spindle turning problem

rdewinter · Post by **rdewinter** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:38 am

I'm trying to turn a 32" spindle. Have a 1 1/2" kiln dried doug fir stock mounted between a star pointed 4 wing arbor and a dead center. I have to be very gentle or the stock will stop spinning. I have a good amount of pressure against the dead center and the headstock. Any suggestions on how I can tighten the stock so I can be a little more aggressive rounding the stock? BTW, I am sharpening my gouge often using the SS sharpening guide.

Bob
San Diego

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:41 am

when using the shopsmith drive center i drill a 1/8" hole about a 1/4" deep. the center point sticks out quite a bit compared to other drive spurs/centers. also use a mallet to "set" the drive center in the wood. be sure to lubricate the dead center with beeswax or soap.

mbcabinetmaker · Post by **mbcabinetmaker** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:52 am

Bob

Remove the spindle from the SS. Also remove the drive center. Use a hammer and tap the drive center into the spindle while holding it. This will give it an indention to grip into. Just be careful and not over do it and split the spindle. Afterwords remount everything and you should not have any more problem. If you do much spindle turning I would invest in a live center.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:40 am

Some of us prefer to not use a hammer. After drilling the hole, saw two grooves from corner to corner on the drive face (forming an X). Often times, I use the band saw for this, but a hand saw works just as well. These grooves need to be close to 90 degrees, so if the workpiece is not close to square, you can't go corner to corner.

I also drill a 1/8" hole 1/4" deep on the dead center side. With a bit of beeswax on the dead center and on the wood, there will be no burning. (I've always used a dead center)

If you do these things, you will not need so much pressure from the quill and the piece will turn nicely. Depending on the growth habits, D.fir summerwood can become as hard a a tough hardwood.

rdewinter · Post by **rdewinter** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:45 am

I did use a rubber mallet to set the drive spur but maybe not deep enough. I'll try Betty's suggestion and drill a 1/4" deep hole and reset the drive spur.

Betty, how often do you lubricate the dead center with soap? Just once? When do you know when to lubricate again? The turning spindle makes no noise.

Mark, I would use a live center except I need all the length of the spindle I can get. I have a Oneway live center and it needs about 6" of space when installed.

If I could only figure a way of fastening two turned spindles end to end (end grain to end grain) then I could turn two spindles of smaller length. I need a spindle approximately 46-48" long. Any great ideas?

Bob
San Diego

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:17 am

rdewinter wrote:I did use a rubber mallet to set . . .

If I could only figure a way of fastening two turned spindles end to end (end grain to end grain) then I could turn two spindles of smaller length. I need a spindle approximately 46-48" long. Any great ideas?

Bob
San Diego

Try a 'soft' faced hammer that is 'harder' than 'rubber'.

Drill a center hole in each spindle and connect with a dowel. Put the 'joint' at a separation point between different 'profiles'.(narrow radius)

RobertTaylor · Post by **RobertTaylor** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:03 pm

typicaly you would only need to lubricate the dead center once when you mount the piece. if it would start to smoke or burn it is too tight between the centers. i snug it up pretty tight to get the cup or ring of the center to make a groove then back it off just a smidge. as said above to make long spindles it is easily done by turning a tenon on one end and boring a matching hole on the other. i like to use en open-end wrench as a tenon gage. they are usually .010" to .012" oversize so that leaves a little room to fit it to the hole.

rdubbs · Post by **rdubbs** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:05 pm

Do you have a scroll chuck you could use?

rdewinter · Post by **rdewinter** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:48 am

rdubbs wrote:Do you have a scroll chuck you could use?

Sorry Rick, what is a scroll chuck?

Bob
San Diego

rdubbs · Post by **rdubbs** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:21 am

'scuse me! If you don't know what one is, you can hardly be expected to try to use it, right?

A scroll chuck is usually used to hold a bowl for turning, if you don't use a faceplate. However, it can also hold a square of round piece for spindle work. I have just used my Oneway Talon chuck and the Shopsmith lathe duplicator to duplicate 29 "finials" for a person who is restoring the gingerbread on a 150 year-old house. It would have been tricky to turn those between centers. I'm sorry, but since I delivered the job yesterday I don't have any pics of them.

Here is a pic of my chuck holding a 1 1/4" dowel:
[ATTACH]5302[/ATTACH]

I have installed accessory jaws that are small enough to hold this dowel because the standard laws would not hold something this small. Most chucks have a wide range of accessory jaws available.

I have included a link to the Oneway chucks page of the Shopsmith catalog:
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/l_onewaychucks.htm

A scroll chuck is self-centering. It can provide more than enough grip to hold a spindle if the spur center can't get the job done.

Happy turning!