Woodturning Tips & Tricks. Darryl Stephison

Woodturning Tips & Tricks Darryl Stephison Bottle Stoppers • Drill bottle stopper blanks on the lathe rather than the drill press • True up the face...
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Woodturning Tips & Tricks Darryl Stephison

Bottle Stoppers • Drill bottle stopper blanks on the lathe rather than the drill press • True up the face of the blank so it is perfectly flat and perpendicular to the hole

Bottle Stoppers • Drill the pilot hole (5/16 in.) then put thin CA glue in the hole, shake out the excess, and allow to harden before tapping (3/8x16)

Bottle Stoppers • Apply wax to a bottle stopper screw chuck (mandrel) to make the piece easier to remove when done

Bowl Blanks

• Make round templates for rough cutting bowl blanks

Bowl Turning • Make a pilot hole in the center of a bowl to gage the depth inside • Use a small piece of vinyl tubing on the drill to mark the depth desired

Chuck Jaw Gages • Make inside and outside gages for chuck jaws • Counter top laminate material works well

Clean Air • A box fan with a 20 inch pleated filter taped on will help to reduce airborne dust in your shop

Color Coding • Color code hex recess screws and Allen wrenches to quickly match sizes

Color Coding • Color code tool handles for quick spotting

Cutting Technique • Whenever possible use a shearing cut in preference to a scraping cut

Cutting Technique (continued)

Scraping cuts leave a rougher surface and thus require more sanding

Lathe Speeds • Higher speeds make turning easier and better quality • Be careful however – if the speed is too high, it can be dangerous • Never exceed 7000 / Diameter (inches) • Use 3000 / Diameter for out-of-round or out-of-balance pieces

Magnets • Use a magnet to find a screw or small tool in a pile of shavings

Magnets

• Use a magnet to keep small tools (like a steel ruler) handy

Magnets • Use two or three magnets in the corner of the Wolverine vee arm to make a secondary bevel on gouges

Magnets • Small magnetized bowls from Harbor Freight are great for keeping screws when changing chuck jaws, face plates, etc.

Mineral Spirits • Use mineral spirits (painter’s thinner) to reveal sanding scratches before finishing

Sandpaper • Use clean new sandpaper for each new sanding job • Woodturner’s joke “Use sandpaper like a three year old uses toilet paper”

Sandpaper Grits • • • • • • •

Don’t skip sandpaper grit Start with 60 Multiply by 1.5 for each next grit Follow with 100, then 150, then 220 Apply sanding sealer Repeat 220 then 320, 500, 800, 1200, 2000 When you can’t see or feel the difference between grits, then quit

ScotchBrite Pads • Use WD-40 and a ScotchBrite pad to clean tools, bed ways, tool rests, etc. and prevent rust

Sharpening • Sharpen your tools before you put them away – then it is easier to tell which ones need sharpening

Sharpening • Mark the bevel on your tool with a black marker before touching the wheel to see where metal is being taken off while sharpening

Sharpening • Hone the inside of the flute as well as the outside to make a really sharp gouge • There is no such thing as “too sharp”!

Small Turnings • A Jacobs chuck can be mounted on the drive spindle to hold very small pieces for turning

Superglue

• Avoid stuck fingers by applying paste wax to fingers before using CA glue (Superglue)

Superglue • Use thin coffee stir straws to apply small amounts of CA glue

Tape • Use duct tape to cover shirt pockets to prevent collecting wood chips • Woodturner’s joke – You know if you’re a woodturner if there’s more wood chips than lint in the dryer filter

Tape • Use nylon reinforced strapping tape to prevent bowl from flying out of jumbo jaws

Vinyl Tubing • Use vinyl tubing to protect tools (and fingers)

Waste Blocks • Use a hole saw to make waste blocks quickly and easily

Waste Blocks • Drill a 1/4” hole in the center of waste block • Apply glue to waste block and bottom of bowl • Insert a dowel with a pointed end • Put the point into the center punch hole in your bowl • Slide the waste block down the dowel for perfectly centered waste block

Wood Chips • A plastic bag filled with wood chips makes a great pad for holding your piece while doing hand work

Wood Flaws • Use cork to fill a knot hole in a bowl • Mix sawdust or ground coffee beans with epoxy to fill voids • Try using Epoxy with a colored dye to show the voids rather than hide them

Wood Flaws • Use Inlace nuggets to turn flaws into features

Work Light • A $10 work light from IKEA attached to a magnet can be moved around to illuminate various parts of your bowl while turning

Wood Glue • If you want your wood glue to dry harder, add 5% household corn starch • Caution – Don’t do this for segmented turning – the segments need some flexibility in the glue to avoid cracking as the wood moves • Avoid glue slippage by adding a pinch of fine sand or salt

Miscellaneous • Lubricate screws with wax to make them easier to get in and out • Rubbing wax or an oily rag on the rails will make the banjo slide easier (this also prevents rust when turning wet wood)