Prometheus wrote:

Hello all,

I've been playing around a little with making some small turned boxes
with lids, and while I've had some sucess, there are also a number of
things I just haven't figured out yet.


The next problem comes when it's time to sand the interior of the
form- I've been trying to turn them with small openings (.75"-1"), as
much to develop my technique as anything else, but it's tough getting
sandpaper in the opening without twisting my finger but good. Any
ideas on getting that inside smooth?

I sometimes use a short piece of dowel with a slit sawed across the end
about 2 inches deep. A 2 inch strip of sandpaper slid into the slit and
wrapped around the dowel can sand the interior without risking a digit.

Would doing something a little
off the wall like placing a few river stones inside and spinning it on
the lathe for a while do the trick, or is that just asking for a
wooden missile full of rocks to fly across the room? (I haven't tried
it yet, which I why I ask!)

I think the rocks would arrange themselves around the perimeter and stay
in one place, unless you have an extremely slow lathe speed, then it
would be an extremely slow go to smooth out the wood.

And then the final one- and the most important right this moment.
I've got a nice little hollow form about 5" tall and 4" in diameter
(soaking in LDD, Leif) that I'm pretty happy with- all except for the
foot, that is. I used the bottom of the foot as a flat reference for
my chuck, but as the piece developed, the form got thinner and more
elegant, while the foot stayed how it was. It might look okay parted
off, but I'm afraid the hollowed area may be a little too deep for
that, so I need to shape it, preferably without mangling my gouge on
the jaws of the chuck. I don't have the necessary jaws to grip the ID
of the opening, and the opening is too large to use the spur center.
Any ideas on mounting this? I was thinking that sliding it over a
taper held in the chuck with the tailstock holding it in place might
work, but I'd like to avoid having a little hole on the bottom of the
piece.

I often turn a jig that fits inside the hollow and also is large enough
on the other end to fit in the chuck. Make it a hair small and put a
strip of paper towel down the side, over the end and back down the other
side to make a snug fit. This works great for a piece with straight
inside walls, and holds steadier that a cone would. You could also turn
a cone to use as a jam chuck. As much as possible I make all my jigs and
glue blocks so that they fit in the chuck.

A round piece of plywood about 3/4 in. diameter with a small hole in the
center will fit on the point of my tailstock center and I use that to
hold an item without punching a hole in it.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

Be nice to your kids. They'll choose
your nursing home.





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