What shall I build to please the boss?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Iain Downs on 10/12/2016 15:04:38:

Showing his ignorance he asks, 'What is cut and cross'?

.

… Cut the teeth on the wheels, and 'cross-out' the spokes.

MichaelG.

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Edit: This video is short & sweet: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlw1NQQGlXI but doesn't cover 'crossing-out' … I'm sure you can find something now you know what you're looking for.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 10/12/2016 15:34:20

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

I think a scanning machine to ensure there is not a spot of grease/oil anywhere on skin or clothing (before going indoors from the workshop).

 

Edited By V8Eng on 10/12/2016 16:21:52

Edited By V8Eng on 10/12/2016 16:32:26

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I've not had much success impressing my family. They are an ignorant unappreciative lot.

This peg got some positive comments:

This one went down well after reassembly.

I gave away the real one, but the impossible nut is amusing

Dave

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Napkin rings.

[Iain DownsParticipant @iaindowns78295]

HI,

Having had some time to think about this, I'm veering towards a candlestick. I'm thinking it could even be a Christmas pressie if I get my act together.

My current thoughts are to make it in steel / ally since I have some stock in my bin. What I thought I'd do was something like this.

Cylinder (100mm) for the base and for the candle holder (might be smaller).

Face off the cylinders and bore to put a (say) 10mm thread in.

For the base cut 3 legs (say 8mm deep) out using the mill and a rotary table.

For both make a mandril to fit the 10mm internal thread and turn the outside.

For the stick part, take 15 – 20 mm round bar, put a step on both ends and an M10 thread to assemble afterwards. Move over the tailstock and turn a nice taper.

I'd definitely make the base of steel (one should try and make it hard for these things to fall over, I'm told).

THere's two things I don't really know how to do. First is that I'd like the base and top to be curved smoothly rather than square. I understand about ball turners and whilst there is a strong temptation to make one, that just puts me back in my making tools to make tools to make…. obsession.

Can I cut some angles and then smooth with a file? Or is there a cleverer way?

The other thing is finish. Brass would be finished by virtue of being brass, but steel probably needs a coating of some kind? I'm also not sure what I need to do to get a burnished or mirror finish. I guess it's a lot of sanding with increasingly fine paper and then the dremel with some rouge and a buffing wheel?

I'm afraid that I've been focusing so far on stuff that's functional. Pretty is a bit daunting!

Any advice (as always) very welcome.

Iain

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Back when i was making my sterling engine I graphed out the curve I wanted and used the DRO to turn to depths and distances then filed. 'Oxtool' used a similar method making part of his bullet vice on youtube using the mill.. he thought it was called kellering. Jason has also used the same type of techniques in some of his pics.

Quickest would be a nice fat round of ally to turn the base.. and if you want to weight it then bore from below and press fit in some steel..or even a plug and sand. You can always save cost by using thinner for a log shaft fitted with all-thread and threadlock then turn it to match.

Edited By pgk pgk on 11/12/2016 21:44:52

[JAParticipant @ja]

If you make candle sticks make sure they match. My niece made me two wooden ones when she was about 15. Each were very very good but they were very different.

Edit: I think candle sticks come in pairs.

JA

Edited By JA on 11/12/2016 23:04:42

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

One thing I made for my brother in law was a stainless steel coffee (not sure what it's name is) hammer/compressor. you'll need a bit of stainless about 2" dia x 3" or so long, You will find them in the shops, here they cost up to $NZ80.

Ian S C

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

A kit pen?

I made my first in 3.5 hours including the time involved in making the mandrel to turn it on. Whatever people say, it can be done on a metal lathe with carbide insert tools. Take a look at this: **LINK**

Need not be a fountain pen. Axminster Tools do many, many kits of all types from rollerballs to fountain pens & ball points. Avoid the 'polyester' blanks. The resin is too brittle to survive the pen being dropped on concrete. Thick superglue or epoxy is the best adhesive. These days expect pen #1 to cost about £15 to make. You may find some cheaper bits elsewhere if you continue.

The 'Wow' factor with 'er indoors is pretty high with the first one. By #250 there's rather less astonishment (speak from experience here).

Hope that inspires a little.

Regards,

Richard.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Have a look at the craft-pro kits at

**LINK**

Just made two egg shaped Kaleidoscopes for the two elder great nephews. There are a host of other things you could make without too much investment of time. Quite do-able to turn small wooden items on your metal lathe. Or if you don't fancy wood there are a host of acrylic blanks for scent bottles, wine stoppers, salt and pepper shakers,pepper mills or pens as has already been suggested. They supply the "works" you do the housings.

regards Martin

[Anthony KnightsParticipant @anthonyknights16741]

On the subject of nut crackers (mentioned earlier), I have found that the usual design is pretty useless. The best device I have found for cracking nuts is a pair of Mole Grips.

