Turning Lanyard Beads

[Lance Strahl]

Hello! Thanks for the add to the forum!

While I'm not new to woodworking, I have never tried turning. My other big hobby is knives, and a lot of guys have lanyard beads and pulls. Many are made from metal, but occasionally you see them in other materials. I'd like to make some in natural materials such as wood and bone. I believe this would overlap with the pen turning community pretty well. As I have not tried any turning before, I would love to hear some recommendations on what you think this best tools to get started would be, both lathe and tools, and any tips or techniques.

I've attached some reference pictures for anyone who hasn't seen these before, they are typically about 1" long and 1/2" in diameter.

Also if anyone out there has turned mammoth, I'd love to hear from you.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Charlie_W]

You could also use materials like acrylics and Corian or other solid surface brands of materials.

Lathe and start up tooling is another thing. Perhaps if you make that a separate post from the lanyard beads, folks can answer more specifically.

 

[Lance Strahl]

Hi Charlie,

I had considered using other materials as well, and have quite a few options on hand. This pics are more just for reference. The reason I included the start up tools and equipment in here, is I am specifically starting turning for this project, and was hoping someone with experience making beads could make some suggestions.

 

[MRDucks2]

I have not turned beads but looking at what you are wanting to achieve I would approach it very similar to a pen.
- prepare a blank of +\- 3/4 inch square and 5-6 inches long by drilling a hole through the center of desired diameter.
- turn the entire blank with a focus on shaping the individual beads in the lengths desired.
- finish as desired.
- separated the beads from each other. I suppose you could use a parting tool on the lathe but I would either my bandsaw or scroll saw.
- Finish cut ends as needed.

You could put a brass tube through the center of the original blank before starting if desired but would need to ream the ends well to ensure they do not cause wear on the lanyard.

It will be interesting to see what others say.

 

[Lance Strahl]

@MRDucks2 Thanks!

Any particular lathe or tools and tool sizes you would recommend?

 

[1080Wayne]

Those could be turned on any lathe , from the minis up to my 4 ft one . Most of us use regular size tools for pens (1/2 - 1 inch) . The beads are about the same diameter , so I see no reason for smaller tools unless you want to make very small beads and coves . Personally , I would stay away from those designs .

MRDucks gives you a semi mass production approach if you want to make a bunch of similar ones from one material . I believe you are thinking of some materials where you would start with a one bead sized piece . A lot more labour involved , so charge accordingly .

Forgot to say , carbide tools probably your best bet if you want to do bone , etc . I would use a radiused square cutter for most of those designs . LOTS of practice required to get adept with any tool , and familiiar with the turning characteristics of each material . Sorry , mammoth is the one I have zero experience with .

 

[dogcatcher]

Start off you need a mandrel, a 6" piece of 1/4" cold rolled steel will be fine. Drill and tap the end for 8-32 socket head screw.

Now for the blank, you need to drill a 1/4" hole, for a 1" long bead, drill the hole 7/8" deep, then drill through with a 1/8" bit. These holes must be dead on centered. The 1/4" hole will slide on to the mandrel, then using the socket head screw to hold the blank in place. Turn to shape, remove the turned blank, and drill out the remaining 1/8" hole.

 

[Lance Strahl]

@1080Wayne Thanks for the advice, any particular tool manufacturer you recommend? As to the lathe itself, I was thinking about something like the Rockler Excelsior mini so I could turn larger items, but if you think something like the PSI Penpal would be a better option, I'd go that route. Or any other suggestions would be appreciated.

@dogcatcher Thanks! I'll definitely use that approach.

 

[dogcatcher]

 

[dogcatcher]

Pictures are not very good but what I had. The mandrel is just a rod that is drilled and tapped from the end as shown. Lathe? There are a lot of suggestions, but first check the local craigslist. Old iron beats the stuff that comes out of the today's stores. If you find something, post a link and ask questions about the good and bad of it. Even old iron has some duds.

 

[Lance Strahl]

@dogcatcher Thanks! The pictures really do help!

Alright, I'll check and be on the look out. I looked the other night, but everything was workshop sized rather than bench top. I don't need a 48" bed for making beads lol

 

[penicillin]

When I make pens, I drill the pen blanks all the way through. (After seeing a presentation by Mark Dreyer / @mg_dreyer, I am rethinking that strategy.) I use brad point drills, and sometimes there can be a little blowout, but there always seems to be enough extra pen blank that it doesn't matter for the pen.

I use a pen mill to square my drilled pen blanks. (Yeah, after the presentation, I am rethinking that, too.) To avoid milling off a lot of pen blank and wearing out the pen mill, I use an old Lufkin 511 machinist depth gauge to measure the depth of the pen tube, then bring it out of the blank and use the measurement to draw a line on the outside of the pen blank showing the extra pen blank material beyond the tube. Next, I cut off the excess on the bandsaw. I cut it outside the line to leave a little space for squaring with the pen mill. (Yeah, I have "shortened" a pen tube once or twice. Each time I said to myself, "I won't do that again!")

Example machinist depth gauge, similar to the old Lufkin 511 that I use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D49Y1D1

I found myself with a lot of pen blank cutoffs that had drill holes in them. I mounted them on a pen mandrel with slimline bushings between them and used the lathe to turn them into beads. My young great-nieces string them together on leather strings to make bracelets.

I have more pen blank cutoffs than demand from nieces, so I put some away for the future. The photo shows plastics in one bag (they were more popular), a large quantity of exotic wood ones in another bag, and one incomplete bead in the lower right corner as an example.

 

[KenB259]

When I make pens, I drill the pen blanks all the way through. (After seeing a presentation by Mark Dreyer / @mg_dreyer, I am rethinking that strategy.) I use brad point drills, and sometimes there can be a little blowout, but there always seems to be enough extra pen blank that it doesn't matter for the pen.

I use a pen mill to square my drilled pen blanks. (Yeah, after the presentation, I am rethinking that, too.) To avoid milling off a lot of pen blank and wearing out the pen mill, I use an old Lufkin 511 machinist depth gauge to measure the depth of the pen tube, then bring it out to the outside of the blank and use the measurement to draw a line on the outside of the pen blank showing the extra pen blank material beyond the tube. Next, I cut off the excess on the bandsaw. I cut it outside the line to leave a little space for squaring with the pen mill. (Yeah, I have "shortened" a pen tube once or twice. Each time I said to myself, "I won't do that again!")

Example machinist depth gauge, similar to the old Lufkin 511 that I use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D49Y1D1

I found myself with a lot of pen blank cutoffs that had drill holes in them. I mounted them on a pen mandrel with slimline bushings between them and used the lathe to turn them into beads. My young great-nieces string them together on leather strings to make bracelets.

I have more pen blank cutoffs than demand from nieces, so I put some away for the future. The photo shows plastics in one bag (they were more popular), a large quantity of exotic wood ones in another bag, and one incomplete bead in the lower right corner as an example.

View attachment 304237

That's a great use for otherwise scrap material.