The bun feet were not a complete sphere as they had a flat section.  While I was able to put this flat section on the bed of my miter saw, the rounded section of the sphere was up against the fence.  The potential for the piece to rotate as I cut it was high.  As well as ruining an expensive fixture it could have caused a dangerous kickback.  As expensive as the bun feet were, my fingers are worth more, so I needed to figure out a way to hold the bun feet so that the cut could be performed on my miter saw accurately and safely.

A couple of pieces of scrap wood screwed together made a jig which allowed just that.  The bun foot is secured to the jig by a 1 1/2″ screw through the jig and into the base of the foot as well as an additional screw through the base of the jig and into the flat section of the bun foot These areas would be against the tile floor and the toe kick  so the holes formed by the screw would be hidden after installation.  The screws, as with the screws used to assemble the jig, would also be out of the way of the cut so the blade wouldn’t be damaged.

As you can see in the image below the bun foot is now held securely and square to the base and fence of the miter saw.   There is no danger of the bun foot moving or rotating in any direction or axis.  The jig also allows me plenty of room to hold it with my fingers far from the spinning blade.

The cut complete.

The bun foot installed.

Typically a miter saw, table saw and band saw are used to cut objects that sit flat on the bed and have a square edge that will ride against the fence.  However, with the use of simple but effective jigs it is possible to cut round and irregular shaped objects.  When designing the jig keep these points in mind:

• The jig must be large enough to allow you to hold/guide it and keep your hands/fingers away from the blade.
• The jig must hold the workpiece securely so there is no possibility of rotation or movement while performing the cut.
• Any fasteners used to assemble the jig or hold the workpiece, screws, nails, clamps etc, need to be positioned so that the blade is not cutting into them.

Above all, if there is any doubt in your mind at all about the safety of the cut, then don’t make it.  There is no cut that is worth bleeding over!

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As with much power tool woodworking, the time is in the set up.   Once the set up is done, repeating the cut for any number of drawers is a quick process.

The first step is to mill your lumber.  The picture below shows the pieces for one drawer box.  The sides are 1/2″ thick maple, the front and back are 3/4″ maple.  The length of the drawer front and back pieces is the same as the finished dimension of the drawer.  The lengths of the drawer side pieces is half an inch less than the finished dimension of the drawer.  As always, I have also prepared a couple of 1/2″ and 3/4″ scrap pieces to use for test cuts during the set up.  It’s also a good idea to mark the outside face of each piece with chalk to avoid confusion.

With a 1/4″ dado blade in the table saw, cut a 1/4″ x 1/4″ groove down the side of each piece 1/4″ from the edge of the piece.  This is the groove that will accept the drawer bottom, which is 1/4″ thick sheet material.  Cutting the groove now gives you another visual aid as to which side is the inside of the drawer as well as which edge is the top and bottom.

Using one of the drawer sides as a gauge block, raise the 1/4″ dado blade to 1/2″ high.  This is a rough adjustment and the blade height will be fine tuned in the next step.

The next step can be made by using a tall auxiliary table saw fence or with a tenoning jig as shown in the picture below.  Using a scrap piece of wood and the blade at 1/2″ height, make a cut.

To confirm the blade is at the correct height, butt one of the drawer sides into the groove just cut.  The drawer side should fit flush with the edge of the scrap piece, as in the picture below.  If the drawer side is proud of the edge of the scrap piece, then the cut needs to be deeper and the blade should be raised.  If the edge of the scrap piece is proud of the drawer side, then the cut is to deep and the blade should be lowered.

Now that the height of the blade is set, the distance from the tenoning jig to the blade needs to be set to 1/4″.  I like to use a brass set up gauge for this.

With the outside face towards the tenoning jig, cut a 1/2″ x 1/4″ groove in the end of each side of the front and back pieces of the drawer.

Using either an auxillary fence on the table saw, or a piece of wood held with a fence clamp as shown, slide the table saw fence so that the piece of wood just touches the blade.

