knottyharry
Member
Hi Heather,
I'm not sure what you have in the way of other tools. But if you have a table saw, or band saw, you can make your own blanks starting out for something to practice on. You can use pine, oak, walnut. Pine is probably the cheapest to work with till you get the hang of it. But avoid any knots. Cut some 3/4 by 3/4 pieces about 5 inches long.
Penn State Ind. had a free DVD at one point you could order online. Look at there website see if they still offer it. It was on their home page.
Do you have a drill press? You really need one. And the more travel the better. (The larger the better) A drill centering jig would be nice, but you can get some cheaper ones made of wood also. Or make one.
You would probably be better off to start with the slimline kit. And build up from there. Talk to the guys at woodturningz.com there phone number is 1-888-763-5487.
You need a 7mm Drill bit, I use the carbide one...but the brad point works also. You drill slow, and clean out the flutes often.
You also need a pen mill for facing off the ends of the blanks, and it cleans out the brass tubes of any excess glue inside. I use mine in my drill press. But they can be used different ways.
Speaking of glue...there are several options here. I use the gel type CA glue for gluing in the brass tubes and have good luck with it. But there are other options also.
You need sandpaper, 120 grit, 220, 320, 400. I use wet or dry in the 320 and 400 grits. I buy it at Lowes or any hardware store. I buy the sheets and cut strips from them. You can get into other things later.
If you want to invest the money in micro mesh, that is some good stuff. It's a real fine grit polishing cloth, up to 12,000 grit.
Use it after the sandpaper. The secret to it is to keep it moving, don't hold it in one place. You will burn it.
Or you could get some EEE polishing cream/paste. Use it after the snadpaper, and then some Shellawax to finish it off.
There are several different options here.
You do all of this on the lathe.
When it's time to assemble the parts. You can use your drill press, or pick up a press. There are several out there.
Good luck.
Harry
I'm not sure what you have in the way of other tools. But if you have a table saw, or band saw, you can make your own blanks starting out for something to practice on. You can use pine, oak, walnut. Pine is probably the cheapest to work with till you get the hang of it. But avoid any knots. Cut some 3/4 by 3/4 pieces about 5 inches long.
Penn State Ind. had a free DVD at one point you could order online. Look at there website see if they still offer it. It was on their home page.
Do you have a drill press? You really need one. And the more travel the better. (The larger the better) A drill centering jig would be nice, but you can get some cheaper ones made of wood also. Or make one.
You would probably be better off to start with the slimline kit. And build up from there. Talk to the guys at woodturningz.com there phone number is 1-888-763-5487.
You need a 7mm Drill bit, I use the carbide one...but the brad point works also. You drill slow, and clean out the flutes often.
You also need a pen mill for facing off the ends of the blanks, and it cleans out the brass tubes of any excess glue inside. I use mine in my drill press. But they can be used different ways.
Speaking of glue...there are several options here. I use the gel type CA glue for gluing in the brass tubes and have good luck with it. But there are other options also.
You need sandpaper, 120 grit, 220, 320, 400. I use wet or dry in the 320 and 400 grits. I buy it at Lowes or any hardware store. I buy the sheets and cut strips from them. You can get into other things later.
If you want to invest the money in micro mesh, that is some good stuff. It's a real fine grit polishing cloth, up to 12,000 grit.
Use it after the sandpaper. The secret to it is to keep it moving, don't hold it in one place. You will burn it.
Or you could get some EEE polishing cream/paste. Use it after the snadpaper, and then some Shellawax to finish it off.
There are several different options here.
You do all of this on the lathe.
When it's time to assemble the parts. You can use your drill press, or pick up a press. There are several out there.
Good luck.
Harry