Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

anyone selling logs for burning

Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)


Try and find an "old Man's Shed" near you an they might make you something.

F Murtz wrote:
Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)


Try and find an "old Man's Shed" near you an they might make you something.


OOPS not sure whether you have "old mens sheds" in Britain.
(organizations where old men gather and make things)

On Jan 29, 11:51*pm, Tabby wrote:
On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:

Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

anyone selling logs for burning

You could machine it round if necessary with 2 drills and an angle
grinder.


NT

On Jan 30, 9:13 am, Tabby wrote:
On Jan 29, 11:51 pm, Tabby wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, Osprey wrote:

Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

anyone selling logs for burning

You could machine it round if necessary with 2 drills and an angle
grinder.

NT

got a clip?

Jim K

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

If your hand tools skills are good, you can use the boatbuilders
method of making masts and spars - google "spar gauge" and look at
several explanations until you get the idea.

This will give you some of the idea: http://www.pettigrews.org.uk/lm/page030a.htm

(this design shows pencils, rather than scoring/marking with pins - as
I was taught)

It's a fairly accurate technique for marking out a square section
piece of timber, so that you then plane off the corners - to make an
octagonal section.

You repeat the process to make a sixteen-sided section, and after that
- you can probably identify the high points by eye, and reduce it to a
circular section by sanding with a long belt of sand paper, drawn back
and forth around your mast/spar/roller.

(NB, the ratios on the spar gauge are slightly different between 8
sides and sixteen. Some texts say don't worry about it - the
difference is too small. Others texts seem unaware of the difference.
Often though, you can judge marking out the sixteen sides by eye, and
don't use the gauge again)

Irrelevant aside to what the OP wants to make:

The joy of using a spar gauge is that it is no more difficult to make
a tapered circular cross-section, as it is to make one of a constant
diameter - the gauge simply marks out the correct ratio - provided the
square section timber has had the correct taper cut on it (if it's
solid timber - usually done with a bandsaw), or built up (if it's been
glulam'd together out of smaller timbers).

"Osprey" wrote in message
...
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)


How about the legs for children's swings. Usually made from pressure
treated redwood - may be dense enough for your needs. I know you can get
them in 4" dia.

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

machine turned fence post?

Jim K

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .

Plenty of ways to do this. Much depends on the weight, the point
loading, the wear life and the weatherproofing.

* Plastic pipe, filled. Hard, smooth, weatherproof. Easy to embed a
steel axle.

* Fencepost. Usually larch, which wears quite well but isn't quite as
hard as some timbers. Will be quite smooth, but may be slightly oval
(shrinkage on drying after rounding) and may have a spiral pattern
that causes loads to shift on a long roller.

* Recycled wooden rollers. Salvage yard and look for old mangles. My
stash of lignum vitae is old freight handling rollers from dockyard
warehouses.

* Turned wood. Make a lathe. The easiest sort is a rectangular plywood
"gutter" with end plates to carry centres (screwed spikes) and a
router on an extension baseplate slides over the top. Manually rotate
the roller and pass the router up and down. A variant uses an angle
grinder with an arbortech cutting disk (I use this a lot for rough
turning). A deluxe version uses a woodturning lathe (unpowered, or
just at creep speed) as the centres and rests the router on a similar
plywood guide. If you make your roller of two halves, it's again easy
to embed an axle.

* Constructed masts and barrels of multiple staves. Almost certainly
too much trouble, and the weight advantages are minimal at this size.

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

Jonathan

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan
wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

--
Frank Erskine

Osprey wrote:

Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

http://www.totalpoles.co.uk/natural-hardwood-poles.html

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.js...00047 3057711

Frank Erskine wrote:

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan
wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

Buy a big rolling pin!

In article ,
says...
Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)


Try and find an "old Man's Shed" near you an they might make you something.

If you're near Telford I don't mind brushing the dust off the lathe.

--
Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.

On 30/01/2011 12:50, Frank Erskine wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan
wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

Roller from a scrap lawn mower?

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Jan 30, 12:50*pm, Frank Erskine
wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan

wrote:
On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

--
Frank Erskine

Look in junk shops, old ones used to have a much larger diameter.

Jonathan

On 30/01/2011 15:47, The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 30/01/2011 12:50, Frank Erskine wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan
wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

Roller from a scrap lawn mower?


