Tips & Tricks

[Robbo3]

Bag Opener.
I hesitate to post this because these bag openers were once quite common especially for gardening, but I can't seem to find any now. However if you can find one they make cleaning up the shavings so much quicker & easier.

 

[Robbo3]

Most liquids used for cleaning can be used more than once.

Don't throw used cleaning liquids away after their first use. Instead save each in its own container, the sediment will drop to the bottom leaving cleaned liquid behind.
Used paraffin for cleaning greasy items notably car parts & the protective grease on new items
Used white Spirit, Meths & Cellulose Thinners for cleaning brushes but not for thinning.

 

[Jonzjob]

Keep your superglue in the fridge, it lasts much longer.

But don't let your PVA glue drop down to or near freezing point and keep it in the house in the winter if your workshop isn't heated.

The same with epoxy resin or if it does get too cold it will go almost solid. If it does then put the containers in a small saucepan of hot water on the stove for 15 minutes and just let it simmer and it will return to liquid. Some people use the microwave, but as I don't like the things I stick to the water. It doesn't go above boiling does it :mrgreen:

 

[Robbo3]

A cheap, bright light.

12w LED panel complete with transformer. Available in various sizes. This one is approx 150mm square & cost about £7 from Ebay.

I mounted mine on an articulated arm which hangs from a french cleat at the rear of the lathe. Also added an in line switch for convenience.

 

[Robbo3]

Skewchigouges (Alan Beecham)

I've bought HSS blanks from Ashley Iles in the past to make items like a three point tool. That's a misnomer as really it's one point created by grinding three flats.
Phil.p posted a link to some cheap (£2.50 each now £4.65) 10mmx100mm HSS blanks, from an Amazon Hong kong seller, so I bought four (post1219767.html#p1219767).
I had always wanted to try a skewchigouge so this provided a cheap way of doing it.
Made 2 & lost both to other woodturners - beginners love them. Never mind, I have a cunning plan. I'll use a collet chuck handle (see next tip)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SODIAL-200mm-R ... +200mm+hss

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had ten 6mm x 100mm bars for small skews as well - even including a decent ferrule - http://www.gandmtools.co.uk/?s=ferrules - with an offcut for a handle the tool cost less than £1.50.
They wouldn't cost much more now although the price of the steel seems to have nearly doubled.

 

[Jonzjob]

I have heard of skewchigouges and wondered what they were? That looks like a goodie. I may well finish up with a couple of those?

A few years back I got a couple of HSS 3/8" bars. One is now a skew gouge and the other a 3 point. The ferrules I used were French copper pipe. It's VERY hard and ideal for the job.

https://flic.kr/p/24aWqbf

A 3/8" round skew gouge is a real pleasure to use and perfect for detailed work.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, I have two 10mm round skews, one angled and the other straight. Much easier to use than flat ones.

 

[Robbo3]

ER20 Collet handles.

There are several handles on the market, produced & sold by professional turners, which allow a quick change of tool.
These were less than £8 each. Collets are approx £6-£8 if bought individually.
I think the material around the handle is shrink tube. It's only to take away the coldness of the metal.
You could of course add a much longer handle.
The bottom tool is just an angled flat ground on a 6mm HSS round bar with the nose ground like a spindle gouge.

 

[Robbo3]

Collet Chucks

APTC Junior ER20 collet chuck
SCT ER32 collet chuck (Chronos)
Both chucks are M33 thread to fit my lathe.
Both collets shown can hold approx the same size. The ER20 is 13-12mm & the ER32 is 1/2".

 

[Robbo3]

Anti-static wipes.

Stop dust being attracted to your face shield, goggles or glasses by giving them a wipe with a tumble dryer sheet. Leaves them smelling nice as well.

Also makes cleaning up after turning plastic or resin very easy, almost a pleasure.

If you keep it in a sealed plastic bag after use it can be re-used a number of times.
The same applies to tac rags.

 

[Robbo3]

Pin Holder

Often I need to remove some ingrained dirt or paint from for example a screw head or clean out an aerosol nozzle or unbung the superglue bottle tube but my fingers wont grip a pin for too long. So cut off the head & hold the pin in either an Archimedes drill or a pin vice.

 

[Robbo3]

Wood splitting wedges

The 2 on the left are probably over 70 years old.
The conical one is best used at the end of a log rather than in side grain.
A bolster & cold chisels can also be helpful.

I also use a chopper & lump hammer for splitting firewood logs.

A combination of wedges, chopper & lump hammer were used to split this ash log. Took about 10 minutes.

 

[Robbo3]

Logsaw
You don't need a fancy device to saw up the occasional log, a chair will do. Probably best not to use with a chainsaw.

 

[Jonzjob]

Wood splitting wedges



The 2 on the left are probably over 70 years old.
The conical one is best used at the end of a log rather than in side grain.
A bolster & cold chisels can also be helpful.



I also use a chopper & lump hammer for splitting firewood logs.

A combination of wedges, chopper & lump hammer were used to split this ash log. Took about 10 minutes.

I use a 6 ton vertical electro/hydraulic log splitter. It certainly takes the back out of it :mrgreen: It will take up to 1 metre logs. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Robbo3]

Horses for courses John. I suspect you use yours mainly for splitting firewood whereas I only need to split large logs occasionally as in the case of the ash trunk shown.

 

[Jonzjob]

You got it in one R. But I have what the French call a 'coin' which is similar to one of your wedges that turns as you belt it in. Very efficient too. This is one of them

https://www.amazon.fr/Fiskars-%C3%A9cla ... in+de+bois

Once I get me head straight after our move back to the U.K. I will see what I can really contribute in ideas, but please excuse my sense of humour on this one :mrgreen:

 

[Robbo3]

Wobble Chuck or Infinite Axis Chuck

Alan Stratton video - http://www.aswoodturns.com/2016/10/infinite-axis-chuck/
Made from a 2" pvc coupler, cut in half to make 2 chucks.

Various bottom & top rings to move the workpiece in or out.

The idea is that small woork pieces eg pendants, can be hot melt glued onto the moveable end to scribe an arc or multiple arcs.

This is a toy elephant's head where the trunk need sanding. Already having the chuck, it was quick & easy to knock up a suitable spacing ring.

 

[Robbo3]

A visual aid that can be orientated to show grain direction for example the undercut rim of a bowl or inside shoulder of a hollow form so that you cut in the right direction ie downhill.