Shop SmithTurning Spindles

[Halfathumb]

Turning spindles for a chair I'm refurbishing. I have little experience wood turning and very little experience with a duplicator. On the Shop Smith one has limited speed selections. I've experienced some of the thinner spindles braking, quite possibly I get to aggressive trying to remove to much at one time. Other than the obvious, any suggestions. FWIW I've gotten help from a member with my local wood turners club. He also sold me the duplicator for $100.00 with cutters.

Jim

[crokett™]

How thin are the turnings? What tools are you using to turn the spindles? Sharp tools and a light touch are your best friends. Also I would turn the thickest parts first and the thinnest parts last. Also look in to a string steady it might help.

[hcbph]

A Shop Smith speed depends on the model.  Some of the earliest ones used a multistep pulley which is limited in speeds while later have speed controls.  Without seeing what you're doing it's hard to offer advice here, but one basic suggestion is to at a minimum to rough the spindles out first and remove a majority of the waste.  If you want them identical then use the duplicator to get them all dimensionally the same then finish them off with final cleanup and sanding.  Depending on how thin the turnings ae you may want to check out lathe steady rests.
Good luck.

[iclark]

Turning spindles for a chair I'm refurbishing. I have little experience wood turning and very little experience with a duplicator. On the Shop Smith one has limited speed selections. I've experienced some of the thinner spindles braking, quite possibly I get to aggressive trying to remove to much at one time. Other than the obvious, any suggestions. FWIW I've gotten help from a member with my local wood turners club. He also sold me the duplicator for $100.00 with cutters.

Jim

On the Shopsmith, the speed range is fully appropriate for spindle turning. The low end is around 700rpm.

Be sure that you are not changing the speed when the drive spindle is not turning.

$100 for a SS duplicator with cutters is a good deal. I paid more for mine. The cutters do get dull. So, make sure that you are using a sharp edge.

Replace the cup center in the tailstock with a live center. That is easier than learning how much wax to put in the cup center and how much pressure to apply to a dead center. That will reduce the number of spindles that you break.

When you are turning the spindles, don't just start at one end and turn to the finished size along the way.
Turn the whole length of the spindle that you want round to round at the largest diameter.

Then, work your way a bit at a time with the square cutter until you have the profile roughed in.

Then, use the round cutter to refine the shape.

Only then do you use the diamond cutter to gently finish the coves and any detail grooves.

Do the smallest diameter spot last.

If any of the spindles break using this process, then your design is bad and the legs are too spindly to support a chair.

Remember to orient your template so that, looking at it from the end, the square portion is a diamond. (not flat on top like it would be if laying on a table top)

If you are using 2-D template, make sure that you have it positioned properly and that your template-follower and cutter are directly above each other (with the table and the SS level). If you turn the largest diameter of the spindle to round and it is too small, then something is off in your setup and all of your diameters will be undersized.

[Halfathumb]

I'm using the duplicator. I round the complete stock first, since the biggest sections are near the middle I start there and finish up on the end for the tenons.

Thanks for the replies. I guess experience is the best teacher and I'm learning as I go along.

Thanks. Jim

[iclark]

I'm using the duplicator. I round the complete stock first, since the biggest sections are near the middle I start there and finish up on the end for the tenons.

Thanks for the replies. I guess experience is the best teacher and I'm learning as I go along.

Thanks. Jim

Where have the breaks been happening? Do you have a pic of one that failed?

Since the force of the cut is directed down into the table, there is not as much muscle feedback when using the SS duplicator as you have when using a chisel. Learning what sound(s) mean that you are cutting too hard is very much a learning experience.

Do make sure that your cutter edge/point is at or slightly below the center of the spindle.

I have not tried them on the SS duplicator, but I suspect that the drop-nose carbide cutters that EZwood is now offering would fit the SS duplicator if the screw hole tapers are close enough to fit. Like hand-held scrapers, the drop-nose edge is a bit more forgiving.

[Halfathumb]

Where have the breaks been happening? Do you have a pic of one that failed?

Since the force of the cut is directed down into the table, there is not as much muscle feedback when using the SS duplicator as you have when using a chisel. Learning what sound(s) mean that you are cutting too hard is very much a learning experience.

Do make sure that your cutter edge/point is at or slightly below the center of the spindle.

I have not tried them on the SS duplicator, but I suspect that the drop-nose carbide cutters that EZwood is now offering would fit the SS duplicator if the screw hole tapers are close enough to fit. Like hand-held scrapers, the drop-nose edge is a bit more forgiving.

Yes! It was all me being to aggressive. The last few I did turned out good with no breaks.

[iclark]

Yes! It was all me being to aggressive. The last few I did turned out good with no breaks.

Great news!