problem; just make from from scratch costing very little indeed and enjoying doing it. I repair lots of top quality machines companies regard as scrap and dispose of; I've bought many of these machines over the years for scrap prices and they've afforded me immense pleasure not only in fully restoring/upgrading them but then using them like new heavy duty machines. I've been doing this a lifetime so I don't even need to think how to do it because I just go onto automatic and enjoy myself tinkering around.

I hope you can do the same Ian and enjoy the satisfaction of repairing or making from scratch that I've enjoyed for so long. Good luck in obtaining a lathe I'm sure you won't regret buying it. Make all the mistakes I've made and learn from them it's all part of the fun.

Kind regards, Colin.

Cast iron (Meehanite) home made bearing caps. Lots of hand work with hacksaw and files.

Broken Myford headstock main bearing clamped by me to allow use until repaired.

This is a drastic repair taking a lot of experience to carry out.

Myford headstock in etching primer with two new bearing caps ready to install with new Tufnol bearings.

Graduate lathe tailstock new handle spindle with correct cam added.

Metal & woodturning combined to produce new crank with rotating oak handle.

A unique repair; home made Hydrovane compressor unloader valve to replace faulty valve.

Hydrovane compressor unloader valve assembled.

Lathes can turn plastic too; a transformer former for a vintage radio.

Homemade tool rest for my Record Power DML 24" woodturning lathe.

Tool rest seen completed above being arc welded again by me.

I made 45 assorted cast iron gears with the broken Myford; determination works wonders; never give in.

Home turned vintage radio dial knob in brass knurled.

Vintage AVO wave winder parts made from scratch to replace missing parts. Enjoyable work.

Bedside lamp and table made from offcuts; one each side of bed all costing nothing regarding timber.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I've been experimenting this morning. Pinterest has many absolutely beautiful turned items to view and I've taken a real fancy to one of them but I've been rather puzzled as to how the finish has been added in particular the black and indeed how the vase was turned. The whole vase is amazing and what a superb finish so how was this achieved.

At first I thought the vase had been laminated but I think the vase might be turned from a single lump of timber then the colouring added? I simply don't know but one way to find out is to experiment and have a go.

I turned a length of coarse grained ash to a spindle to use as a test piece; this was then sanded to 600G; three coats of sanding sealer applied allowing to dry between coats and denibbed; next Yorkshire Grit was applied and buffed to a nice smooth surface then sprayed using a rattle can of clear acrylic auto paint. Allowed to dry the paint was then lightly sanded to 600G to form a key.

I tried using a "Sharpie" permanent black marker and this was very promising running the lathe at a medium speed and resting my hand on the tool rest for support. I added general purpose masking tape to form rings and sprayed the rings black again using a rattle can; next I sprayed black into the can lid and dipped in a fine artists brush; resting my hand again on the tool rest I applied the brush lightly to the revolving work.

Letting the paint flash off I then removed the masking tape to find where the paint had been sprayed there was quite a bit of "bleed" and the tape also left adhesive residue making it look a mess so using masking tape was ruled out. The Sharpie did a lot better with clear defined sharp edges but it didn't have much body; possibly going over a number of times might improve this but again I discarded the idea. Without doubt the quickest and easiest was using the artists paint brush; the paint went on immediately the brush was applied leaving a nice dense ring of black without build up on the edges and both edges were very sharp so perhaps I'm heading in the right direction; I'll turn a small lidded box and try the brush method; the top finish will be clear acrylic followed by buffing with wax; if successful then to add wider black as used on the vase a wider brush can be used; the fine white lines can be run in with a brush so this Saturday I'll be looking for white acrylic paint when I visit Rufforth Auto Jumble; at my last visit to Rufforth I bought a full box of 12 rattle cans clear acrylic at the Upol stall costing £30.

I'm very interested in finishing materials and methods to apply them; I have an air brush and proper airbrush compressor that I've owned for years but not used; I bought this new hoping to spray shellac but it failed miserably; now's the time to get it out and practice once again?

If I can turn a piece like the vase in the picture I'll know I'm improving; what a lovely piece of turning to aspire to; full credit to the turner of this vase; as the Americans would say "AWESOME"

Kind regards, Colin.

Rattle cans bought at Rufforth costing £10 for four.

Middle rings by brush looking very good indeed.

What a gorgeous vase and one to aspire to turning; full credit to the turner who created this masterpiece.