| Ask The Trades | |
|
https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl
DIY Forum >> Carpentry Questions >> Wood turning https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1113857710 Message started by PowerTool on Apr 18th, 2005, 9:55pm |
|
|
Title: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 18th, 2005, 9:55pm Hi - seriously thinking about buying a wood lathe for my workshop (diy stuff) and have always fancied making medieval-style wooden mugs/goblets (amongst other things...) Two quick questions :- 1)What sort of wood is best for liquids (beer ;) ) for human consumption ? 2)Should it be readily available from my local timber yard,or is there a specialist supplier ? (live in darlington) Thanks in advance for any advice :) p.s. - any wood turning advice,or sources of information also welcome ;D |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by WOLF on Apr 18th, 2005, 10:18pm Hi dear chap, firstly WELCOME to the art of "TURNERY", where only your imagination , is your only limitation!!! Firstly, No actual specific type of wood is any good for making items for food stuffs as they ALL absorb liquids!! , they will have to be coated with a product to make them "waterproof" and sealed.. The best advice that i can give to you, is to purchase a magazine called "woodturning" (a GMC publication) ... http://www.gmcpubs.com PLEASE DO NOT BE PUT OFF BY WHAT YOU SEE IN THE MAG.... I have been turning for about 25 yrs plus and make a living from it(along with cabinet work/joinery) and still EVEN I AM IN AWE at some of the pieces in there each month!!! this will give your goodself a list of suppliers of the pre-cut blanks to suit your needs, they will also be able to give you so much help and advise directly... and believe me, virtually ALL suppliers to the turnery trade are 100% helpful!! the choice of wood is down to you my freind, i have turned goblets from mahogany, zebrano, maple, etc etc etc... one other piece of advice i will give you... do not give up, even if your first piece, is not what you expect... mine were not either... but once you get the hang of it well .. re read the first sentence... let me know, how you get on!! regards matt 8) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by WOLF on Apr 18th, 2005, 10:19pm i forgot to add, if you need any other turnery advise, just holler!!!! 8) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 18th, 2005, 10:33pm Thanks for the link - have printed the direct debit forms off to post in the morning (the "25% discount" bit was too much to resist ;D ) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by jasonB on Apr 19th, 2005, 9:33am As Wolf says Woodturning is about the best mag on the subject. Most woods will suit but a tighter grain like beech, or maple is common for items in contact with food. You don't have to spend lots on a lathe, I have got a Nu-tool variable speed which is also sold as draper & perform. A decent dovetail chuck (axminster) and some good quality tools will do, don't buy the cheap sets, the steel is very poor. Here's some of my turning. Shout if you need more advice. http://photobucket.com/albums/v156/jasonballamy/Wood%20turning/ Jason |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 19th, 2005, 12:47pm Thanks Jason - have seen a lot of your stuff before,and fall into the"I'm not worthy" category by comparison ;D ;D ;D Currently looking at MachineMart (clarke) lathes,and debating between 24" length,9" diameter capacity,or the 36",12" diameter - not sure if 9" is enough! ;) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by WOLF on Apr 19th, 2005, 3:55pm Do not purchase a clark lathe, as at the moment they are constantly having problems with the grub screws, that hold the drive pulley in place, and so your drive keeps slipping, WHICH is a definate NO NO !! on turning for a good quality lathe at a decent price try this link.. http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=21707&recno=16 it has ALL you would ever need and look at the price at the mo!!!!! spring sale on!!! they have DEVON and KENT branches to order from!!! the other good thing about that lathe in particular, is that the head and tail fittings are both 2MT (morse taper-incase you wonder!) which is the size that is most common on tail and head stock fittings... in terms of a good chuck, then yes an axminster chuck is a good investment, but try to obtain a chuck which has a removable "threaded insert" for attatching to the lathe, because should you find you love turning, and end up progressing to a bigger/better/more bells and whistles lathe, then rather than buy a new chuck each time, then all you do is buy the threaded insert to suit your machine!! a lot cheaper than keep buying chucks.... as J-B states, the tighter grain is better, BUT WATCH out that the timber being used is not poisonous to human's , if used a s a food/drink container, as there are a few, even after being coated with a "food stuffs" polish/sealer!!!!! and here J-B, how ? did you turn those lovely SQUARE boxes, "offset" chuck was it!!!!! LOL LOL sorry ol' bean could not resist that one!!! good stuff though!!! and P-T try not to think along those lines of "not worthy", as try and try again, and well who know's you could find you have a real knack for turnery, and end up producing better, more detailed stuff than us!!!! must dash, got to go back to work!! regards guys! :-/ 8) 8) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by jasonB on Apr 19th, 2005, 5:46pm P-T the lathe that Wolf linked to is basically the same as mine except it is painted yellow :) . It can handle quite big work, I've swung 20" platters and lumps of green oak weighing 20kg on mine, makes the shed shake a bit until you get a few cuts in to balance it up ;) Snap it up while the price is right, you don't need to buy the chuck yet a lot can be done with a face plate & between cts. Jason |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by Dewy on Apr 19th, 2005, 7:14pm The 'Clarke' 37" is identical to the Ferm 37" sold at screwfix. Only difference is the paint colour and the guarantee. A number of different 'own brand lathes' are the same model. |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by WOLF on Apr 19th, 2005, 8:11pm One major difference with the Axminster supply guys though!!!! THEY DO carry spares for the gear they sell, and when buying a lathe, if it has pulley belt/s then buy a spare... you never know if or when it will break, and for the few quid spent, it safe guards any work in progress!!!!! Hi DEWY!!! ol' bean!!!! |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 23rd, 2005, 9:39pm Taken the plunge and bought a lathe - went to local timber supplier this morning,who let me have various hardwood leftovers for a fiver :) (including oak and mahogany) Tried it out today - started off with about 12" of 2.5 x 2.5" oak,ended up with a candlestick holder ;D (that my son is going to sand and polish to give as a mothers day present...and he wants to have a go as well,so I've roughed out some more oak so he can try it out) Next thing will be an ashtray to try turning on the faceplate instead of spindle. And then just practice some more - I assume someone has already cornered the market for woodshavings ? (don't know of any kipper smokeries in Durham ;) ) Thanks for all the advice |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by Dewy on Apr 23rd, 2005, 9:50pm Sand and polish? you do that on the lathe. Hold some sandpaper under to wood as its turning to sand it and then pick up a handfull of the swarf you just turned off it and hold that under the piece. That burnishes the wood for you and is much better than any sanded finish. For some reason I could never do that on a centre lathe when turning steel. ::) :D |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 23rd, 2005, 10:13pm I did sand it on the lathe,but he's NOT getting a present for no money AND no effort ;) ::) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by Dewy on Apr 24th, 2005, 1:07am How old is he? I was 9-10 when my dad bought a home workshop kit with an early home electric drill that you could turn on. I always wanted to do some turning then but he wouldn't let me near his chisels at that age. Used his other tools though. hehe |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 24th, 2005, 8:21am 15 next month - all in favour of anything to get him out of the house (even if it's only the shed ;D ) His social life currently revolves around msn messenger - last half-term holidays,we went to see his older sister for the day;the only time he left the house all week :o And when i was at school,we did woodwork and metalwork - these seem to no longer exist now :( "Technology" is the modern equivalent,where you can do textiles,plastics or food ??? |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by WOLF on Apr 24th, 2005, 4:25pm i had some where i my collection a small cartoon sketch of a trainee starting out with a huge 10" dia x 2 foot long piece,and the teacher asking" and what are you turning" the next few pic's in the strip had a mountain of shavings going in all directions, covering both, and ended up with the trainee saying " a pencil" which was all he had left!!!! any way P-T, glad you got started , nice to hear it!! and quite right about getting your lad to do something, with out some form of work for the item... as for the shavings, get you workshop/shed a small pot belly stove and burn them in winter/cold times.... and i definately know what you mean regards the "technology"... if it's got an "ology" they must be right!?!?!?!?!.. bring back the real skills in schools i say!! |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by Dewy on Apr 24th, 2005, 5:03pm MSN Messenger PT? When you have used proper chat programs where you can chat in text or voice with many friends in rooms which are controlled by the room creator you soon give up thse old hat one to one text chats. I've used Paltalk for 5½ years which has gone up from 66,000 when I started to over 30 million now. A new voice chat inSpeak has just been started by former Paltalk employees which has more features with everything free during these early days but will start charging for video once it goes public. I have made friends and talk with them in rooms with a number of others, all round the world from USA, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries just for the cost of my internet connection. To return to turning. My dad was apprenticed to Napier Engines who were in competition with Rolls Royce as the formost aircraft engines in the world. During his apprenticeship he was given a piece of steel and a drawing with many excentrics to turn. When he finished he took it to the forman who had it checked over then threw it away and told him to try again. He was certain