Another turning project complete

[DavidF]

Another gift from the spectacular spalted maple I got from member Rod.

Napkin rings are actually not that easy to get right!! and more work than they might seem for a bit of wood with a hole in it!!


BTW, Rod is setting up a business to try and provide spectacular turning blanks for turners and so far has proved to be an honest ethical sort of guy in my dealings with him. If you are looking for turning blanks then send him a PM.

 

[ptt49er]

Those look great! Can you give us an idea of what steps you took to make them?

 

[DavidF]

Those look great! Can you give us an idea of what steps you took to make them?

One of the "normal" methods of making these is to start with a long blank so that you can turn tenons on the ends etc for holding and then drill through while the blank is in the chuck. In my case the blanks are small so each ring is made from a small piece of the maple. I needed to be sure that the inner and outer ODs were concentric so I pre drilled the hole 1 5/8" (41mm) on the pillar drill and turned a very slightly tapered mandrel to slide each one onto. The length of the mandrel was such that with the addition of different width spacer it would act as a turning guide for the OD and the length. Once on the mandrel I turned each blank round, but not to final OD. I then faced off one end square before turning the blank around and used the the end face of the mandrel as a guide and faced them all off to finished length working from the inside out to avoid break out on the inner hole. I then chnaged spacers to give me one either side of the blank at the correct OD and turned them down to the final OD using the spacers as a guide. This removed any damage from the facing off. I then changed spacers again to ones with a slightly small dia that set the bottom of the barrel shape, IE the wall thickness at the outside. The barrel shape was eyeballed as best I could to get them all even. Making the mandrel and spacers was a bit of a work up but ensured fairly consistant results. A couple of extra things; If one of the blanks started spinning on the mandrel it would effectively reduce the dia enough so that the next blank was a bit loose. Just wetting the surface a tiny amount restored the dia to a tight fit. The other thing was that I screwed an end stop on to the mandrel for the final turning so that the blanks were held firmly but the mandrel wasn't so tight that there was a chance that I would break them while pulling them off. These were turned as face grain turnings so that there was no weak grain runing across the face of the ring. Although with the amount of pattern in these blanks it was difficult to tell sometimes!

Now I have the mandrel and spacers it won't be too bad a job to turn another set.

Hope that helps.

 

[Douglas Robinson]

Very informative post David. Thanks. I had not thought of turning these. Are you planning on doing any more. I might want to come watch, if you would'nt mind.

Doug

 

[rcflyer23]

Man those look great. Can you show a picture of that mandel setup. I think I understand I just want to make sure.

 

[DavidF]

Doug, Yes, I probably will and in any case I would be very happy to show you anyway. Kevin, I am going across the pond for a couple of weeks stating tomorrow evening, but I'll try and get a pic of the mandrel setup tonight and post it.

I'll let you know when I get back Doug, but no sooner am I back from there then I shoot off to the Caribbean for two weeks! - sorry, but somebody has to do it! The napkin rings are a gift for the peoples whose boat we are staying on in Grenada so they will have been well tested by the time I get back.

 

[Douglas Robinson]

Thanks David I look forward to it. I will be going to VA for Turkeyday weekend and then back to Germany 12/6-12/13. SO maybe we can fit it in around our schedules.

Doug

 

[PChristy]

Great job David:icon_thum

 

[ptt49er]

David, Ok, so now you've added to my list of "I wanna builds".

Have a safe trip!

 

[MikeL]

Those look amazing David. Thank you for sharing your methods in such detail. Now will you please share the info on how to get invited aboard that boat!

 

[DavidF]

Those look amazing David. Thank you for sharing your methods in such detail. Now will you please share the info on how to get invited aboard that boat!

Basically you need to know somebody with more Money:rotflm:

I'll send pictures!!! sorry:rotflm:

 

[DavidF]

Man those look great. Can you show a picture of that mandel setup. I think I understand I just want to make sure.

Here is the basic mandrel. Main part is a snug fit on the ID 41mm. The left hand piece is "in the solid" and is the OD of the ring 53mm.

This one shows the ring in position with a spacer to part off to length using the end of the mandrel as a guide.

When they are the right length the spacer is removed and put on the outboard end and the fixed guide and the spacer are used to turn the OD.

The last setup is to barrel the body using the end spacer as a guide along with another one at the inboard end.

I hope all makes sense.

 

[rcflyer23]

Very Impressive. That make much more sense now. Very nice work on the rings and the mandrel.

 

[bluewing92]

Nice rings.:icon_thum Great set-up and instructions.:eusa_clap Will have to try.

 

[LeftyTom]

Spiffy work, highlighting the grain. :icon_thum

 

[Rod]

I hadn't seen this post before David, and wanted to say thanks for the kind words. Great looking napkin holders also!!!!

Was great seeing you again today. I wish we had more time to talk shop so-to-speak. Have fun with those chunks. I'll be watching and waiting for pics.
Take care and Happy Thanksgiving.
Rod & Family

 

[DavidF]

You are very welcome Rod. Have a great time at the beach, it certainly sounded like your wife was looking forward to it!! The 40 was a bear coming home, I hope your journey wasn't similar!

I'll try to do the wood justice.....