i am new, and have questions!!!

[hen1]

hello, my first question is how to make dado's without a sawblade, and
learning how to make box or finger joints, i do have a router, plmk if
anyone knows how, and can help me. plmk,hen

[bashfulbob]

Hi
There are many good books and articles that instruct the reader how to make dadoes with a router, using the router by hand or in a router table. A book that may start you in the right direction could be one titled "Woodworking with the Router" by Bill Hylton, ISBN number 0-7621-0800-2 published by American Woodworker.

There are many articles that have been published in magazines about using routers to make dadoes.

hello, my first question is how to make dado's without a sawblade, and
learning how to make box or finger joints, i do have a router, plmk if
anyone knows how, and can help me. plmk,hen

[bashfulbob]

Here are a couple of Magazines with articles about routing dadoes.

The first Mag is:
Wood: September 2006 Vol 23 No 4 Issue 171 Title of the article is "How to Master Dadoes, Grooves, and Rabbits. (Believe it or not I have two copies of the same month with different covers on but the articles inside seemed to be the same. One was my subscription and the other I got of the store shelf. uuuummmm) One has the cover with a bookcase on it and the other has a cover with a Table Top Curio Case with dishes inside of the case.

The second Mag is:
Woodworkers Journal, Workshop Projects Colletor's Edition, Winter of 2006 and has a man using a jig at a table saw to cut a board. The article is titled "Accurate Dadoes in a Hurry".

Hope this helps

hello, my first question is how to make dado's without a sawblade, and
learning how to make box or finger joints, i do have a router, plmk if
anyone knows how, and can help me. plmk,hen

[turdwhiffle]

I would like to turn pieces of wood longer than My Shopsmith allows. Is there an extension available for doing this? I would like to be able to turn pieces as long as 6 foot. Longer slide tubes are available but I am curious if there are other ways to extend the tailstock out to turn longer stuff.

I know I will need something to steady the center of longer pieces. The one from Shopsmith appears to be not available. I could possibly make one.

Thanks very much.

[paulmcohen]

There is another thread on this topic but generally it is not reccommended to turn items longer then the bed lenght. In theory you could mount the tail-stock somewhere else and double the max turning lenght by turning 1/2 at a time. I use the Shopsmith steady rest but there are instructions on making others using rollerblade wheels that can be found on the web.

[deanthom]

I would like to turn pieces of wood longer than My Shopsmith allows. Is there an extension available for doing this? I would like to be able to turn pieces as long as 6 foot. Longer slide tubes are available but I am curious if there are other ways to extend the tailstock out to turn longer stuff.

I know I will need something to steady the center of longer pieces. The one from Shopsmith appears to be not available. I could possibly make one.

Hey TW, this would have been great as a separate topic rather than as a tag on.

To answer: Nope, no extensions available, and no way to extend the tailstock assembly "officially". Ostensibly, you could purchase pipe and replace your way and bench tubes with whatever sizes you need, IF it has to be done in one piece. And as someone else mentioned, it's been addressed on this forum already, mounting your center on the wall at exactly the right height, turning half and then flipping it to complete the other side. NOT Shopsmith-recommended for anyone, and not recommended by experienced turners either, especially not for beginners. Sandbags will help, but you'll need a really good touch to keep from buying a new wall and more wood.

Can you turn whatever it is that you've got in mind in several pieces, incorporating the joint into the design through beads and shoulders? Much safer that way, and cheaper, too. Buying wood that long is costly. A lot of beds and bannisters are built that way, as are some porch columns.

Shopsmith's steady is the only one that fits Shopsmith's unique approach to lathework. The way tubes are a specific diameter and are set a specific distance apart. Purchasing the SS tool allows you the maximum amount of swing. Almost every home-designed jig mounts on the way tubes, eating up swing diameter. If you build your own, design it so that it mounts on the bench tubes (the lower ones) and permits a full 16" diameter down to skinny.

One man's thoughts, obviously.

[turdwhiffle]

Dean, thanks for the reply.

The pieces I would like to turn are 6' long staffs for use in martial arts training and competition. One piece would stand up to the stress where a spliced piece probably would not. The ones I would like to turn are 6' foot long and 1 1/4 inch at the center tapering to about 3/4" at the ends. Tough, for sure, but I enjoy a challenge.

I turn shorter staffs now that are from 12" to 30". I would also like to turn 1" thick staffs that are a bit over 4' long and then steam them for bending into canes. Another challenge.

Thanks again for the reply,

TC Hiser
Seward, Nebraska