Welsh Staked Stools-Part 1

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Greg Merritt

I have been having a lot of fun with then lathe, but it is time to get back on track.  I have two new tables that are in desperate need of some sort of accompanying seating.  To that end my first run at keeping butts off the floor will be four Welsh inspired stools. Continue reading →

Posted in Welsh 3-Legged Stool | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Ratcheting Book Stand-Lathe Project

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Greg Merritt

One of the projects high on my list,  in the event that I ever had a lathe, is a 17th Century turned book stand that Peter Follansbee reintroduced.  It’s a nifty design with a ratcheting mechanism to adjust the angle of display and a wide shelf on which to seat the book.  Now that I have a lathe and trying to learn to turn, the book stand seemed like a perfect project to aid me along.  Plus, I simply really want to make one! Continue reading →

Posted in Illustrating, Ratcheting Book Stand, Spring Pole Lathe | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Honey Dipper-000-Lathe Project 

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Greg Merritt

In my ongoing quest to learn to turn and, to a lesser extent, shrink my mountain of offcuts I present the next beginner project that I have tackled.  The Honey Dipper.

There is not much to say about the honey dipper, the name pretty well sums it up.  It is another simple lathe project that lends itself to beginner success.  There is ample opportunity for practice with basic shaping and working with the parting tool.   Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Dipper, Spring Pole Lathe | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Pole Lathe Notes-3

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Greg Merritt

Well the leather sewing machine belt drive cord gave up the ghost.  A little disappointing that it only lasted about three weeks of moderate use.  Rather than waste my remaining leather cord, I made a trip to the Big Box and bought a fifty foot hank of 7mm solid braid polyester cord.  I let you know how this stuff holds up. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Spring Pole Lathe, Thoughts-Views | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Garden Dibber-Lathe Project

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Greg Merritt

Like most things in hand work, no amount of reading or watching of videos can teach you to turn wood on a lathe.  At some point you have to start putting tool to wood.  Only then can your hand and mind begin to build the connections that are need to actually use a lathe efficiently.  I don’t know about you, but there is only so much random turning I can as practice before it becomes boring and thus less conducive to learning.  I need to have something at stake.  I need to have the risk of failure or the lure of success in order to fully engage in the process. Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Dibber, Spring Pole Lathe | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Pole Lathe Notes-2

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Greg Merritt

The pole lathe takes a little getting used too.  Even more so since I’m trying to learn to use it and learn to turn simultaneously.  It took me a couple of hours to develop a rhythm and feel for the pumping action.  It proved to be a much more relaxed rhythm than I had imagined it would be and there is a good bit of feedback from the lathe and the work to guide you.  One element of this lathe that has proven quite useful is the adjustable double spring pole configuration.  I quickly took to adjusting the tension on the springs to match the type of turning I was trying to do.  Heavier tension for roughing out and lighter tension for more detailed work.  It takes only seconds to reach down and slide the connecting strap to change the spring tension. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Spring Pole Lathe, Thoughts-Views | 6 Comments

Pole Lathe Notes-1

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Greg Merritt

This will be a first in a series of ongoing post as I learn to use the spring pole lathe.  These posts will be mostly for my own journaling purposes, but it may prove useful to others as well.

When I finally made the decision to build a lathe, I agonized over which design to build.  I knew that I wanted a human-powered version though.  So the first major decision was spring pole or treadle? Ultimately I chose to build Roy Underhill’s version of a German double spring pole lathe due to its portability, simplicity of construction and the fact that it is a self-contained unit.  Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Spring Pole Lathe, Thoughts-Views | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Spring Pole Lathe-Part 5-Complete

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Greg Merritt

At the conclusion of my last post on the spring pole lathe I had just begun work on the tool rest.  The basic structure was complete.  All it needed was the finishing touches.  So the next day after work I installed a steel wear strip and completed the shaping. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Spring Pole Lathe | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Spring Pole Lathe-Part 4

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Greg Merritt

My goal was to have a functioning lathe by the end of this weekend.  As progress was made over the past week I became confident that my goal would be met.  Alas, the weekend has come to a close and finds me still short of a completed lathe.  I’m really, really close though.  So close that it was hard to put down the tools and shutdown the shop this evening.  But it is better to stretch out the project by a few days than to make some silly mistake because I’m too tired.  Anyway… Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Spring Pole Lathe | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Spring Pole Lathe-Part 3

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Greg Merritt

My day in the shop didn’t go as I has planned.  It’s not that anything went wrong, but I had gotten the order of operations a little out of order.  Originally I was going to cleanup the uprights and chop the mortises for the rail wedges.  As I was about to plane off all of my layout lines it dawned on me that I had better cut and fit the pivot arm first. Continue reading →

Posted in 5-Tools, Spring Pole Lathe | Tagged , , | 13 Comments