Lower the blade to 3/8″ of an inch.

With the outside face of the piece up, crosscut each end of the front and back pieces of the drawer.

The front and back pieces of the drawer are now complete.

Still using either a scrap piece of wood held by a fence clamp, set the height of the blade to 1/4″ and the distance of the blade from the scrap piece of wood to 1/4″.  Then make a crosscut in one of the 1/2″ thick pieces of wood you prepared.

The astute among you will notice that I made a large block of wood to use as my “mini auxillary fence”.  The one in the previous image did not reach all the way down to the table saw bed and made some set ups difficult.

The really astute among you will also notice that the position of the “mini auxiliary fence” in the shot below is far from ideal.    Somewhere in the midst of making the new auxiliary fence, performing the cross-cut and then staging everything for the photo I had the auxiliary fence in the wrong position.  My bad.  Once the distance between the fence and the blade is established, the auxiliary fence should be moved back behind the blade, where it can perform it’s function as a stop block but not run the risk of binding the piece as you perform the cross cut.

This image shows the correct position of the auxiliary fence/stop block relative to the blade while performing a cross cut.

Proceeding on, the image below shows the results of the test cut.  The piece is sitting proud of the edge of the drawer front by a smidgen.  To correct this the blade needs to be raised by a corresponding smidgen.

The correct fit after raising the blade is shown below.

Once the correct fit is established, the cross cut is made on each end of both drawer sides with the outside of each drawer side facing up.

All that needs to be done is to perform a dry assembly of the drawer, establish the size of the drawer bottom, cut it and then a dry assembly of the drawer with the bottom in place.

When gluing the drawer together, checking the diagonals match is an easy way to ensure that the box is square.   I find the square check for tape measures really convenient for this.

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You can visit our site at http://www.turningartsgroup.com

The site features a tab for each member and contains a gallery of some of their work, a… brief bio, a contact form as well as a shop of pieces currently available for sale.

The site also features a blog to keep friends up to date with what the group is doing, work in progress etc.  Members of the group will be posting regular updates and we feel these will be of interest to both wood turners and non-wood turners alike.

We also have a page on Facebook.  Just click on the “Like” button and updates from the Turning Arts Group will automatically appear on your wall.  An easy way to read the latest news or see images of our latest work.  Visit http://www.facebook.com/turningartsgroup to follow us on Facebook.

I’d love to hear what you think of the site!! Thanks!

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The first step was to glue a piece of the walnut to a scrap mounted in a chuck.  You need to consider grain orientation at this point.  I chose to show the end grain on this finial, so the piece of walnut was aligned to the lathe, similar to how the body of the pen was turned.  For some woods though it may be better to align the finial perpendicular to the lathe, so that the side grain shows.  As well as the visual look of the two different grain orientations, bear in mind that end grain may accept the finish differently to how side grain will.

While the glue is drying, it’s time to break out the handy dandy Harbor Freight Transfer Punch Set.  This is one of those tools that until you get one you don’t realize how much you will use it.  Drill a 13/32″ hole in a scrap piece of wood.  The idea is the hole is larger than the black metal finial on the Navigator cap, but smaller than the actual cap.  Turn the cap upside down over the hole, select the appropriate size transfer punch and with a gentle whack with a hammer knock the black metal finial out.

With a pair of calipers, measure the diameter of the black metal finial and then turn the piece of walnut to that diameter, rounding the end of the walnut.  Apply the finish.  I used a CA finish here.

Using the calipers again, measure the diameter of the post of the black metal finial, and then turn a post on the walnut finial to the same diameter.

Sand the finish and then remove the chuck, scrap wood mounting block and custom finial from the lathe.  Carefully buff the finial.  Don’t get aggressive with the buffing, remember that skinny little post the finial is attached by!

