Our local wood turning group, the Dakota Woodturners, recently held a free pen turning workshop. The goal was to teach newer wood turners the process of making a slimline pen on a lathe. Soon after, over 100 pens were made to be donated to the Freedom Pen project.
The process of making a pen from this kit involves drilling out a 7mm hole to place a brass tube which will hold pen components. After gluing the tube in place the pen is held on the lathe using a pen mandrel. The pen is brought to shape, sanded, and finished all on the lathe. Lastly a pen press is used to press fit all pieces together.
Making a pen is a very fun project for a beginner woodturner.
I decided to make some better handles for these cheap files. I bought the set for around $7 and expected their lifespan to be limited to the immediate project. However, they proved to be useful and stuck around.
I wanted to keep my mind off of something so a simple project like this was ideal. I started out by removing the plastic handles. They came off easily with a twist of my locking pliers. There are a number of ways to mount and drill small spindle pieces on your lathe. I’ll show you two of them.
The first way is using a scroll chuck. If you don’t have small pen jaws, you can turn a very small tenon that is captured in the center where the woodworm screw usually attaches. You don’t get the benefit of the dovetailed chuck jaws, but it does hold. You have to be sure to keep your knuckles away from the jaws as there is not a lot of clearance. They stick out further than the piece you are working on and if you let them, they will bite you. ouch! The second way doesn’t require a chuck at all. I’ll show you that in just a minute.
To drill out the handle, I first made a small recess in the center to help guide the bit. Using locking pliers, I slowly worked the bit in. It is important to back out the bit to clear out the waste. For this depth wasn’t critical, but when it is a piece of masking tape on the bit lets you know when to stop.
Using the roughing gouge and then my skew chisel, I brought the piece down into roughly a teardrop shape. I like using a skew for spindle pieces when I can. Using a planing cut and rolling out beads will give you fantastic surfaces right off the tool. The sandpaper equivalent to a well-executed planing cut with a sharp skew chisel can easily be 400 grit. The payoff of learning this tool is tremendous, but it can be frightening to the uninitiated. Find a mentor, take a skew skills class, study the tool, practice, and most importantly don’t give up.
I had made three shallow v-cuts with the skew for decoration and used wire burner.
The second way to mount small spindle pieces like this is to turn part of the wood to match the taper on your lathe. The easiest way to match the taper is to make a small taper template jig using 3 pieces of scrap wood. Lay a drive center onto one piece of scrap and sandwich either side with smaller pieces of scrap. Glue these pieces on and you can now turn a piece of wood to match the spindle’s taper without having to constantly take it off and re-mount it or mess around with calipers.
Using a wooden mallet, tap the taper in and you are all set. Be mindful of any cuts that push directly out from the headstock, but if the fit is nice and snug you will have few problems. I like this method because you don’t have to worry about clearance from chuck jaws and it is very quick to set up once you have your taper template made. The only real downside is the wood inside the taper isn’t usable for this project, so it might not be ideal for exotic and expensive woods. But it is a rather elegant solution.
I used some fine grit sandpaper just to make sure things were cleaned up where I had parted the handles off of the lathe. After wiping off the dust I simply used a coat of mineral oil. These are working tools, so an elaborate finish is not necessary. The oil gives this alder wood a nice feel and emphasizes the grain patterns.
After letting the oil soak in I put the files into the handles. They have a decent pressure fit, but if they wiggle to much during use I’ll think about using CA glue or epoxy to secure them.
Once you start making tool handles on a lathe, it is easy to start looking for other things that “need” their handles replaced. Files, chisels, awls, screwdrivers, lathe tools, power tool levers and knobs, are all begging for the upgrade. Serving spoons, whisks, and other kitchen implements are also great candidates.
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The difference is monumental between turning with sharp tools and ones with blunt edges. The thing about dull tools is you might not even know that you have them. As a sharp tool begins to dull through use, it is very gradual – They creep up on you.If you’re just starting out it’s not obvious what the tool should feel like or sound like when it’s sharp.If you are not cognizant of the state of your edge you will start applying more pressure and be more likely to slip, get a catch, break your piece, or otherwise get into trouble.Not to mention additional tear out and the sanding that requires.
If you don’t yet know how to sharpen your tools, take some time to learn.If you don’t have them, buy or build a sharpening jig and pair it with a 8” slow speed grinder.This setup will get you going with a consistent and repeatable grind on your gouges.You’ll need a platform for sharpening scrapers and skew chisels.
Once you get your settings dialed in, sharpening is just a quick touch up.
Repetition
One of my mentors is a huge proponent of repetition to really build up a skill like woodturning. I find this to be especially true with quick work such as spindles work or duplicate pieces such as tops, snowmen, magic wands, furniture parts, and chess pieces.
You learn a to control your cuts and depths when you are trying to repeat yourself. Generally after the fifth or sixth time you have completed an item you develop some skill at making it. You begin to develop a muscle memory in regards to each step of the piece. Since so much of woodturning is rolling beads or scooping out coves, you will find this translates to your other work.
