Jordan Report post Posted October 8, 2008 Hardwood dowels are probably what you want, the home centers carry some but stay away from the closet pole type as they are usually soft wood like pine or douglas fir. Oak or rock maple would be good but to get any larger than 1/2" dia. you will probably need to go to a real lumber yard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 8, 2008 Just got off the phone with Norm Lynds. Great conversation. He's still making these cocobola drill-press slickers, but he is backed up, due to a recent move and downsizing of the shop. He gave me the go-ahead to post his contact information. He also makes individually-sized wood slickers for the dremel. Norm Lynds (425) 357-1001 sagerat2003@yahoo.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 19, 2008 +1 Lignum Vitae is inexpensive and easy to get. It is hard as can be and is used as the sole of wood planes among other things. It is an excellent choice. If you have a local Rockler's or Woodcraft store you can get yourself a small turning square and create your own. You really don't even need a lathe. With a little time you can use a scraper and sandpaper to make your coves. You could ask the store staff if they could use one of their lathes for turning classes to round out the square for you when nobody is looking! It would take them about a minute or two to do so. I ordered Argentinian Lignum Vitae and cocobolo blanks. I now have the tools to turn them by hand, but will be on the lookout for someone with a lathe..... to the yellow pages I go. Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted October 20, 2008 I picked up a few blanks this weekend. I got a couple of African Blackwood blanks, some Cocobolo blanks, and some Lignum Vitae blanks. I might be convinced to share some. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 20, 2008 I picked up a few blanks this weekend. I got a couple of African Blackwood blanks, some Cocobolo blanks, and some Lignum Vitae blanks. I might be convinced to share some. Hi Bree, I had a difficult time locating authentic lignum vitae. I got the Argentinian variety which is similar but apparently not in the same family. Which did you get and were they 1" sq. or 1.5" sq? I got the 1" sq. figuring I'd start trying to turn by hand to get a 1" dowel. 1.5" would have required much more sanding. When I do find someone with a lathe, I'd imagine they could turn the 1" sq. blank to a dowel with an approx. dia. of 1". Now, Bree, would you by chance happen to have a lathe? Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted October 20, 2008 Hi Bree,I had a difficult time locating authentic lignum vitae. I got the Argentinian variety which is similar but apparently not in the same family. Which did you get and were they 1" sq. or 1.5" sq? I got the 1" sq. figuring I'd start trying to turn by hand to get a 1" dowel. 1.5" would have required much more sanding. When I do find someone with a lathe, I'd imagine they could turn the 1" sq. blank to a dowel with an approx. dia. of 1". Now, Bree, would you by chance happen to have a lathe? Ed I have seen both Lignum and Argentinian Lignum Vitae (ALV). There isn't all that much difference between the two. "Genuine" Lignum Vitae is not available because it is endangered and banned for import. ALV is equally good and when you see Lignum Vitae advertised that is what it will be. It is very, very dense like the "real" stuff... maybe just a tad less in density. It is just fine as a substitute. It is lighter in color and serves all the same purposes as the original. ALV is a good deal harder and denser than Cocobolo probably about 20%. Mind you Cocobolo is very dense stuff as well.... I mean it is much denser than white oak which is pretty darn hard stuff. I got some 1.5" turning squares of ALV. The wood that is almost the same in hardness and density as genuine Lignum is African Blackwood. It is expensive but still available. I wouldn't want to get bopped on the head with a stick of this stuff!! I am thinking about getting myself a lathe... probably a midi like a 16-20. I used to have a real nice lathe many years ago but I moved from my Florida home and had to give it to a friend as it was too big for my apratment in Atlanta. I still have my tools. If I can find a good deal on a small lathe I will get one. I have been looking. I have some very nice Wenge bowl blanks and a dozen 3' long 2"x2" Burma teak turning squares that have been mellowing for over 30 years along with some padauk, maple, and purpleheart. I also picked up some nice rosewood and several unknown but extremely dense tropical hardwood squares. They seem like members of the rosewood family. Hard to say. There are many tropicals on the market now that I only recently became aware of. So I think I need a lathe for my wood shop. I keep wanting a big one but they cost big bucks and take up a lot of space. So I may just limit my desires and get a small one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke Hatley Report post Posted October 20, 2008 ED , thak a look at Harbor Frieght they sell a very small Lathe that you could use for your turnings and it wont break the bank......