Now that the finial is nice and shiny and your “inner magpie” is satisfied, mount the chuck back on the lathe and carefully part the piece off leaving a small length of the post.  This post helps to center the new finial on the cap.

A dry fit to make sure the custom finial is the correct size and the post fits nicely in the hole.

I use medium or thick CA Glue to attach the custom finial to the cap.  I like to apply the glue from the inside of the cap.  I find that if I apply the glue under the custom finial and then press it onto the cap, the glue squirts out from under the finial.  Although the bond is formed within minutes, leave the cap sitting upside down in a ventilated area for at least 24 hours.  This will allow the glue to “out gas” and prevent any tarnish forming on the finish of cap.

When assembling the pen, use the scrap block of wood with the 13/32″ hole in it.  That way the pressure from assembly is applied to the metal cap and not to the finish of the custom finial.  Side note:  No, I didn’t forget to add the clip   My customer requested the pen not have a clip.

The completed pen and a close up shot of the finial.

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Every time I used the gauge block I’d think to myself, surely you can come up with something better than that!  Well, I finally did.

I mounted a 2″ x 2″ x 4″ piece of scrap wood between centers, trued it up and turned a tenon on one end.  (Actually it wasn’t a piece of scrap it was a nice piece of Mango.)  Then I mounted it in my chuck and using a 1″ Forstner bit drilled a hole 2 1/4″ deep.

Then I glued a Florida State Quarter in the hole with some thick CA glue.  The coin was glued in the hole so that over time, the bottom of the hole wouldn’t get messed up by the sharp point of the gouge.

The piece was mounted back in the chuck and parted off so that the hole, with the coin in the bottom, was exactly 2″ deep.  I also marked a line 2 1/2″ from the tailstock end of the piece.  This line indicated where the piece would be parted off.

I gave the piece a bit of shape and turned two beads at the base.  The two beads signified 2″.  It’s important to have a lot of deep, significant meaning attached to jigs that you make

Then I parted the piece off.  On the section that was left in the chuck I turned a 1″ tenon to use as a jam chuck.

I mounted my gauge block on the tenon and finish off the top of it, including a little bit of chatterwork, which for some unexplained reason I promptly colored with black sharpie ink.  Note to self, don’t do that again.  I also applied a coat of shellac.

Using the gauge block is so much easier than my previous method.  I can rest the base of the tool on the workbench, drop the gauge block over the tool and all I need to support is the Sharp Fast Jig.  It almost makes sharpening fun again!

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A friend gave me a couple of freshly cut cedar logs recently.  The logs were fairly small diameter, about 5″ and the pith was offset quite a bit to one side.  I cut the logs into 2′ lengths using my chainsaw, but did not want to split the logs using my chainsaw.  I knew I would get cleaner, more accurate cuts with my bandsaw and would waste far less of the wood.  I needed a safe way to cut the round logs on the bandsaw.

This is the simple jig I put together.  Two pieces of scrap plywood with a couple of supporting triangular brackets.

The log is then screwed to the jig at the front and back of the jig.  I made sure that the screws went into waste wood.

Set the bandsaw fence making sure that you will not be cutting through the screws!  Because the log is screwed to the jig, it will prevent the log rotating while it is being cut.

Once a flat surface is established, cutting the log into spindle stock is fairly straightforward.

The end results.   A bunch of 2″ to 2 1/2″ spindle stock with some beautiful color.  Ready for the end grain to be sealed and then stacked and stickered to dry.

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A while back I saw a friend of mine had a magnetic tray mounted on his lathe headstock.  I thought “that’s a pretty cool idea!” and then promptly forgot about it.  Well, last week I was wandering the aisles of Harbor Freight, as we all do, and saw they had magnetic trays for sale!  I brought two of them, a 6″ and a 4″.  I put the 6″ tray on my Jet 1642 headstock and the 4″ tray fit nicely on the headstock of my Jet mini.

How did I live without these   No more knocking small metal parts into the shavings.  When the trays get full of flying shavings, just pick them up and turn them over to empty the shavings while all the metal parts stay in place.   Thanks for the idea Jim!

