Modify a pair of callipers so that you can measure the thickness of a wall when you have to open the callipers to get them off the article. Fix a pin to one arm and tap a hole for a clamp screw on the other. The slotted bar has a notch filed in one end.
It always amuses me when I see people struggling to remove a drive centre with a metal bar . Spend a little time (and a few dollars) and make life easier. Engineers often say that one hit with a big hammer is worth several with a small one - and it does less damage.
The weight of the steel and the softness of the brass will remove a centre with no damage to the drive centre (or a drill chuck or whatever) or to any internal threads in the head stock spindle.
A few months ago I described the favourable results achieved when I replaced the metal guides on my bandsaw with hand cut wooden ones. The top ones were Jarrah and the bottom were made from Pawlina which is quite soft, porous and absorbent, both sets were soaked in oil before installation and I was highly delighted with the improved performance in straight line and curved cutting. in retention of blade sharpness and reduction of breakage,- only one, and that was due to my own carelessness.
However, wear on the wooden guides was fairly rapid, particularly when using a narrow blade where the set of the teeth tended to wear the front edges of the guides and accuracy of cutting was lost. I therefore looked for a way to improve guide life and found a small block of Teflon which had been hanging around in my "useful bits" box for years, just waiting for a chance to show its capabilities.
I have now fitted Teflon blocks in place of the upper Jarrah guides and after about eight weeks of continual usage I find no deterioration in performance, nor any sign of wear. Being self lubricating means that the blade runs cool and being slightly resilient, the Teflon gives way if the set touches it but it appears to recover to maintain a good bearing surface.
I give it a helping hand occasionally with WD40 or RP7 lubricant but I don't think it really needs it.
Long live Teflon - it's wonderful stuff!
My chuck is a Vicmark 90. I bought a set of larger jaws which extended its capacity and this was further extended by the addition of wooden jaws in 20 mm. ply. The expendable waste piece can be quickly turned to suite various jobs and is easily replaced when exhausted. It is useful in repetition work, is used in both expansion and contraction modes, can replace jam chucks and a vacuum chuck on smaller jobs. The radius of mine is 120 mm. but this could be increased for larger work provided that the wood jaws are balanced, a sharp gouge with light cuts is used, and no catches occur.
METHOD
Turn a disk to the desired dimensions. Turn grooves to fit the closed chuck jaws. Using holes in the metal jaw plates, mark positions for 8 screws. Drill holes in the ply. Fit and tighten screws. Number the jaws. Cut a second smaller diameter disk for the waste piece and glue and clamp it to the first piece. NO nails! True up next day. Remove whole assembly and saw into quarters. Reassemble in numbered order and you are in business. NB Use only ply wood. Chip or custom board will fail. 8-30 mm. screws with square holes in the head are great; a special driver is required in the drill and it will not slip.
These auxiliary jaws are easily made. Why not have several for various applications?
We often have to do identical turnings for such things as a set
of stool legs.
Make a scratch gauge .
1 Draw or turn a pattern
2 Drive nails into an edge to mark the design points. 40 x 15 mm is a
good size.
3 Round the stock, mark and turn to shape.
4 Use the pattern as a guide and keep it for next time.
Vin Denmead
If the Morse taper will not stay in with a friction fit, and
cleaning doesn't help, try this .
Simply drill and tap the small end and insert threaded rod of
suitable length. Lock down with a spanner. It may be necessary to
soften the small end to make it easier to drill it.
To release it, loosen nut and tap with a soft head hammer. Beats re
machining the fit.
Bill Barber
When I turned some picture frames recently, I needed to cut
clear acrylic for the front.
Here is an effective way of holding it in the lathe using an old
rubber door stop and the inevitable double-sided tape.
Bill Thomas
Power sanding with a rubber backed abrasive disk is great for
bowls, clock faces etc. and, compared to hand sanding, saves heaps of
time. They cost approx. $A 30 in a shop but can be made for around $1
- the price of some Velcro.
Obtain a discarded car inner tube from your garage and cut out the
valve housing around the reinforced section and retain the actual
valve. With rubber adhesive, attach a rubber disk about 1/4" -
3/8"thick. It can be thicker if you prefer.