Well done that man. Charity shops usually have an assortment

On 30/01/2011 16:18, Jonathan wrote:
On Jan 30, 12:50 pm, Frank
wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan

wrote:
On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

--
Frank Erskine

Look in junk shops, old ones used to have a much larger diameter.

Possibly an old mangle? They have pretty big rollers.

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

"Jim K" wrote in message news:547fab52-5daa-406e-9382-


got a clip?



??

"F Murtz" wrote in message
...
F Murtz wrote:
Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)


Try and find an "old Man's Shed" near you an they might make you
something.


OOPS not sure whether you have "old mens sheds" in Britain.
(organizations where old men gather and make things)

We have building where old men gather to talk for no end, called 'House of
Lords'

"Tabby" wrote in message
...
On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

anyone selling logs for burning


Needs to be good enough to work as a roller ....

maybe I'll have to pay a wood turner.

wrote in message
...

If your hand tools skills are good, you can use the boatbuilders
method of making masts and spars - google "spar gauge" and look at
several explanations until you get the idea.

This will give you some of the idea:
http://www.pettigrews.org.uk/lm/page030a.htm


Interesting article ... Thanks

Rick Hughes ) wibbled on Monday 31
January 2011 12:00:


"Tabby" wrote in message
...
On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

anyone selling logs for burning


Needs to be good enough to work as a roller ....

maybe I'll have to pay a wood turner.

I've got some ash trunks - in East Sussex.

Where are you?

--
Tim Watts

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Alternative thought, go to a farm fencing place and buy a round 4"
post, some of them are machined for use with machinery for putting in
posts.

Jonathan

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
news:4602f5df-cf4a-4ba6-b64e-=
* Plastic pipe, * Fencepost. Usually larch, * Recycled wooden rollers. *
Turned wood. Make a lathe.


Some good ideas Andy ....

Plastic pipe was obvious way forward, but can't think of a way to make
outers thicker (picture will explain) i.e. almost like big cotton reel.

I'll give the reason, and a picture - so you can see what I want to make.

I had major knee reconstruction surgery ... half my knee joint is missing, I
need to get my quadriceps muscles to pull joint tight & keep it stable.
The recommend way (with no impact damage) is with a balance board, the
effort to balance works knee joint without impact, and improves core
balance.

What I want to build is :-
http://tinyurl.com/63joa2g

and from underneath ...
http://tinyurl.com/6jwdpxh

On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:25:34 -0000, Rick Hughes wrote:

I had major knee reconstruction surgery ...

Doesn't the physio department of the hospital have something they can
let you have for a few months(*)?

Or
buy:

http://www.activetoys.co.uk/shop/kit...b-balance-boar
d-378518.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_ campaign=activetoy
s

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accesso...ardtrainer.htm

(*) Though these days of excessive Eflfin protection they would have
to give it to you as the "risk" of accepting it back would be to
great. B-(

--
Cheers
Dave.

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
On 30/01/2011 12:50, Frank Erskine wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan
wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

Roller from a scrap lawn mower?


I have a large Lawn Mower outlet nearby, I can ask there ... but going on
price they charged me for a single spring for a Honda pullstart, a tree
might be cheaper :-)

Possibly an old mangle? They have pretty big rollers.


That sounds like an item that is now very expensive as they seem to have
aesthetic values in peoples gardens :-)

Size wise would be ideal though

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
.. .
Osprey wrote:


http://www.totalpoles.co.uk/natural-hardwood-poles.html

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.js...00047 3057711


good links ... Ta

] I've got some ash trunks - in East Sussex.

Where are you?

--
S. Wales

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...
On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:25:34 -0000, Rick Hughes wrote:

I had major knee reconstruction surgery ...

Doesn't the physio department of the hospital have something they can
let you have for a few months(*)?



I did ask ... as I used one with Physio for 6 weeks ... but no spares to
loan out.

I can buy them, but as it's only a roller fitted to piece of ply seemed a
perfect DIY proposition.

I have been trying to figure out if I could find a way to make a round
section with my Router table ... but not come up with one yet.

I have a bandsaw .. and could cut corners off a square, and keep going until
it's round, but as it has to roll smoothly, could take a lot of time to get
that round.

The earlier suggestion of router & piece of guttering has some
possibilities.

"Rick Hughes" wrote in message
...

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
On 30/01/2011 12:50, Frank Erskine wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:17:32 -0800 (PST), Jonathan
wrote:

On Jan 29, 11:00 pm, wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

Buy a rolling pin!