Seek Guidance
One of the great things about woodturning is the tremendous amount of support available.There are woodturning groups, gatherings, symposiums, classes, mentors, and a ton of enthusiasts available.There is an amazing knowledge base just waiting to be tapped into.Demos and hands on training can show you the adjustments to your work that can lead to monumental improvements.
Hands on guidance gives you an opportunity to see the subtleties in placement and sound that are not obvious in an article or an online video.
Make Mistakes
Specifically – make mistakes and keep going. You have so many ‘funnel bowls’, broken pens, loose fitting boxes, ugly goblets, torn out hollowforms, and a myriad of disastrous projects to get through. I don’t know what that number is for you, but there are plenty of ways a project can go wrong. From there you have the opportunity to make the next one avoid that mistake. Each failed woodturning project is a free lesson.
Turn safely
This section is basically a no brainer but is worth repeating. Be sure things are securely fastened. The lathe should be at the slowest speed when turning on. Stand out of the ‘line of fire’ which is directly in front of a piece when turning the machine on.
Learn about your tools and their limitations. Don’t use a skew chisel or a roughing gouge on side grain.
Always wear eye protection – safety goggles or a faceshield. When sanding use lung protection and dust collection. Consider hearing protection as well.
In order to make hollowforms such as vases, vessels, ornaments, and urns, I needed to make a tool that would extend through the narrow opening and into the interior of my piece.
This woodturning tool will allow the creation of wooden hollow forms such as ornaments, vases, vessels, urns, and other interesting designs. The technique for making a hollowing tool is adapted from master woodturner David Ellsworth’s book, “Ellsworth on Woodturning: How a Master Creates Bowls, Pots, and Vessels”
Materials needed for this project:
– Steel Rod for tool shank
– M2 High Speed Steel for cutting edge
– Hardwood for Handle
– (Optional) Pipe or cord for feral
– Epoxy
– CA Glue
I have been using this lathe for a little over 8 months now and have been enjoying it greatly. It is no longer in production from JET, but you do see them pop up from time to time used. If you get a good deal (anything $450 or below) then do not hesitate to pick on up. There are some shortcomings, but it is a great lathe to work with for beginning to mid level wood turners.
Pros
– Very well built machine (excluding underweight stand)
– Cost of machine is very reasonable for it’s capacity (around $300 to $450 used)
– Long bed allowing for large spindles.
– Head rotates 90 degrees to turn larger size bowls off the side.
– Standard Headstock threading size 1″ x 8tpi
– Common #2 Morris Taper size – 2MT
– Mechanical Variable Speed is much easier than swapping out belts on pulleys.
Cons
– Reeves Drive (Mechanical Variable Speed) is louder than pulleys or electronic variable speed
– Reeves Drive has set speeds. The tool’s slowest speed is around 500-600 RPM which is to fast for some sanding or larger pieces
– Lathe lacks a handwheel
– Stand is made of sheet metal and to light for the machine’s capacity without weights or further modification.
– Larger pieces mounted with a faceplate will hit the motor before the bed. Effectively creating a lower swing on the lathe for the first two inches.
Possible Upgrades and Modifications
There are a number of simple modifications that can be done to a JET 1236 lathe to make it an even better machine. Including drilling out a slower speed stop point for the mechanical speed drive, reinforcing and adding weight to the stand, building storage space under the lathe beds, adding dust collection, adjusting the height, and more.
Here are the official specs for this lathe.
Specifications:
Model Number – JWL-1236
Stock Number – 708352
Motor – TEFC, 3/4HP, 1PH, 115V Only, 60Hz, 8A, 1720
RPM Switch – manual pushbutton
Construction:
Headstock – cast iron
Tailstock – cast iron
Bed – cast iron
Tool Rest – cast iron
Stand – steel
Dimensions:
Swing Over Bed (in.) – 12
Swing Over Tool Rest Base (in.) – 8-3/4
Distance Between Centers, maximum (in.) – 35
Outboard Turning (in.) – . up to 16-1/2
Overall Dimensions (LxWxH)(in.) – 60 x 17 x 44
Stand Footprint (LxW)(in.) – 43-1/2 x 18-1/2
Distance Floor to Bed (in.) – 34-1/2
Headstock:
Spindle Nose (in.) – 1 x 8TPI
Hole through Spindle (in.) – 3/8
Spindle Center to Floor (in.) – 40-1/2
Spindle Taper – . #2 Morse
Headstock Pivot (deg.) – 360
Positive Stops (deg.) – .45 and 90
Spindle Speeds (RPM) – 550, 900, 1250, 1650, 2600, 3000
Drive Pulley System – Reeves
Locking System – cam (tool-less)
Snowman, Icicle, Ball, Bell, Santa Hat, Top Hat, nutcracker, and stylized elves, and peppermint rings are all great examples of ornaments that can be made on a lathe.
In this video I am making an icicle snowman. This is a fun spindle project which gives you great practice rolling beads and using the skew chisel. It is quick to make and can be batched out fairly easily. They can be decorated with paint with a couple dots for buttons and the face. Or the entire thing can be painted with small children.
The Icicle Snowman was popularized by production turner Nick Cook. He did one at a demonstration in April and it looked like a lot of fun. I added a middle section to the snowmen for more of a traditional look.
