Turning wood inserts.

[Drake]

cheech or somebody who turns their own reel seat inserts (or wood workers in general), I have some questions.

So my brother and I are at my uncles wood shop last night. My uncle has a lathe he bought not too long ago, but doesn’t use it much. My brother and I started turning wood inserts for our skeletons. My brother installs hard wood floors so we have all sorts of wood to choose from. Brazilian Cherry, black walnut, Santose Mahogany, etc…

We got them down to the right diameter (we didn’t take them out of the lathe at all), but they were oval. It was hard for the eye to see, but after measuring them with one of those clamp measurers they were off.

We then lathed the part of the wood that goes into the threaded part of the skeleton (which needs to be about 1/16” smaller than the rest). Wood was only being cut off on 2 sides of the spindle (so it was making a smaller oval).

Any thoughts?

My uncle said that maybe the wood wasn’t centered, but I thought you could basically get a log, put it in a lathe and spin it to a perfect spindle, centered or not.

We were also lathing about 20” of wood at a time (we need enough wood for 3-4 inserts) and I was thinking that maybe the force of the lathe was bowing the wood just a hair.

Maybe the lathe is off a bit.

Maybe the operator is off a bit.

Is there a certain speed that is better.

[Drake]

There has gotta be a couple of you that turn your own wood inserts.

[Flyfishn]

I asked a friend...without knowing the specifics...his thoughts were that you could be clamping the wood in too hard. Causing it to bow with pressure of being squeezed. The second thing he thought of was when using the lathe and pushing into it too much would cause grief like that.

Hope this helps, if not send me some more specifics and I will pass it onto him. (Diamerter, etc.)

[Drake]

Thanks. We are just starting out with 3/4"x3/4" wood about 20" long. I am not sure how much pressure we are putting on the wood. Enough so it doesn't fly out and smack us.

I am going to try about a 6" peice tonight, and see how that goes.

[Flyfishn]

Just FYI, he said that the length should not matter unless you are putting a lot of pressure to bow that length of wood. (Which would vary depending on the diamerter of the wood. Smaller diameter requires less pressure to bow, etc.)

[cheech]

Drake-
The reason they are oval is that it probably isn't centered perfectly. I have had this happen many o' time. I rarely turn anything longer than 4" at a time. I try to turn the wood on the highest speed possible. Its less likely to chip off large pieces of wood. I usually turn the wood on a 5/8" piece of rod that is stabilized on both sides.

Flyfishn-
A 20" piece may also wobble a bit just from the torque of the motor. It's a good idea to tightly stabilize it on both ends.

[Drake]

Thanks guys.

[John Bell]

The piece you are turning, are you supporting it at both ends while cutting it?

[imladris]

you don't happen to have more of that good hardwood lying around do you?

[Drake]

I don't have much, it is my brother that installs hard wood floors. If you need a little bit to turn some inserts let me know, I could probably round you up some maple or oak.

It will come with the tongue and groove (and the indentions on the bottom). You'll have to cut all that stuff down to a square on a table saw and then to the desired lengths.

[Teewinot]

Drake -- I turn a little bit of wood with my lathe and I always make sure and center it as close as I can. I believe that is where your problem is beginning. I actually haven't had the problem of my wood coming out oval, but I would imagine that not centering may be the problem. I actually draw a cross on both sides to find the dead center point and then on the one side I'll cut into the cross slightly with a bandsaw to ensure it lines up well with the spur.

Also make sure your tools are good and sharp and turn it at a higher speed once you get it cut down to a rough circle. Also move your tool in slowly when you cut and hold it steady as you cut so you aren't just following the contours of the wood as it goes around.