The first Wednesday of the new year!

 

The old lathe has been cranking out projects and rolling pins all week. While I was gluing up rolling pin blanks, I used the "glue drying time" to make a turning accessory I had been thinking about ever since I mistakenly drilled through the bottom of a bowl blank.

 

 

 

I had been using  a Jacob's chuck and a piece of painters tape as the depth indicator. Apparently the tape slipped and I mis-measured. 

 

My idea was to make a lathe drilling accessory that I could make the depth adjustable- no more blue painters tape!

 

First, I picked up a couple of plumbing fittings from the Borg.

 

Then created a ferrule  from an old plumbing fitting I had in the plumbing parts box.

 

Next, I modified the flare adapter to allow it to "pinch" without using so much pressure.

 

Then re-drilled it to fit a long 1/4" twist bit.

 

A scrap of walnut will become the handle. Still needed the painters tape here to set the hole depths.

 

Mount the walnut blank on the lathe a get everything centered

 

Replace the tail stock with a Jacob's chuck and drill the first hole.

 

Then the small hole. This hole will stop just short of breaking thru the other end of the handle. This will permit the use of the drive spur on the head stock. The drive spur will permit turning to the end of the blank.

 

My lathe tail stock travel is limited to 3".

 

To finish the hole, retract the bit, slide the tail stock forward, finish the desired depth.

 

Next, remount the blank with the drive spur and live tail stock center.

 

 

Next create the tenon for the ferrule. Set the length.

 

Turn away the waste being careful not to go too far.

 

Because the ferrule was large enough, I slid it over the live center in preparation for fitting it on the tenon.

 

Then worked it home using a pair of channel locks (while the lathe was spinning)

 

Turned the handle to a comfortable shape.

 

A little sanding- I wanted the surface to have a bit of a rough finish in order t maintain a firm grip during use.

 

Getting close to being done. The handle needed to have the hole drilled completely through.

 

Remounted the Jacob's chuck/drill bit in the head stock and finished drilling the hole.

 

Now it was a matter of installing the brass fittings. The flare fitting has a tapered pipe thread but I don't have a tap for that so I just used the fitting to cut the threads into the hole.

 

I used a drop of Gorilla Glue to secure the fitting- probably wasn't necessary as it fit really tight.

 

 

Ta-Da-

 

The flare nut holds the bit securely and acts as a depth stop. The long bit facilitates hole depths that should cover all the things I turn.

 

Before Christmas, I helped a friend turn a travel mug kit. During the turning, I noticed he turned the lathe off to check his workpiece for roundness. I took the opportunity to show him two other methods of testing for roundness Feel and/or Listen- both a little quicker. Not everyone is comfortable using the feeling method, but, the listening method is quite safe.

 

 

 

 

The Woodturning OnLine newsletter arrived this week. As always, lots of good information. The first article is really neat. Not so much from the standpoint of the project but check out the old woodworking shop!

 

 

http://www.woodturningonline.com/index.php

 

Safe Turning!

 

 

Very very nice Lew!! And inventive! How cool. Dumb question here Lew, could you drill the work out by simply holding the large handle and bit free hand as the work piece spins? I know, I know, whack! But I had to ask. That handle seems so big that you could free hand it and drill holes with it.

 

7 hours ago, Courtland said:

Very very nice Lew!! And inventive! How cool. Dumb question here Lew, could you drill the work out by simply holding the large handle and bit free hand as the work piece spins? I know, I know, whack! But I had to ask. That handle seems so big that you could free hand it and drill holes with it.

 

Thanks for the kind words, John!

 

Yes, that is exactly how it works-  free hand. The "extra" bit length, sticking out of the back of the handle, is because I used a 12" long drill bit. The long bit allows me to set just about any depth I need. For example, when I make pepper grinders, I'll need to extend about 8" of the bit for the hole thru the blank. For a shallow bowl/platter maybe only 2" of the bit will be exposed at the "front". Hope that makes sense.

It makes total sense, is there room for error while holding the tool? So if you accidentally slant the tool one way or another just a fraction, will it want to bind and throw?

The most difficult part is getting the bit started on the center axis. I use a small gouge to make the initial indentation (1/4" or so) then proceed with the drill. The drill tends to follow the center of the rotating work. I use the tool rest as a "vertical" guide- adjusting it so the bit sets on it when I start the hole.

Thanks Lew, it just looks weird, or the concept of holding something like on a spinning machine feels funny, but then we do hold chisels in our hand while turning too don't we!

Great read as usual Lew