On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 13:46:08 GMT, "Ken Moon" wrote:
"Prometheus" wrote in message
.. .
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.
First is blank orientation- I've been turning cherry from a small
(6-7" dia.) log I found as deadfall, and the sapwood is awfully soft,
so my first inclination is to rough it out by setting the spur right
in the center of the growth rings, and work from there- but when I've
tried this, it has a tendancy to crack the piece when hollowing
(usually after a good catch) and it's really hard to carve into that
end grain without knocking the blank out of true. Is this just the
price a guy pays for hollowing end grain, or is it likely to be a
problem with my technique or the tool I am using? (I usually use a
1/4" spindle gouge with slightly swept-back wings)
SNIP...................
====================
First suggestion would be to get the Chris Stott book on making small boxes.
Until then, Try this:
1 Turn your blank to a cylinder between centers, spindle style
2 Part off to give yourself a square shoulder for your chuck
3 Mount your blank in the chuck with the part to be the bottom in the chuck
4 Shape the portion that will be your lid
4a Make a shallow cut with your parting tool to set your lid tenon to later
fit into the box
5 Part off the lid
6 Using your small gouge or drill, make a center starter hole (a large
Forstner drill in a tailstock mounted Jacobs chuck works well, but be sure
not to drill too deep or you'll end up with a fancy toilet paper roller {:-)
!) Your small gouge can be used like gun drill by pushing straight into the
end grain.
7 Finish hollowing with a fingernail gouge or scraper to the final size that
will match the lid tenon
8 Sand and apply finish
There are other details, like finishing the inside of the lid, precision
fitting the lid for vacuum fit , etc., but you can pick that up as you go
along.
Hope this helps.
Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.
Ken.. I've made a LOT of boxes over the years, but the above is a great way to
tell others how to do it....
I'm printing it out and adding it to my mentor list..
Mac
03 Tahoe Widelite 26GT Travel Trailer
replaced 1958 Hilite tent trailer
99 Dodge Ram QQ 2wd - 5.9L, auto, 3:55 gears
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