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Some of my recent posts have been about the work that I did on this built in.  You can read them at these links:

• Shelf pin jig
• Installing shelf edgebanding
• Building a flat panel door
• Installing concealed hinges

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I recently turned a bowl and the bottom was a lot thinner than I liked and getting dangerously close to becoming a lampshade.  So I decided to make myself a better bowl depth gauge.  Something more accurate than my current method of holding my gouge at the center of the bowl, eyeballing along the rim of the bowl and then bringing the gouge up and out of the bowl to eyeball how deep I was with my hollowing.  I wanted something that would be accurate, but would still be quick and easy to use.

A visit to the plumbing section of Home Depot and I returned with a couple two foot sections of 3/4″ PVC, two tee sections, a 90 degree elbow and a cap.  The wooden morse taper I turned and the rifle laser was purchased off Ebay.

I cut one of the PVC pipes in half and then cut an 8″ section off the other.   (The length of the 8″ section was determined by the swing of my lathe, half of 16″.  I cut the other pieces to 12″ as with the current tools that I have I’m unlikely to be turning a hollow form any deeper than that.)

Depending on the laser sight you get some adaptions may be needed to one of the PVC tee pieces. In my case the diameter of my laser sight was slightly greater than the internal diameter of the tee piece.

I mounted the tee piece in the pin jaws of my chuck using a 60 degree live center to help mount it true.

Then, with the lathe speed slowed down, I drilled it out with a Forstner bit that matched the diameter of the laser.

A nice snug fit.

I turned a tenon on the wooden morse taper that matched the internal diameter of the PVC pipe and then I pieced all the parts together.

Here is the depth gauge mounted on the lathe.  The wooden morse taper is inserted in the tail stock.  It is not necessary to jam it into the tail stock.

Side note: With a self ejecting tail stock it is not considered a good idea to use a wooden morse taper.  Click here to read a discussion on this subject.

So, throwing caution to the winds, I mount my bowl depth gauge in the tail stock.   Once everything is adjusted and the laser is shining on the tip of the cap, a couple of drops of CA glue can be applied to each of the PVC joints.  Don’t glue the laser into the tee piece though, at some point you will need to take it out and change the batteries   The laser sight I got has a switch to turn the laser on and off,  a lot more convenient than the lasers you get from stationary stores which require you to constantly depress a button for the laser to be visible.

I’m still trying to get a good shot of the laser on the outside of the bowl.  When I do I’ll update this post with a picture of the depth gauge in action.

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The first step is to mount a piece of hardwood between centers, or as I have done, in a chuck with a live center at the tailstock for support.  True the piece and turn it roughly to size.

Take one of your centers and transfer two marks to the piece indicating the two sides of the taper.

Set a pair of calipers to the diameter of the morse taper upper end, and using a parting tool, part into the piece until the calipers slip over the parting cut.  Repeat the procedure for the lower end of the morse taper.

Make a relief cut to the tailstock side that is smaller in diameter than the lower end of the morse taper.

Turn a straight line from the larger diameter to the smaller diameter.  You’ll need to sneak up on this slowly and check the line often with a straight edge.  I cut up one of those plastic discount coupons to use as a straight edge.

With the piece still held in the chuck, remove the live center from the tailstock and slide the tailstock forward to check the fit of your taper.  Rotate the headstock by hand while the piece is in the tailstock to identify the high spots to be turned down.  Once the fit is good, round off the end of the piece.

Remove the chuck and insert the new morse taper into the headstock.  You can now shape and true up the area that will be used to mount a work piece to.   Wooden morse tapers are useful for holding small turnings.  They can simply be glued to the morse taper.  Bear in mind that there are limitations to the size of a turning as a wooden morse taper is nowhere near as strong as a metal dead center!!

Why did I need to turn a morse taper?  Stay tuned

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