Nitting Needles

[huskerturner]

My wife has asked me to make nitting needles for her. I'm not privy to the nitting world but I think she wants a size 6. Whatever the size is exactly, my first and only attempt so far was not so good. I used walnut, I figured it was one of the stronger woods so I might be able to get it down to the correct size. But I was wrong, it started to wobble and I started getting a long oval and then it started to bow before I could get down to the size she wanted. Are there some hints anyone could give on how to turn something that would be a little smaller than a pair of chopsticks. Or is there someone that turns nitting needles that could give me some pointers.

Thanks
Greg
Lincoln, Ne.

 

[dalemcginnis]

I made a pair for my daughter, sorry I don't remember what wood I used. I cheated though and started with a hardwood dowel and turned it down to final dimension. How did you have yours mounted? I had mine in a chuck with the tailstock for support. The bottom of the needle was at the tailstock and the tailstock was just tight enough to make the live center move at the same speed as the needle. I then started at the tail working towards the head until I had it down to the proper size. Then I tapered the tip until it came loose. Remember to slow the lathe down as the needle gets closer to size, and of course LIGHT cuts. You don't want to be pushing it out of shape with your tool.

Hope this helps. Hang in there and keep trying, just look at is as a skill building exercise. What worried me the most wasn't trying to make one the same diameter for the whole length. It was trying to make a second one the same diameter as the first.

By the way, you can see mine in my photo album.

 

[rccrazybill]

I made a few for my Mother out of Bloodwood and they turned out very well. I know I have pictures somewhere .... I will keep looking .... Anyway the bloodwood was a great wood for turning them but I did have to get a steady rest for my lathe. I picked up a cheap $40 one at woodcraft and Knitting needles and Magic Wands are much easier. I tried turning a Cherry dowel into a wand but I did not have the steady rest at the time and blew it out at the very end , it was coming out good until ....

 

[GoodTurns]

dowelsondemand.com has dowels in tons of species and sizes. You can cheat and buy the size you need, shape the point end and just turn a small cap for the top. Probably save you a lot of frustration!