That's just what I first thought of, but 4" diameter?

Roller from a scrap lawn mower?



Now I see what you want it for, there are plenty of logs in my woodshed of
adequate roundness for that job.

Mike

On Jan 31, 12:25 pm, "Rick Hughes"
wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote in message

news:4602f5df-cf4a-4ba6-b64e-=
* Plastic pipe, * Fencepost. Usually larch, * Recycled wooden rollers. *
Turned wood. Make a lathe.

Some good ideas Andy ....

Plastic pipe was obvious way forward, but can't think of a way to make
outers thicker (picture will explain) i.e. almost like big cotton reel.

I'll give the reason, and a picture - so you can see what I want to make.

I had major knee reconstruction surgery ... half my knee joint is missing, I
need to get my quadriceps muscles to pull joint tight & keep it stable.
The recommend way (with no impact damage) is with a balance board, the
effort to balance works knee joint without impact, and improves core
balance.

What I want to build is :-http://tinyurl.com/63joa2g

and from underneath ...http://tinyurl.com/6jwdpxh

buy a dumbell from a sports shop and just build the top bit to suit?

Jim K

I have a bandsaw .. and could cut corners off a square, and keep going until
it's round, but as it has to roll smoothly, could take a lot of time to get
that round.

Get a piece of wood and support it in a frame on 2 screws, one in each
end so that it can rotate. Pass the fram through the bandsaw rotating
a little each time and you end up with a roller. A little sanding with
a strip of emery to take the minimal corners off and you're done.

John

In article 460ed854-165a-45fd-9885-
, says...
What I want to build is :-http://tinyurl.com/63joa2g

and from underneath ...http://tinyurl.com/6jwdpxh

buy a dumbell from a sports shop and just build the top bit to suit?


Or get a kid's skateboard, remove one pair of wheels and move the other
to the centre?

--
Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.

On Jan 31, 5:33 pm, Skipweasel wrote:
In article 460ed854-165a-45fd-9885-
, says...

What I want to build is :-http://tinyurl.com/63joa2g

and from underneath ...http://tinyurl.com/6jwdpxh

buy a dumbell from a sports shop and just build the top bit to suit?

Or get a kid's skateboard, remove one pair of wheels and move the other
to the centre?

"super 3D" balance board :)))
(i.e. the board's trucks will also be tilting "north south" as well as
rolling "east west")

Probly need the other knee doing shortly after the impending
accident ;)

Jim K

On Jan 29, 11:00*pm, Osprey wrote:
Looking to find some 4" diameter wood .... something reasonably hard,
but does not have to be oak ... a dense softwood would do.
But very open grain softwood no good.

Will be used as a roller, so has to be pretty good in round section.

Only need around 12" of it .... anybody any idea where I can get some
(don't have a lathe)

You can't find a 12 inch length of timber about 4 inches in diameter?

Good grief. If there isn't a local saw mill, ask someone at the local
council if they are cutting any trees in the area. This is the season
for that. Or phone up a tree surgeon.

On Jan 31, 2:46*pm, "Rick Hughes"
wrote:
"Steve Firth" wrote in message

.. .

Osprey wrote:

http://www.totalpoles.co.uk/natural-hardwood-poles.html

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.js...mal=true&fh_se...

good links ... Ta

Go to www.ukworkshop.co.uk and ask on the Turning Board if there's a
turner in your area. This is a 10 minute job for a lathe. And you
will be able to watch and perhaps have a 'turn'.

If you are using it in an indoors situation I would avoid the
suggestions of a tree branch which will have bark on it and everything
nasty that will stain your carpet - and will be green wood too.

Lots of people here who it would seem don't know much about wood -
larch for instance is very sappy, so not suitable indoors, fence posts
have been treated to avoid rot and will similarly be unsuitable
indoors. And as said a tree branch will equally be unsuitable unless
several years old.
Rob

Rob

In article 6cc0eb87-1ce0-4ac2-aa88-014ad6db1681
@k4g2000pre.googlegroups.com, says...
Or get a kid's skateboard, remove one pair of wheels and move the other
to the centre?

"super 3D" balance board :)))
(i.e. the board's trucks will also be tilting "north south" as well as
rolling "east west")

Probly need the other knee doing shortly after the impending
accident ;)


So jam the lateral bendiness.

--
Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.