[TSHParticipant @tsh73987]

Some time ago I found myself in a very similar position. In my case my wife expressed an interest in a honey 'dibber', so I made one from stainless steel—no precision needed at all:

By the way, I made the grooves on my Myford using a large parting tool—that was before I learned that was supposed to be difficult!

Trevor

[SverreEParticipant @sverree]

Some years ago I made 6-7 Rolling Pins (in Norway it is called a "Kjevle&quot for making flat cakes and pastries (pizza etc.) for all family members. I had some old aluminium tubing, and used ball bearings for easy rotation. It was completed with a hardwood stand. It is a pleasure to use, and only needs a simple cleaning with a moist cloth.

To my great pleasure, my wife likes to show the Rolling Pin to guests and I willingly shows them my workshop in the garage!

Merry Christmas from Sverre

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

Posted by Ian S C on 12/12/2016 10:53:51:

One thing I made for my brother in law was a stainless steel coffee (not sure what it's name is) hammer/compressor. you'll need a bit of stainless about 2" dia x 3" or so long, You will find them in the shops, here they cost up to $NZ80.

Ian S C

Ian

If you mean what I think you mean, you mean a tamper.

From, a coffee snob .

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

A honey, 'Drizzle' I think Trevor, I make mine out of Holly wood, as I cut down a male Holly tree ( No berries) and seasoned the wood for a long time and it turns very nicely.

Clive

[Iain DownsParticipant @iaindowns78295]

I've made a start on a candlestick, but getting a lot of roughness so need to either change to HSS tooling or strip the cross-slide (it keeps getting loose – I suspect that there's a bolt loose somewhere in there).

I've also ordered some 2 inch brass bar and will have a go at some tea light holders.

I liked the kits and will explore. Honey drizzle and rolling pin sound good, but sadly all the cooking is done by 'im indoors and not SWMBO.

Keep the ideas coming!

Iain

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Hi all. His is a bit chicken and egg. But I have just installed a wood burner in my 1960s bungalow and feel the need for a poker. It didn’t cost anywhere near two grand to line the existing chimney which had been bricked up in the 80s. Stainless steel liner cowl and adaptor for the fire.
Have a look at the stove fitters manual website for inspiration. As long as you stick to the regs it’s legal, safe and very satisfying. I even built my own surround using cement board and tiles. SWMBO smiles fondly every time it is lit. Will post some pics. Mick

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

Also whilst thinking about it I did make a set of buttons for my workshop dust coat from titanium, replacing the naff plastic ones. Imagine her favourite cardi with shiny engineered buttons on it. Mick

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Tamper, thanks David. Another thing I made when I was wood turning was metal parts for wooden candle sticks.

Ian S C

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

Posted by Iain Downs on 13/12/2016 07:17:33:

Honey drizzle and rolling pin sound good, but sadly all the cooking is done by 'im indoors and not SWMBO.

Iain

Lol, me too. I'd just be making kitchen stuff for myself – mind you, I do need a better coffee tamper (thanks Ian for the suggestion), and I do have a big chunk of suitable brass bar sitting in the metal box…………….

[Iain DownsParticipant @iaindowns78295]

The candlestick has won.

I'm quite pleased with it. It looks quite good (though I would do some things differently) and I learned a lot. Even more surprising was that i finished it early and in roughly the time I'd expected (which rarely happens in my Software life!)

The base is a 100mm x 50mm steel bar I had on hand, which I tapered with the topslide. That wasn't so good as the finish was quite poor and even hours with sandpaper haven't quite cleaned it up.

The stem is about 14 inches of 20mm steel tapered on an offset tailstock. This worked better as I'd tightened up the bearings and reverted from a indexed carbide cutter to self-ground HSS. Also slowed right down to 200 rpm or less.

The bud at the top is my first attempt at making brass scurf and it's worked quite well (I've kept the scurf in the event I ever do some casting).

I spent most of my machine time polishing the parts with grades of sandpaper from 120 down to 5000, but I'm still not happy with the finish in all places. It's pretty good but not quite mirror and I'm not sure how to get the last little bit of quality.

Madam seemed a bit bemused by the whole business but it is generally recognised as being a thing. I think she quite likes and is a bit impressed by it but the idea of me making something useful has to filter into her mind.

Gives me a year to work on some other thing to make.

Iain

Iain

[Author]

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