On 18 Mar 2006 10:19:30 -0800, "Dhakala"
wrote:

I want to buy a tiny lathe

Don't be too set on this idea of a "tiny lathe". A bigger lathe will
make small stuff too. Get something you can house, but don't go for
tiny unless you really need too.

My product goal is quite modest at this time: pool cue joint
protectors.

And what's your goal next week? Something that won't fit in a tiny
lathe ?

As to variable speed, then I'd be lost without it when turning big
stuff. For small diameter stuff, it's still nice, but you can manage by
swapping belts on a pulley.

I've no idea what "Swing over bed" means, and I am uncertain which end
is the headstock.

"Spindle turning"
Turning wood held so that the grain runs lengthwise along the bed.

"Bowl turning"
Wood held with the grain crosswise to the bed. This is harder because
the grain "goes up and down" as you rotate. You can make "bowl shaped
objects" by either way, but this grain orientation problem makes
finishing harder.

"Turning between centres"
A spike at each end of the lathe, with the wood spit-roasted between
them. This is the simplest setup, but you can't get access to turn the
ends.

"Headstock"
The powered end that rotates.

"Tailstock"
The non-powered end.

"Faceplate"
Flat metal plate that mounts on the headstock. Has screw holes in it so
you can bolt your timber to it. Cheap and good for bowls, but probably
too big for your pool cues.

"Chuck"
Rotating vice that holds wood in the headstock, so you can turn all
around the far end. Convenient, but not cheap. Standard on metal turning
lathes, still not always used for woodturning.

"Screw chuck"
Jumbo sized corkscrew that mounts on the headstock. Cheap and lets you
mount any sized piece of wood on the headstock, just by drilling a hole
in it. However it wastes a couple of inches length, where you had the
screw.

"Headstock nose"
A threaded shaft on the end of the headstock. Comes in a number of
standard threads, so that the accessories (faceplates and chucks) can be
swapped around. Important to know what thread your lathe uses.

"Distance between centres"
Max distance of timber you can fit between centres. One of the three
basic dimensions of a lathe. Sometimes inaccurately over-stated by a
couple of inches (they measure the distance between headstock and
tailstock, not allowing for the centres themselves).

"Swing over bed"
Biggest diameter your lathe can spin. You might not be able to use this,
because there's also a carriage for the toolpost in the way. Useful
swing (swing over carriage) could be a couple of inches smaller. The
basic dimension of any lathe, along with distance between centres and
the headstoock thread.

"Centre height"
This is similar to the swing over bed, but the radius rather than the
diameter. Swing is twice centre height.

Bowl turning lathes may have double-ended headstocks, or headstocks that
rotate, so that you can turn big bowls too big to fit over the bed.

Need to be able turn round thingies about two inches long and 5/8 to
3/4" diameter; bore a hole for the screw pin dead center; and tap a
hole in another JP that matches the cue's screw pin. Common sized holes
will be 5/16 and 3/8".

Sounds like you need a lathe with a chuck, so as to hold the piece for
tapping. That costs money and is best found for the lathes a little
bigger than the tiniest.

You can of course manage without. There are custom-fitted jam chucks
etc. that you can make for one-off holding jobs. However tapping is a
high-torque, slow-speed operation, so a factory-made scroll chuck will
grip better. If timber is free, then you could start out by using a
screw chuck.

You'll also want a mandrel (or pair of ?) made up, probably by a friend
with a metal turning lathe. These fit directly onto the headstock nose
and have a half-set of cue joiners mounted on the other end.

You could turn a simple cue joiner like this:

Rough out an over-size cylinder between centres.

Saw this into short lengths, about two joiners long.

Chuck each end in turn, face the end flat, drill it and tap it to take
the cue joiner.

Saw these in half.

Mount the mandrel and put a cue joiner on it. Turn to shape.

Still in the lathe, apply the finishes and friction polish them..

Obviously this is more complex if you're making up composite joiners
with horn ends or brass inlay.


With all that in mind, what book do I need before I go shopping?

Read rec.crafts.woodturning

Keith Rowley's "Woodturning, a Foundation Course"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861081146/codesmiths-20
is the usual recommendation

Ernie Conover's "Lathe Book"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561584169/codesmiths-20
is excellent, but more about lathes than about turning.

Holtzapffel's "Hand or Simple Turning"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486264289/codesmiths-20
is the classic Victorian text on turning. It also talks about working
materials like ivory or horn, which don't get mentioned much these days,
yet take different techniques to work them.

Probably the best though is the hard-to-find Bill Jones'
"Notes from the Turning Shop"
as this is _the_ book on miniature work.

You'll also need some turning chisels and a grinder to keep them sharp.
There are sets of chisels and gouges out there that are worth having,
and most sets that aren't. Search the usenet archives.

You'll probably also want some special scrapers or vee tools ground up.
Decorative reeding at this scale is most easily done with a form tool
ready to hand.

--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.