Part #4 The Glue-up and Turning
I found it easier to glue if I oriented the blank with the diagonal cut facing up. I use an old restaurant cutting board as a gluing work surface and pieces of the cutting board as culls and pads. In this picture, you can see the three strips to be glued into place. They measure 2” x 10 3/4” x 1/8”. Test fit the pieces first to make sure they will seat into the slot. (I now have a thick piece of Corian countertop for the gluing surface)
On my first attempt, I didn’t use enough clamps- using more clamps and culls assured that all of the joints were tight. I probably overdid it with the amount of glue. A liberal coat over all mating surfaces.
Clamped up
After the glue has dried and the clamps removed, the blank is ready for trimming. I used to use a special table saw jig for this but found it was easier and quicker to trim off the excess insert length on the bandsaw just free handing it.
Trim both ends and the side.
At this point it is a good idea to “sweeten up” the layout lines, if the trimming operation removed them.
Now it is just a matter of re-mounting the blank on the diagonal cutting jig and repeating the operations for making the second diagonal slot.
The diagonal slots, glue ups and trimming operations are the same for each of the remaining three sides.
On the lathe, ready to be turned.
The final dimensions on this rolling pin were: 20” long; diameter at the center: 1 9/16”; diameter at the ends : 1 1/4”. I have tried two types of tapers. One started at the center and continued to the ends. The other starts at the ends of the ellipses and continues to the ends. Personal preferences will determine the tapers.
After the blank is turned round, the layout lines for the taper can be drawn on the blank.
To aid in getting it symmetrical, I started with an arc template.
My turning skills leave a lot to be desired and there was too much variation from one pin to the next in diameter and symmetry. I considered purchasing a lathe duplicator but finances dictated this calls for another jig!
Most of the hardware is standard off the shelf stuff- ¼” x 20 threaded stock, wing nuts, T-nuts, deck screws. The only thing “special” was the ¼” tool steel- which I purchased from a local machinist for 25 cents and then ground a rounded tip. This shape worked better than a point because it left the wood with a smoother surface.
The base of the jig mounts onto the lathe bed. The back edge of the jig has the “reverse” arc of the rolling pin. The cutting portion of the jig sits on the MDF bottom and the bolt follows the arc to create the shape.
The long bolt can be adjusted to position the cutter depth.
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