it was made to the drawing to aircraft tollerances. When he finished making it again he had it checked and the foreman put it on the floor by the door to use as a doorstop. His comment was "Now you know how to use a 4 jaw chuck" These days kids use colleges to learn but you cant beat the old fashioned method of learning by watching a real tradesman then actuallly doing the work right. |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on Apr 24th, 2005, 9:27pm Reminds me of my grandad telling me of his time in REME in the Second World War - first thing he had to do was make a chain link extractor - not only did you have to be able to use the tools,you had to be able to make them as well :D Back to turning - got my son out in the workshop having a go on the lathe,and he quite enjoyed it :) And I've got some wood on the faceplate that just needs some more sanding and polishing to become an ashtray (the way it is going,everyone will be getting wooden presents for Christmas ;D ;D ) |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by mr_spanton on May 6th, 2005, 10:26pm wrote on Apr 19th, 2005, 9:33am:
One thing to bear in mind-be very careful if you buy "new" woodturning tools off of e-bay. I nearly got burnt a while ago; saw a set of chisels advertised as genuine record power HSS, even quoted photos from the record website to show what they were like; sound I thought, bid, won etc. When they arrive and open the box (genuine blue & silver record box!!) I think UH OH these are NOT genuine record tools-wrong shape handles, wrong shape roughing gouge, crap finish, no plastic edge protectors, no gold printed name on the handles, no HSS or makers name on the blades. I contact record in derbyshire. They ask for some photos. Yes they are fake. I send an e-mail to the guy (in Scotland) and tell him. OH I got them from my usual supplier, I've had no problems or complaints before. You can have a refund of COURSE. Then record say I can have a full set for half price for bringing it to their attention. Sound. Then a few minutes later another e-mail, they say We'll give you a complete full set FOC. Can you give us a few details about this seller please. Yes says I. Got the new set a few days later. What annoyed me was the guy continued listing the same chisels and ad even after he knew they were fake. If he'd taken them off, I'd have given him the benefit of the doubt. Undermines good british toolmaking and inflates crappy foreign toolmaking. Plus its criminal, trading standards offences etc. So be warned, cheap usually=crap, buy cheap buy twice!! |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by mr_spanton on May 6th, 2005, 10:33pm wrote on Apr 24th, 2005, 4:25pm:
The political class dont want manual skills in this country no more-they want us all sat in hi-tech offices with them earpiece headset codpiece phones selling insurance and sorting out wheel clamp fines; the SERVICE industries environment agency, benefits agency telly marketing::) ::) ::) ;) ??? >:( >:( |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by Dewy on May 7th, 2005, 1:02am It wasn't that long ago when all turning tools were made of carbon steel and were basically scrapers. It was an English guy who thought of using HSS and had his chisels made for him as he tried different shapes. We can thank him for starting what is considered normal these days by creating turning gouges. By 'not long ago' I am referring to our lifetimes which is not long when you consider how many years high carbon steel scrapers were used to turn wood. |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by PowerTool on May 7th, 2005, 7:42am wrote on May 6th, 2005, 10:33pm:
Where do you plug them into,then ? :-/ ;D ;D (And do you need an extension ??) Got my first copy of "Woodturning" magazine - great publication (thanks again for the link,Wolf).Now just deciding whether to go for a ride out to Boroughbridge/Hexham/Penrith for some blanks, or buy by mail order - any perils/pitfalls with the latter,or are they all nice people ? ;D |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by jasonB on May 7th, 2005, 8:10am The main pitfall of going to a woodturning suppliers is that you will spend a lot mote than you intended ;D It is always better to see the wood as they may be tempted to give you the bit with the least interesting figure that has been sitting on a shelf for ages. Buying prepared blanks is very costly, find a source of off cuts locally or develope o good ear for the sound of chainsaws, most tree fellers are happy to give you a few bits to play with. Jason |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by mr_spanton on May 19th, 2005, 9:29pm Its amazing what you can find up the council tip, I've seen prunings and good sized logs of cherry, ash, larch, spruce, and other "ornamental" trees; beech and oke (big old table legs and solid worktops) Just for starters. |
|
Title: Re: Wood turning Post by WOLF on May 20th, 2005, 2:51pm Now you know a good source of "blanks/rounds", just got to get a bit friendly with those that run the place!!, when a good piece comes in , my local "amenities centre"(posh name for council tip!!) is good enough now to let me know and they oik it out for me!!! and with an occasional "drink" their way , all is tikkity boo!! as they say!! keep up the turnery fella's!!! |
|
Ask The Trades » Powered by YaBB 2.3! YaBB © 2000-2008. All Rights Reserved. |