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) I'll check out harbor freight. Just got my 1" turning blanks from Rockler today. They have a 5-speed mini lathe by Excelsior for $250. It will take up to 17" long turning blanks and up to almost 10" bowl blanks. I am tempted to get it. However, it is probably better to pay a bit more and get the Jet mini lathe for around $390 to $470. It would be so cool to start making pens, bowls, burnishers, candlestick holders, and whatever else. I loved working with wood a long time ago, but have never used a lathe, save 20 minutes in a high school woodshop class. I was wondering, what are the individual hand tools I would need to make grooves of various widths and to do the initial knocking off of turning blank corners? Ed Edited October 20, 2008 by esantoro Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 20, 2008 (edited) Just what I don't need right now, another obsession. Ten minutes' playing with my sticks, and I'm having a fabulous time.... oh the sweet, spicy aroma. I have never smelled anything like it. quickly I have realized, with your help, some indispensable tools for turning these by hand: rasp, chisel. sand paper, and shaper (which I had been using to rough up leather for gluing). It takes some elbow grease, but what the hell, I don't have a gym membership. I think I'll save the shavings and sell them on Ebay for Potpourri. I'm also beginning to wonder if these shavings might serve well as an insect repellent. The next thing I need is a good mitre box to insure straight sawing of the wood wheels. Any suggestions. Ed Edited October 20, 2008 by esantoro Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted October 20, 2008 Ed, I would have normally said that you get the best tools that you could afford. However over the past year I have seen about 9-10 people that bought the Jet Midi (some even with extensions), Nova or Oneway chucks, Crown, Sorby, Ellsworth tools (gouges, skews, etc) with Tormek or Wolverine sharpening systems and they are now getting out of the hobby. Some of these guys spent over $2-3K on a small lathe, chuck, centers, tools and sharpening system only to find out that they didn't really enjoy it. OUCH! Only you can gauge your desire and such to determine if you could get by with low end gear from Harbor Freight or step up and buy the better gear. Another thing that I noticed is that some of them chewed up some awful good tools trying to learn how to keep them sharp. In fact a couple of them burned up some great tools trying to make and keep an Irish grind on tools. These people would have been better off learning how to GRIND on some cheaper tools but I digress. Just a word of caution.....Those sweet smelling woods are known to create problems for people. The dust is considered to be toxic (to breathe it and to touch it). Several of the older woodworkers that I know that weren't allergic in the past have developed allergies so be wary. At least use a mask and wash your hands afterwards. If you do much then dust collectors are a GREAT investment. I know that when I bought a gondola of mixed exotics and separated all of the species that my hands itched slightly from all the dust. Nothing dramatic but there was between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch of fine dust in the bottom. On another note, here are some pictures of some older slickers that I have and the new one that I made. I had the older ones made before I bought a Mercury Mini lathe. When I made mine I downsized the slicker, inserted a lag bolt (3" - it is in the material about 2-1/4") for the shaft and reduced the number of slots...just my personal preference from using these others over time. The chuck does chew up the wooden shaft over time and has to be lightly turned down or as you can see one one of them has a copper sleeve. As I said the new one uses a 3/8" lag bolt that is Gorilla glued in. It has had lots of use with no ill effects. Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 21, 2008 I'll be careful about the toxicity, though I will never be working with this wood in an ongoing production capacity. I've run a few pesticide experiments with the shavings. They do seem to repel insects. Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted October 22, 2008 I was looking at that Excelsior over the weekend and the guy from Rockler who I respect told me that the casting is very poor on that device. He said that the Jet and even the Delta was far superior. So I bought nothing. I did see a cheapo $22 attachment that converts a drill press into a lathe. For an occassional and non-critical turning this might be just the ticket! http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DPLATHE.html I might get one myself!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 22, 2008 I was looking at that Excelsior over the weekend and the guy from Rockler who I respect told me that the casting is very poor on that device. He said that the Jet and even the Delta was far superior. So I bought nothing. I did see a cheapo $22 attachment that converts a drill press into a lathe. For an occassional and non-critical turning this might be just the ticket! http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DPLATHE.html I might get one myself!! This looks very interesting and perfect for my needs, though I'd have to move my drill press to a different location because of the wood shavings. I'd like to know how the turning blank is secured on the mandrel. I'll see if I can call them. Thanks, Bree. