Having more fun playing in my toy box again.:biggrin:
I recently showed a black 6 sided helix black, in a thread about metal lathes and how only a numpty would get a ML with a fixed gearbox......:tongue:
After that helix blank, I figured I could do a six sided centre taper blank ( to sort of match a Panache )
Then I figured I'd have a go at doing a 12 sided helix with a centre taper - also to match a Panache style pen.
Well the good news is that my contraption and jigs work.
The bad news is that old habits die hard....
1st rule I forgot and often forget is the direction of cut when using a router. You should go against the rotation to get a decent cut.
Second thing I forgot is the famous backlash.
Router direction is easy.....instead of travelling from TS to HS, simply do it the other way round.
Backlash in the gear train is just as easy using a common trick. Just wind string with a weight around the chuck.
I get a bigger kick of doing stuff like this than actually making pens !!!
The pics actually sort of show how, but any guesses on how the centre tapers were done? :biggrin:
I recently showed a black 6 sided helix black, in a thread about metal lathes and how only a numpty would get a ML with a fixed gearbox......:tongue:
After that helix blank, I figured I could do a six sided centre taper blank ( to sort of match a Panache )
Then I figured I'd have a go at doing a 12 sided helix with a centre taper - also to match a Panache style pen.
Well the good news is that my contraption and jigs work.
The bad news is that old habits die hard....
1st rule I forgot and often forget is the direction of cut when using a router. You should go against the rotation to get a decent cut.
Second thing I forgot is the famous backlash.
Router direction is easy.....instead of travelling from TS to HS, simply do it the other way round.
Backlash in the gear train is just as easy using a common trick. Just wind string with a weight around the chuck.
I get a bigger kick of doing stuff like this than actually making pens !!!
The pics actually sort of show how, but any guesses on how the centre tapers were done? :biggrin:
