I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He asked me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18"
of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical on a
long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC follower rest
which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between centers,
spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder, figuring after
awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it, and either way he'd be
out of my hair. But he didn't go for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a prototype out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Grant Erwin wrote:

Basically, it's a very long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about
1/4" round at the other, somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper
begins which effects the transition from square to round, the whole
thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18" of that length.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it?

If I had to do it with the stuff I have at home, I would use the mill
and a wedge baseplate. Use double sided tape to hold down the workpeice
to the baseplate. Machine the taper. Finish the corners with an endmill
having an inside 1/8" radius.

Kevin Gallimore

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Can you talk him into how great they look hand-forged? Stamp some
artistic designs into the sides...

Steve

Grant Erwin wrote:

I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He
asked me today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic
chopstick, but in steel, which he then wants to either chrome or
nickel plate. Basically, it's a very long skinny part, 1/2" square at
one end, about 1/4" round at the other, somewhere in the middle a long
uniform taper begins which effects the transition from square to
round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18" of
that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is
practical on a long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might
have a CNC follower rest which could follow the profile, but I sure as
heck don't have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part
between centers, spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle
grinder, figuring after awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get
sick of it, and either way he'd be out of my hair. But he didn't go
for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of money and wants me to
make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a
prototype out of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:25:00 -0800, the renowned Grant Erwin
wrote:

I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He asked me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18"
of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical on a
long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC follower rest
which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between centers,
spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder, figuring after
awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it, and either way he'd be
out of my hair. But he didn't go for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a prototype out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

If you used a follower rest, where it's just rounding off the corners,
wouldn't it only come into contact at the corners (which are opposite
where the cutting takes place on a square cross-section)? Maybe it
isn't a problem.

This is a forging job.
First, I would forge a square taper all the way down. Then rough forge
the round end.
Chuck it up in a 4 jaw, turn the round more accurately.
Then a bit of handwork at the end.

I made some giant pencils for a sculpture I did for Bellingham Trade
Tech basically the same way- took a big chunk of 2" round, forged the
hex into it, then used the lathe to make the eraser and sharpened point.

Hi, Grant.
Sounds like he is asking for a very long pin punch. I have one in a
tool box that is the right size, but only 1/2 as long as your friend
wants. Perhaps longer ones exist somewhere. Would he be bothered if
there was a brand name on his chop sticks?

Paul

Could you make the item in three pieces then weld or braze together?
You could cut the taper by turning on offset centers. You are only removing
1/8th inch on the radius over 18 inches. Before turning on the centers both
ends of the taper section could be prepared. The small end could be drilled
to receive the 1/4 inch diameter. The large end could have a pilot machined
to fit into the end of the square section. Using this method the three
parts could be silver soldered together.
Sounds like a simple thing to do on a production basis for serious
money. With an adequate lathe I don't think it would take more than half an
hour prep and machining per taper section. Use cold rolled steel for the
square and round tip to reduce finishing time.
Randy


"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He asked
me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in
steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the
transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about
18"
of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical on
a
long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC follower rest
which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between
centers,
spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder, figuring after
awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it, and either way he'd
be
out of my hair. But he didn't go for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot
of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a prototype
out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Grant Erwin wrote:

I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He asked me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18"
of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical on a
long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC follower rest
which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between centers,
spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder, figuring after
awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it, and either way he'd be
out of my hair. But he didn't go for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a prototype out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Consider making out of larger round bar stock, turn the taper
and then machine the shank square..

Tom

I'm not a machinist, so I won't be surprised or upset if you find fault with
this idea. But, here goes:
Make a round collar with a 1/2" square hole. Slide this over the 1/2" raw
stock, and start machining the small end. Keep moving the collar and the
steady rest toward the middle as you go.

George Rickey has been doing that for years out of stainless sheet and a
long break.. Then welds and grinds the seam. Check out
http://magart.rochester.edu/VieO1049$64267*5386118

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He
asked me today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick,
but in steel, which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate.
Basically, it's a very long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4"
round at the other, somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins
which effects the transition from square to round, the whole thing about
24" long, the taper being about 18" of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical
on a long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC
follower rest which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't
have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between
centers, spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder,
figuring after awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it,
and either way he'd be out of my hair. But he didn't go for it.
Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of money and wants me to make him 18 of
these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a
prototype out of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:25:00 -0800, Grant Erwin
wrote:

I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He asked me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18"
of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical on a
long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC follower rest
which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between centers,
spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder, figuring after
awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it, and either way he'd be
out of my hair. But he didn't go for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a prototype out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

I think you have it right -- only I wouldn't expose a lathe to the
abrasive grit. Just make a "lathe" frame out of whatever, maybe 2"
square steel tubing, with bearings and holders on each end. Put a
motor on one end to rotate the workpiece, maybe just an electric
drill, and then shape the piece with abrasive. Instead of an angle
grinder, I'd use a handheld belt sander with a ceramic grit belt.
Those belts are agressive, run cool because they cut more than they
drag, and they last a very long time on mild steel. Might want two
belts, a 40-grit for roughing and an 80 to 100 for smoothing.

If you wanted a modicum of "precision", you might make a tapered
sliding guide (maybe drawer slides) for the sander, but since they
don't have to fit anything I would think that eyeball appearance is
probably more important than any dimensional precision.