Now cut a piece of Velcro to size and attach it to the rubber disk I
found super glue gel to be the most effective adhesive.
With cloth backed sanding disks, either home made or purchased for
about 20 cents, away you go! Use only the bottom half of the
revolving sanding disk between 6 and 9 o'clock on the workpiece as it
revolves on the lathe.
This home made "gismo" is fairly pliable - if you need to firm it up
a bit , insert the valve and give a couple of strokes with a bicycle
pump.
Brian Langston
Sick of getting your fingers burnt?
Make a deflector from soft, easily worked timber to fit in the groove
of your gouge and glue it in with contact cement; not too close to
the point.
Another idea is to use a bit of plastic from a plant label, shape it with scissors and stick it into the flute of your gouge with "Blue Tack". It can be removed easily and replaced in seconds. Experiment with optimum angle, size, shape, distance from the end
Keith McLeod
Some people still use wire to burn circles on their work. Once I tried the edge of a piece of Laminex, I threw out my wire and handles.
John Lee
A magnet on the side of the drill press keeps the chuck handy without it being tangled up with string,
John Lee
Scratch it before putting on the dust mask!
Anon.
If your live centre is not big enough to locate in a large bore, turn up a wooden adapter.
John Lee
Punch dimples in an aluminium strip at the distances you frequently use and engrave it or use a fine tipped felt pen
Another useful idea is to glue a piece of a retractable ruler on the front of your lathe
Keith McLeod
Use
a jig to date and identify your work .It can be made from hard plastic such as a seedling punnet
label.
Cut the stencil to suit your needs and write the information within
guide slots with a ball point pen. Press lightly the first time in
case the grain throws you off track. Repeat with more pressure and be
careful with the round letters!
Experiment with signing before and after you apply the finishing
coats
Keith McLeod
Use this improved method to connect your vacuum cleaner to the
lathe.
A large jam tin is firmly pushed on to a wooden flange which is
permanently fixed to the lathe head by screws or adhesive.
Keith McLeod
Are you fed up with your bandsaw? Or, perhaps you haven't got
one.
Most of the time I cut circles on my bench saw with this jig. It
works for stock up to 50mm or more.
To change the radius, remove the pin, hold it in pliers and tap
it in to the new position with a hammer. The pin only protrudes 2 - 3
mm. or a bit more for rough stock.
Punch a pin hole in the stock and lower the stock on to the pin. This
is the hard part; look at the bottom of the diagram for help in
positioning the wood.
Raise the saw blade to the maximum and cut off four corners and then
the eight remaining corners.
Rotate the stock with the bottom surface against the saw's lowest
part. Advance the jig a little and deal similarly with the top
surface if the stock is thin.
Hold the stock down firmly at all times and be careful!
Count your fingers!!!!
Keith Mcleod.
Has this ever happened to you?
The other day I decided to make a pen. The retracting sort.
After completing what was for me an excellent piece of turning, I
started to assemble the bits. I use the bench mounted bottle capper
from my home brewery for the purpose and "whoops", the retracting
gismo went in too far with the result that the ball point stuck out
when it was supposed to be in!
I pulled, pushed and wiggled all to no avail. In fact, all I
succeeded in doing was ruining my turning.
Thank goodness, the next day was Monday and our Monday workshop group
meeting.
"Vic, what do I do about this?" says I.
"How far does it stick out when it should be in ?" says he.
"3/32 nds" say I.
"Then pull the plastic cap off the refill, grind 1/8 th off the end -
not the end with the ball, replace the plastic cap and try it ." Says
he .
I did and it retracted perfectly. All I need to do now is to try and
remove all the scratches. I might have to ask him about that next
week
Ken Holdsworth.
My engineer's chuck can exert considerable pressure and tends to crush a spigot turned on a wooden work piece so that rechucking is impossible and softer timber tends to move in the jaws.
I cut a ferrule from a brass tube and cut a slot in it. Then I
turn a spigot on the work to fit tightly inside the slotted ferrule.
Twisting a screwdriver in the slot helps in fitting and removing the
ferrule.
The chuck can be tightened to full pressure with out crushing the
wood.
