Shopsmith Forums

dannyshamoon wrote:Ed..... At what speed are you turning the blanks at? I see you have the new powerehead, I've got an older 500 with the dial a speed.
Thanks
Danny

Assuming you are starting with wood that is about 2" square I'd start at low but most of the time you can with this size stock do the roughing at about 900 rpm, this is "C" on your dial. As it becomes more round and you want to do some basic shaping I'd go upwards of 1600 rpm, or about "I"ish. Then the final finishing I do for about 2500 or more, this would be "N"ish on the dial but you might want to go higher..... Keep in mind these are general guideline and you may find that you will need to change things up a bit from them. I personally don't pay much attention to the settings but more to how things are working out.

Ed

ChrisNeilan wrote:Ed, you got me into deep trouble. My wife saw this post and thought that bottle stoppers would make great party favors. We are hosting a wedding shower for my son and his fiance (one of those Jack & Jill showers)and she wants me to turn 30 of these by Feb 5th! Just got off the phone with Ruth Niles!

That doesn't sound too bad.... but you will be busy for a few days! I like to do these sorts of projects in batches. Like here I'd get them to the point of threading them on the mandrel, like maybe say 10 of them then switch to the mandrel and do that group. I do this with pens, when I can I do a dozen or so in stages, like cutting them to working length, then drilling them, then gluing the the tubes in, then trimming etc etc. I don't know if that would help you but that is how I like to work.

By the time you have them done you will be an expert! Best wishes on the project!

Ed

reible wrote:

dannyshamoon wrote:Ed..... At what speed are you turning the blanks at? I see you have the new powerehead, I've got an older 500 with the dial a speed.
Thanks
Danny

Assuming you are starting with wood that is about 2" square I'd start at low but most of the time you can with this size stock do the roughing at about 900 rpm, this is "C" on your dial. As it becomes more round and you want to do some basic shaping I'd go upwards of 1600 rpm, or about "I"ish. Then the final finishing I do for about 2500 or more, this would be "N"ish on the dial but you might want to go higher..... Keep in mind these are general guideline and you may find that you will need to change things up a bit from them. I personally don't pay much attention to the settings but more to how things are working out.

Ed

Ed.... THANKS for the help.
Danny

I'm going to ASSUME that I'm stupid. I tried to cut some threads in what Rockler sells as laminated dyed birch using a 5/16" drill that came from Ruth with the mandrel. I tried cutting the threads with a tap and also screwing the wood block onto the mandrel. There is NOT enough threads cut to hold the mandrel to the block and then tried to turn it. What am I doing wrong??????
Thanks for the help.
Danny

I've only used real wood and I'm going to guess that some issues might come in when using the laminate.......... but I don't know for sure. I went to the rockler page and didn't notice anyone asking about drill size or commenting on that problem. I'll check another place that I think I've seen these and see if there are any comments there.

I normally mount the mandrel then with the blank in my hand I push and turn. It takes some effort to thread on and you need to keep things straight for the first couple of threads. You need your other hand to hold the quill from turning. It is not a powered operation.

The only thing you could get wrong is if your alignment was off when drilling and ended up with a hole that is too larger. You could check that with the shank of the drill bit after drilling but before attempting to thread. The shank should be a tight fit.

The other suggestion would be to give Ruth a call. She has been at this a long while and might have some answers for you. A very nice person from my conversations with her so you might want to do that anyway just to get her incite.

Ed

dannyshamoon wrote:I'm going to ASSUME that I'm stupid. I tried to cut some threads in what Rockler sells as laminated dyed birch using a 5/16" drill that came from Ruth with the mandrel. I tried cutting the threads with a tap and also screwing the wood block onto the mandrel. There is NOT enough threads cut to hold the mandrel to the block and then tried to turn it. What am I doing wrong??????
Thanks for the help.
Danny

I should have mentioned that that blank(s) are not a waste. Just re-chuck them and drill out the hole to say 1/2" and add a birch dowel of that size. Let the glue dry over night and then flush up the bottom again and re drill the pilot hole to try again.

Ed

Ed.... THANKS for the help. I tried to do everything right, blank in a vice, vice clamped to the table, center punched the center for the drill, slow feed , no wobble or chatter.
Good idea about installing a dowel to bring it back. Worth a shot
Danny

I guess I now have come to the conclusion that my problem is related to the turning blocks being laminated plys. I tried another block today with a 5/16" hole and found it didn't cut much threads either so I tried in a solid piece of oak and the threads were perfect. Live and learn I guess
Danny

dannyshamoon wrote:I guess I now have come to the conclusion that my problem is related to the turning blocks being laminated plys. I tried another block today with a 5/16" hole and found it didn't cut much threads either so I tried in a solid piece of oak and the threads were perfect. Live and learn I guess
Danny

Try a 'real' bottoming tap.(after starting it with a 'normal' tap)

JPG wrote:

dannyshamoon wrote:I guess I now have come to the conclusion that my problem is related to the turning blocks being laminated plys. I tried another block today with a 5/16" hole and found it didn't cut much threads either so I tried in a solid piece of oak and the threads were perfect. Live and learn I guess
Danny

Try a 'real' bottoming tap.(after starting it with a 'normal' tap)

I am using a bottoming tap, but I can see the threads don't have much depth to them and I've drilled the hole deeper too. I asked Ruth and she said she's had some problems with the laminated ones and some of her customers have had problems, but not all.
Danny