Woodturning - Spindle gouge techniques

HITCH-

Hitch
Corporate Member
My banjo has a 1 1/2 hole for the post. The post has to be .010 under 1 1/2 to fit. My tool rest is solid steel 1 x 1 1/2 x 12 inches welded to the post. I looked at buying a new banjo but I think it was over $300.
You mentioned the cost of a metal adapter sleeve. Another option might be to make your own. I have a piece of acetal you can have. It's probably 2x2x10. You could turn the sleeve and then tap it for 1 or 2 grub screws to hold it in place. You'd then be able to use any 1" tool posts/rest combinations.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
You mentioned the cost of a metal adapter sleeve. Another option might be to make your own. I have a piece of acetal you can have. It's probably 2x2x10. You could turn the sleeve and then tap it for 1 or 2 grub screws to hold it in place. You'd then be able to use any 1" tool posts/rest combinations.
I think it has to be steel.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
Seems like a bronze bushing with a 1/4” wall could be a solution to get to use a 1” post. A longitudinal saw cut should allow for 0.010” compression for the bushing to fit into the banjo. Then worry the ID as required to fit a 1” post.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
Does anyone know what screw and thread size the “good wood tools” rest uses?
 
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Jim Wallace

jimwallacewoodturning.com
Jim
Corporate Member
Here’s mine
 

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Jim Wallace

jimwallacewoodturning.com
Jim
Corporate Member
This is a 1 1/8” post and 1” tool rest. The tool rest has the female thread, the post has 1/2” coarse thread male turned and threaded on the end of the post - it’s not a stud. He includes the little brass piece that stabilizes the tool rest. You might want to call him. It’s a one man shop as far as i can tell. HIs wife runs the business side. He has done some custom stuff for me in the past.
 

Jim Wallace

jimwallacewoodturning.com
Jim
Corporate Member
You could just get a piece of 1 1/2” steel rod and drill and tap it for a 1/2” stud and order the little brass piece and tool rest from him. His tool rests are hardened, I think.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
You could just get a piece of 1 1/2” steel rod and drill and tap it for a 1/2” stud and order the little brass piece and tool rest from him. His tool rests are hardened, I think.
That’s what I will do. I have a friend who can turn the shaft and screw and I will order the rests.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
This is a 1 1/8” post and 1” tool rest. The tool rest has the female thread, the post has 1/2” coarse thread male turned and threaded on the end of the post - it’s not a stud. He includes the little brass piece that stabilizes the tool rest. You might want to call him. It’s a one man shop as far as i can tell. HIs wife runs the business side. He has done some custom stuff for me in the past.
Are you sure it is 1/2 - 13 tpi?
Oh, and the length?

Thanks for your help.
 

Jim Wallace

jimwallacewoodturning.com
Jim
Corporate Member
Mike, I was mistaken about the threads on the post: they are fine, not coarse. I guess I had just glanced at them. They measured 20 threads per inch, and a 1/2” fine thread nut screws on by hand. The threaded part is 7/8” long. He chamfers the top of the post to meet the brass collar. A nice touch, but probably not necessary.
 

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petebucy4638

Pete
Corporate Member
Yes, curved tool rests are your best friend when hollow turning. Here's one from Lee Valley.

As someone relatively new to woodturning, I was surprised to see that so many turners on YouTube do not use curved tool rests for either the inside or outside when turning bowls. I have two Robust curved tool rests; they make a world of difference when turning bowls. The Robust flat rest for making boxes is very helpful when using a box scraper, especially on deeper boxes.

I wonder why Richard Raffan didn't use a 'bottom feeder' bowl gouge instead of a scraper. Obviously, he is pretty handy with a scraper. I don't disagree that a spindle gouge could and was successfully used for turning a bow. Buy what was the advantage of using a spindle gouge instead of a bowl gouge? Was he just showing us that it could be done, if for some reason you didn't have a spindle gouge?
 

Hmerkle

Board of Directors, Development Director
Hank
Staff member
Corporate Member
I wonder why Richard Raffan didn't use a 'bottom feeder' bowl gouge instead of a scraper. Obviously, he is pretty handy with a scraper. I don't disagree that a spindle gouge could and was successfully used for turning a bow. Buy what was the advantage of using a spindle gouge instead of a bowl gouge? Was he just showing us that it could be done, if for some reason you didn't have a spindle gouge?
RR has admitted in many of his videos (ones I have purchased, not this round of YT videos that he was a production turner... time was money.
he warns (after he moves his tool rest while the lathe is running) not to move the rest while the lathe is running but that "old habits are hard to break"
There is a couple guys on IG that I watch who have mentioned many times, "I could use (this or that tool) but that it can be more efficient to use the one in your hand.

For "us" hobbyist turners (yes, I know not everyone falls into that group) it is better to learn to use the best tool for the job.

I am pretty sure I have a curved tool rest... (in a drawer or on a shelf somewhere) and I have made a mental note when I get the lathe running again that it is one of the first things I am going to dust off (after the lathe and the tools) as a potentially safer method of work... from what I have learned in this thread...
 

Jim Wallace

jimwallacewoodturning.com
Jim
Corporate Member
As far as using a spindle gouge in stead of a bowl gouge, I have a tool made by Glazer that they call their Bob Stocksdale gouge for making bowls. It’s a beautiful tool and looks like a big spindle gouge to me. Supposedly Jerry Glazer designed this tool for Bob Stocksdale with his input and it was Stocksdale’s favorite gouge. I have tried it over and over and always put it down after a few cuts and pick up a bowl gouge.
 

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