After shaping and smoothing, I'd then finish them with a cratex wheel
moving the piece longitudinally to take out the sanding marks. Maybe
he could do that, he being the artist and all. You (or he) could
then polish them up in a few minutes on a buffer with a sisal wheel
and aggressive emery compound.

After polishing, they could then be copper plated, buffed to a mirror
finish, then nickle-plated, then flashed with chrome if desired.

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 02:19:57 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Pete
C." quickly quoth:

Grant Erwin wrote:

I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He asked me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being about 18"
of that length.

Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

(So take the money and run. It'll be a nice half/full day's pay doing
something different for a change, Grant. Be sure to get 2/3 of the
money up front and show him the first prototype for a signoff. Rich
folks can be mighty uppity. What's he paying? For the right price,
I'll go grab a HF lathe and do them for you. Things are slow right
now.


Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a prototype out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

Didn't you hit on the solution with the grinder? Just use a toolpost
grinder on a lathe with a taper attachment for more precision.

Yeah, or he could put a 1/8" offset on the tailstock (shims or jig it
up), maks/protect the vital parts of the lathe from grit, and go for
it with a grinder.

--
"I'm sick and tired of having to rearrange my life
because of what the STUPIDEST people *might* do or
how they *might* react."
-- Bill Maher

I think I would do it with a 1/2 inch sq. 5c collet and a live center. I
would leave about 5 inches out of collet at a time and turn 1/4 end first
then move out another 5 inches with center in tailstock pick up dia.and do
the next 5 inches ect. I think I could do it on my Logan. I would try 1/2
sq. leadloy 12L14.If I had a piece aof stock I would do one for fun.
Jim

"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He
asked me today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick,
but in steel, which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate.
Basically, it's a very long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4"
round at the other, somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins
which effects the transition from square to round, the whole thing about
24" long, the taper being about 18" of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical
on a long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC
follower rest which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't
have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between
centers, spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder,
figuring after awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it,
and either way he'd be out of my hair. But he didn't go for it.
Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of money and wants me to make him 18 of
these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a
prototype out of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 02:29:50 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:

I'm not a machinist, so I won't be surprised or upset if you find fault with
this idea. But, here goes:
Make a round collar with a 1/2" square hole. Slide this over the 1/2" raw
stock, and start machining the small end. Keep moving the collar and the
steady rest toward the middle as you go.

Thats! a good idea.

Saved for future reference

Gunner



"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."
- Proverbs 22:3

Grant Erwin wrote:

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a
prototype out of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

How about doing it freehand on a belt grinder? Turn a recess for the
small end (to get a clue when to stop gringing) and sand it off holding
the stick lengthwise to the belt.


Nick
--
Motor Modelle // Engine Models
http://www.motor-manufaktur.de
DIY-DRO // Eigenbau-Digitalanzeige
http://www.yadro.de

Grant Erwin wrote:

I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He
asked me today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick,
but in steel, which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate.
Basically, it's a very long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about
1/4" round at the other, somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper
begins which effects the transition from square to round, the whole thing
about 24" long, the taper being about 18" of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical
on a long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC
follower rest which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't
have one of those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between
centers, spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder,
figuring after awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it,
and either way he'd be out of my hair. But he didn't go for it.
Unfortunately, this guy has a lot of money and wants me to make him 18 of
these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a
prototype out of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Just a dumb suggestion, but see if there's a Korean grocery around--Korean
chopsticks are often stainless steel and cooking chopsticks come up to 30
inches long. Might be possible to just buy however many you need off the
shelf.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Or do the same thing using a four jaw chuck. Put the compound at the
right angle and do it in sections. After you have it roughed out
smooth the transitions with a belt sander while rotating it by hand.

Dan


Leo Lichtman wrote:
I'm not a machinist, so I won't be surprised or upset if you find fault with
this idea. But, here goes:
Make a round collar with a 1/2" square hole. Slide this over the 1/2" raw
stock, and start machining the small end. Keep moving the collar and the
steady rest toward the middle as you go.

Use 1/2" square stock, drill a center in the small end while chucked in a 4
jaw or square collet, offset the tailstock and shape with a toolpost
grinder.
Tom
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I have this friend in art school, and he wants to make a sculpture. He
asked me
today how to make a 2X-sized copy of a large plastic chopstick, but in
steel,
which he then wants to either chrome or nickel plate. Basically, it's a
very
long skinny part, 1/2" square at one end, about 1/4" round at the other,
somewhere in the middle a long uniform taper begins which effects the
transition
from square to round, the whole thing about 24" long, the taper being
about 18"
of that length.

Even if the piece were round, I don't think a follower rest is practical
on a
long taper. It's conceivable that a CNC lathe might have a CNC follower
rest
which could follow the profile, but I sure as heck don't have one of
those.

I suggested he find a beater lathe somewhere, chuck up the part between
centers,
spin it at high speed, and have at it with an angle grinder, figuring
after
awhile he'd either get the hang of it or get sick of it, and either way
he'd be
out of my hair. But he didn't go for it. Unfortunately, this guy has a lot
of
money and wants me to make him 18 of these.

Anybody have an idea how to go about it? I thought about hacking a
prototype out
of wood and trying to have a part cast, dunno.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington