Tool rest size

[caretaker]

Hi all,
I am practising on the lathe to turn down a spindle to the size of a pencil but find the rest will not get close to the wood as it is to long to fit between the headstock and tail stop.
I have 2 rest, one 6 inches and a 12 inch one.
I am tempted to cut down one to 4 inches long.
What do you advise please?
My other question is, I have to come home from work and pass by a very small wood and today I picked up a part of a branch that was old and dry.
I cut it down to about 8 inches in length by 1 inch and placed it in the lathe.
After turning it down I found the wood was cream/white but with a long bit that was black in the middle.
Can anyone have a guess what the wood is, and was the black bit bad?
The wood seems sound to me, but I don't know one tree from another.
I may practice with more branches from the woods as time go's on, is this a bad thing?

 

[suprasport]

are you not using a mandrel for the pencil ?

 

[Bodrighy]

90% of the wood that I use is from the woods. reclaimed, donated etc. I haven't actually bought any wood yet though I had to resist temptation on a recent visit to Yandles.
Almost any wood will turn, and you can soon tell if it is too rotten as bits fly off all over the place or it disintegrates as soon as you apply a tool. Wood that is rotten on the outside is often really beautiful on the inside and worth persevering with though you may end up with a small pot from a large branch but the spalting can be worth it. Try anything you can get your hands on. Only thing is to make sure that wood you pick up from the woods is dried out before you use it..

Pete

 

[caretaker]

I had a bit of a problem with the mandrill, I got the wrong size but will go back to Yardles Saturday week and exchange it.
Any help with the tool rest, I cannot make my mind up whether to cut one down or can you bye one, at the moment I have never used the 12 inch one so was tempted to cut that one down.
I will keep walking past the woods but with a gleam in my eye and a sharp lookout for specimens.

 

[TEP]

Hi Reg,

Cutting tool rests is OK if your desperate, but if you know, or can find someone who can weld they are very simple to make.

Steel rod to fit your banjo, and some 6mm flat bar welded at about 45deg on top cut to what ever length you require.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Reg,
another alternative, if you know anyone who can weld, would be to get them to make up a couple of tool rests... mine range from 2" to 12" if you ever intend making lace bobbins you'll need one around 4.5" (the bobbins are generally around 4" in length.

Edit... great mind think alike Tam :wink: but not usually at the same time :lol:

 

[caretaker]

I do not know any welders of hand, so if I cut one rest down what would be the one to cut, the 6 or the 12 inch?
Or just wait to Saturday for my mandrill.
Will I ever need the 12 inch rest?

 

[TEP]

or fools! Graham. :lol:

Reg, how long is a piece of string? :wink:

It all depends on what you turn, I have 5 tool rests which I use regularly. Smallest is 3", biggest just over 2 feet. Only you can decide.

If you do cut one they are not too expensive, so if you need one later you'll have to go shopping. (I weld my own)

 

[CHJ]

Reg, I have seen someone using home made rests 50-75mm long, with the stem and top turned in one piece on the lathe and then the larger diameter top shaped with saw etc, to form the rest plate. unfortunately can't put my finger on a picture at the mo'


Beech or similar should be sound enough.

 

[Mark Hancock]

Hi Reg

I'd agree with Tam's suggestion though I tend to use 10mm flat. Just check out your Thomson Local or Yellow Pages for frabricators. I've always found them most helpful. They probably have the steel sections lying around as offcuts.

 

[Anonymous]

or fools! Graham. :lol:

I'm with Forest gump on that one :wink:

 

[NickWelford]

Try anything you can get your hands on. Only thing is to make sure that wood you pick up from the woods is dried out before you use it..

Pete

Pete - surely you don't mean dry as in seasoned? Wet, or Green wood can be very satisfying to turn, and easier to turn also. You can either rough turn and then dry and complete later, or turn complete and see what happens with movement! Turn thin enough and it shouldn't split.

 

[TEP]

Your right Mark, it is 10 - 12mm I use. Just off -cuts I pick up/scrounge, delete as appropriate. :wink:

 

[Paul.J]

Reg.
If your going to cut one down i would cut the smaller one down to suit as this i should think would be cheaper to replace.
You might be glad of the bigger one,one day.
Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Try anything you can get your hands on. Only thing is to make sure that wood you pick up from the woods is dried out before you use it..

Pete

Pete - surely you don't mean dry as in seasoned? Wet, or Green wood can be very satisfying to turn, and easier to turn also. You can either rough turn and then dry and complete later, or turn complete and see what happens with movement! Turn thin enough and it shouldn't split.

Sorry, that wasn't very clear was it. What I was trying to say is that a lot of wood that I pick up from the floor in the woods is sodden. If you try and turn it straight away you get, at best soaked, at worst bombard by bits of rotten wood. I tend to leave it for a few days then give it a good thump on the floor (real technical me... ) to loosen the worst of the rotten stuff. I agree that turning green wood is a dream. (I am afraid that I also like the way it distorts if you turn bowls completely and then dry them out carefully).

Turning rotten wood often reveal weird patterns and worm holes that, IMHO can be beautiful. Plus it's a lot cheaper than £5 a time for a decent bowl blank.

I saw a site the other day where someone had turned .Wisteria

Pete

 

[caretaker]

Just to say thanks for all the help and tips.
I think I have got a solution to the toolrest.
Take the 6 inch rest and cut 1inch off each end, making a 4inch rest, then.
Get a flat peace of metal, I have some brass plait 6 inches long and drill to 1/4 holes with counter sunk just over 1 inch in to take short bolts.
Drill two holes in rest in line with brass plait, tap a thread for 1/4 bolts in holes of rest.
This way you can extend the now 4inch rest back to a 6inch rest.
Making the top smooth with a file.
walla no welding.

I walked through the woods this morning but was watching the squirrels, and forgot the wood.

 

[NickWelford]

Reg, you might well find the brass is too soft for a good rest - it will have marks along it very quickly which will prevent a smooth action with your tools. You could be forever filing it smooth. Instead of the brass, get some good steel and do the same.

 

[Bodrighy]

I walked through the woods this morning but was watching the squirrels, and forgot the wood.

Come on!! get your priorities right that man :roll:

Pete