mdw3332 Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Well, I bought a 3/4 HP 36" base lathe with 10 or 12 chisels. Seems to work fine - just needs some TLC. So what should I do with it? Marty Oh, I blew my tool budget for the year - it was $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 make legs for a desk? maybe a baseball bat? no but seriously, I cant see a use for guitar building.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibreakemineedtobuildem Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 I'm getting a little 12 inch lathe to turn some pens and pepper mills very soon. Give those a try to get the hang of turning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Turning can be a lot of fun. I like to turn some really fancy laminates. Another pic. I ran out of time with this one so the inside is not turned hollow, just drilled. Also i've been making a bigger one: Click Click Not anywhere near finished. Also I've turned a few mallets, plates, cups, candle legs, some 'jewelry', etc. etc. You could try turning some knobs out of ebony or wenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeranya Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 (edited) +1 wooden knobs! Edited October 24, 2006 by leeranya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Turning can be a lot of fun. I like to turn some really fancy laminates. http://img469.imageshack.us/img469/8820/co...ture22191ms.jpg Another pic. I ran out of time with this one so the inside is not turned hollow, just drilled. Also i've been making a bigger one: Click Click Not anywhere near finished. Wow, those are great. How much time goes into one of those things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 again knobs, and a great way to make scrap wood useful. There is another PG'er that make alot of art and jewelry with wood. I have a friend that gets wood that I can't use, he has made pens, gunhandles and toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Knobs, bridge pins, tool handles. And other non-guitar related stuff (said he who is currently very much looking for a lathe...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Wow, those are great. How much time goes into one of those things? On the little one: finding the pieces (all scrap), sawing and sanding the glueing surfaces, glued up = about 1 hour. Left overnight to dry. Turning = about 1 hour and a half. Oiling = three coats = ½ an hour and left over night. It is about 22cm tall with the cap. The big one: I have the outer surface smoothed out. It barely fitted in the lathe. After that, I was just about to start the hollowing process when I noticed that it still weighed a ton! Too much for the lathe to hold it straight without wobbling. And now I'm in a bit of a corner. Lesson learned. Always if you're turning something bigger than normal, make sure your lathe can handle it. Time spent on the bigger one was/is about the same as the little one. Turning process took a wee while longer. It will be about 50cm with the cap when (if) it gets finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 i've been turning for about ten years now and i will tell you that it can become addictive. i'm sure jester will agree that once that wood starts spinning and you get into the zone the time goes by without you ever knowing it. that being said take some time and do some studying about how to safely turn, how to sharpen your tools, how to SAFELY turn, how to maintain your lathe and how to safely turn. be just a little bit afraid of it at first. wood spinning at the rpms that a lathe can create can hurt you. this is an extreme example but i had a friend who actually lost his life turning. he was turning huge rough form bowls on a custom made lathe..bowls made from 2-300 lb. stumps with gouges that were 4-5' long. a 75lb. chunk of one of them flew off and through his safety cage and nearly decapitated him. but even a lathe the size of your can hurt you. ok, enough of that. go to www.woodturnerscatalog.com you'll find some great books ranging from beginning turning to very advanced stuff. go to the "projects" section and you'll find a wide variety of supplies for simple, easy to turn projects. check out the confetti lights, the oil lamp inserts and the potpourri lids. these are fairly simple projects and with christmas coming up you can make something for everyone on your list. they'll be thrilled the first couple of years but after that they begin to think you're just being cheap. anyway, i hope you really enjoy the learning process. it's a great past time and when you get your skills in line a great way to make a little extra money. good luck j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdw3332 Posted October 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Thanks for the replies. Jester, your work is beautiful, I had a friend who turned bowls and stuff and it looks like fun. A question - is a 3/4 HP lathe big enough to do small to medium 4 - 8" across) sized bowls? I also need a face plate for it - any suggestions? I've seen some on E-Bay but don't know what to look for. It appears to me that the key is to buy and maintain good cutting tools - is that a fair assumption? Sorry for getting so far away from guitar building stuff, but I appreciate any advice. Thanks, Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 (edited) Sorry for getting so far away from guitar building stuff Don't be! It's nice to talk about something else for a change. And yes, it is fun and kinda relaxing. Digging in with the chisel listening to music while all the shavings are either flying into your pockets or your mouth. Trust me, zebrawood tastes even worse than it smells. Sorry, can't help with the face plates and whatnot. I only know the part names in finnish. (btw. there should be a place where members could show other woodworking projects.) Edited October 25, 2006 by Jester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 I love my lathe, and jester you are correct, it is great to lathe while listening to music and being force-fed shavings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 I think its Larry Davis who ships out pens turned from the offcuts of the top wood. How cool is that, to have a high-end pen that matches your axe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 +1 wooden knobs! Knobs, Knobs.. Knobs! I just turned some using a dremel and a belt sander. So with about $1 worth of wood, I can save about $100 if I were to buy metal knobs. Crappy picture, though~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazzyone Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 i always though a lathe was good at high speed rotiserie coocking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Dremel + Belt sander + rolled up sand paper in hand = beautiful knobs. Sanded to 120 (belt sander) 220 (sand paper in hand + dremel) 1200 (sand paper in hand + dremel). Here are some better pictures. No grit scratches, no oiling, just beautiful knobs. 6 regular size, 1 medium, 2 small. I don't have a compressor with me, or any naptha. So some of the grain pores may be filled with wenge / maple dust. Also, the knobs are Wenge / Rosewood veneer / Quilt maple. Rosewood veneer was a poor choice, when it's sanded up to a high grit, it blends right in with the Wenge. Oh well, they came out great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRossitter Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 I have made some nice knobs with my lathe too. However I have a hairbrain idea about how to do compound radiused fingerboards with it. Take a huge chunk of wood and get the taper you want on it. Then slice off a 1/4 inch down the profile. Stick a fingerboard onto it with double sided tape. Turn on the lathe and get the sand paper out Then, take your fret saw out and cut the slots too. Just an idea right now...I dont know how well it would really work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 26, 2006 Report Share Posted October 26, 2006 Interesting idea! I'd attempt it, but I believe a lathe is one of the only power tools I don't have that I would like. I have been showing the knobs around to some people, I get the "It kind of looks like candy" out of most. Hah, they kind of do look like some kind of candy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobz Posted October 27, 2006 Report Share Posted October 27, 2006 Here`s a another good use for a lathe. A mini thickness sander. It can thickness wood binding, guitar sides etc., make machine head veneers. My little Carbatec lathe here has variable speed control which is useful for this kind of application. Here I`m turning a mandolin endpin. My very first F5 mandolin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclej Posted October 27, 2006 Report Share Posted October 27, 2006 Here`s a another good use for a lathe. A mini thickness sander. It can thickness wood binding, guitar sides etc., make machine head veneers. My little Carbatec lathe here has variable speed control which is useful for this kind of application. Here I`m turning a mandolin endpin. My very first F5 mandolin. is that "my very first" as in you built it? if so you're my hero at least for today. question for those of you turning your own knobs...where are you getting your inserts to make them fit over the pot shafts? turning them wouldn't be a problem but making them with a set screw for solid shafts seems like a bit of a problem so i'm assuming that you're using split shafts and friction inserts, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 27, 2006 Report Share Posted October 27, 2006 Set screws on own-made knobs are easy enough; make it out of a hard wood, pre-drill, soak the hole with superglue, tap the hole, put in a setscrew, done. Works fine. it's not like it's under a whole load of torque. The wood can handle it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay66 Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Iv'e been thinking about buying a mini lathe for my shop but I'm not really sure what to look for in a lathe. I want a good one. So far I have looked at Jet and Delta. Does anyone have suggestions for brands and features to look for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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