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 22, 2008 (edited) I'm liking the idea of this drill press lathe more and more. I could cut down the raw turning sticks to sizes needed and turn just those sections, which fall within the range of 3/4" to 4". One chisel I know I need to get is a 1" rough out to knock off the angles of the blanks. I'll need another chisel for creating the channels. For these channels, would it be best to get spindle chisels of varying widths of 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", and 1", or would a 1/4" spindle chisel allow for a channel width of 1/4" to whatever is desired, depending on how you run the tip along the dowel? Another question: My drill press currently has the belt set on the middle pulleys for @ 1725 rpm. If I want to change the speed, do I need a different belt, or do I just position the same belt on a different set of pulleys? Thanks, Ed Edited October 22, 2008 by esantoro Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted October 22, 2008 Ed, The same belt works. You will notice that there are a number of stepped pulleys on the motor and on the quill side. Most of the time when you raise the top the manufacturer will have a diagram of pulleys/speeds. My son used this setup for a while. He used it with some success and you have to make sure that you have the chisel adjusted correctly. Generally a chisel cuts above the center line and a scraper goes below the center line. If you are set on particular sizes then I would make some scrapers of the size you want but if you are only going to be doing a limited number of cuts then the smallest size chisel will cut all the smaller ones by moving the tool back and forth. I would suggest cutting yourself a template to check against so that you know how much to take off or use calipers if you have them. You can find many woodworking sites on google that can help you in chisel selection and use in cutting. Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esantoro Report post Posted October 23, 2008 Is it all just good eyeballs, or is there a method or tool used to accurately drill down the center of a cylinder? Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted October 23, 2008 Ed, This is what you want... A center finding gauge. Drac's Center Gauge. It is a standard piece of equipment for woodworker's. I have a couple of plastic and a metal one. Manual method is to measure the dowel and divide by one half and make a mark. Turn the dowel 90 degrees and repeat the mark. Where they connect is the center point. Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jordan Report post Posted October 23, 2008 (edited) Ed, check out craigs list provo/orem utah, there is a delta mini lathe and custom cabinet listed today for about 275. It looks like a great deal, I would imagine a drill press attachment would suffice, but I am sure that deals like the lathe would also come up for sale occasionally in your area. Edited October 23, 2008 by Jordan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted October 24, 2008 Ed... really to be honest, you can get yourself a roughing gouge to break the blanks down to cylinders and you could cut your coves with strips of sandpaper!! It is dusty but it certainly can be done. If you need tools just get the basics... a roughing gouge, a bowl gouge, a skew chisel, a scraper, and a parting tool. You could probably get away with a gouge and a scraper!! LOL! All you need to do is put a few coves into the blank. EZ as pie to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iwannabeacowboy Report post Posted July 5, 2009 I bought this the other day, for the first time I can even up multi layers before starting the burnishing process. Mounted it in my tabletop drill press. It also mounts on "fantastic leather burnisher". Works great. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=35455 Comes with 2 sets of sand paper, save one set for a pattern for cutting more. Charlie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TTcustom Report post Posted August 10, 2009 I made my edge slickers from cocobola but now seeing a picture of one I think it is time to make another one and incorporate some improvements into it! If I was smart enough to figure out how to correct my error I would show you a picture of it. Well here goes nothing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TTcustom Report post Posted August 10, 2009 I made my edge slickers from cocobola but now seeing a picture of one I think it is time to make another one and incorporate some improvements into it!If I was smart enough to figure out how to correct my error I would show you a picture of it. Well here goes nothing Ed I forgot to add that I just buy square blanks and draw a line from corner to corner. I drill down at the "X" and then horse rasp the corners off before turning it down. I glue a drill blank in to the wood with two part epoxy. I have been getting the drill blanks from Grainger's.com But I think even the hardware section at Home depot has them. I must admit that for the last one I didn't have a drill blank so I glued the drill I used to make the hole into the slicker. It needed sharpening or replacing anyway. hahaha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Donovan Report post Posted December 24, 2009 Hey i'm new at leather working and i was wondering where i could find one of this drill press slickers? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
