Home Made Glue Blocks

[keithlong]

Today i made some glue blocks out of 2 inch oak scraps. Threaded the hole so that they will screw on my lathe spindle. I made 6 of them in all.

 

[pianomanpj]

Great idea! Where do you find a tap for a 1" x 8 spindle?

 

[keithlong]

Hey Roger,
I have a friend that has a machine shop, i borrowed one from him.

 

[pianomanpj]

Hey Roger,
I have a friend that has a machine shop, i borrowed one from him.

Dang! Gotta get me a friend like that!! :biggrin:

 

[KenV]

Jerry Beall sells them in several sizes through most of the wood tool vendors -- Work good for glue blocks. Use of nylock nuts is lower cost unless you make a very very high number of glue blocks since they only cost about a buck a piece.

 

[Crayman]

I bought one from Woodcraft, nice for glue block

 

[THarvey]

Great idea! Where do you find a tap for a 1" x 8 spindle?

Beall makes one. I bought mine at Woodcraft.

 

[scotian12]

Hi ken...What are nylock nuts and how are they used? Darrell Eisner

 

[jleiwig]

Hi ken...What are nylock nuts and how are they used? Darrell Eisner

They are nuts that have a nylon insert on the top of the nut that is sized smaller than the diameter of the threads. This causes the nut to grab the threads and "Lock" the nut instead of vibrating loose.

To use them for a lathe, you need to remove the nylon piece and screw it onto the spindle with the part where the nylon used to be facing the headstock.

 

[jkeithrussell]

Ok, I'm an idiot. What's a glue block?

 

[nava1uni]

For turning things other then pens you glue the wood to the block, turn your object and then part the piece from the glue block. You can use them over and over again. I use Nylok nuts, drill a hole with a forstner bit about 3/4 the depth of the nut and then epoxy the nut into the hole. I knock the nut into the hole with a hammer and the octagonal edges grab the sides of the hole and with the epoxy they hold up very well.
If you turn the nut the way Justin said after removing the nylon the nut won't seize on your spindle or put a washer between it and the head stock.

 

[JimB]

I was wondering what it is also. Thanks Cindy. Sounds like the same thing as a Waste Block. When I do this for bowls I just screw my faceplate to the scrap wood (waste block) and clean up the face to glue my bowl to it. I have used scrap pieces of 2x4 for this.

 

[VisExp]

Threaded waste blocks are really useful. I use them often. The investment in a spindle tap is well worth it.