Easy Woodworking and craft tips and Ideas (8-12 )

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8) Easy Woodworking and craft tips and Ideas

Extending the life of your Lathe.

When working on a lathe most wood turners set up their workpiece by either tapping the the piece onto the headstock or they force it in by screwing in the tailstock.

The problem with doing it this way is that it puts pressure on the motor bearings .

This will shorten the life of even the best lathes.

On your next woodworking project try this: Remove the spur from the headstock and tap the spur itself into the end of the workpiece with a wooden mallet. Once your marks are made and the cut is deep enough, put the spur back in the headstock and then tighten up the tailstock. You will find that a lot less pressure is put on the motor.


9) Easy Woodworking and craft tips and Ideas

Sanding drums for a lathe.


Here are two ways to make sanding drums for your lathe.

The first is to turn a drum yourself using a piece of hardwood to the length of your choice.

It can be any length and after experimenting you will find the length to suite yourself.

The diameter of the drum is also optional, but 50mm (2”) is a good size.

Apply a coat of contact adhesive to the drum or dowel you have made.

Then apply contact adhesive to the back of a roll of 25mm (1”) wide sanding strips.The size grit is up to you.

Apply the sanding roll to the dowel at an angle of about 12 to 16 degrees.When complete trim the ends and you now have a handy drum sander.

Another way to make a handy drum sander is to make or buy a dowel and again the length of your choice and divide it into three.

Glue course sanding strip to the left of the dowel.
Glue medium sanding strip in the middle and fine to the right.

This should improve your sanding drum’s versatility and save you time rather than changing the drums.


10) Easy Woodworking and craft tips and Ideas.

A do-it-yourself wooden Mallet.


Here is a wooden mallet that could hit a home run.

Use an old wooden baseball or softball bat that is lying around the garage or you can get one cheaply at a second hand shop or garage sale.

Put your hand as high up on the handle as you can and still feel comfortable holding it.

Cut off the part below your hand and cut off anything above that you wold consider excess for a mallet.
Round off and sand the edges. Drill a hole through the handle and you can hang it on a nail or a pegboard.
You now have an ash or is it a hickory or?? Mallet.


11) Easy Woodworking and craft tips and Ideas.

Using a marking gauge

The marking gauge is a very accurate instrument used to scribe thicknesses and widths for planing cutting or sanding.

However it is often put back in the tool box never to see the light of day again.

The reason for this is because many inexperienced woodworkers don’t use it properly.

Woodworkers who use the marking gauge incorrectly are heavy handed and want to scribe a deep line and therefore put pressure on the scribe pin.The pressure should be on the adjustable head to make sure it stays in contact with the surface of the workpiece.

Rotate the shaft slightly so that the pin just scratches the surface.then do it again to reinforce the line.


12) Easy Woodworking and craft tips and Ideas.

Cutting accurate mitre joints.

When using a mitre box a problem often is that their sides wear out,which effects the accuracy and the tight fit of the mitres.

Don’t throw the the mitre box out just yet.

Make your cuts and then clamp the pieces on top of a builders square so that the pieces are now exactly square.

Carefully saw through the joint and stop just before touching the square.
Remove the square and saw the rest of the joint.
Be sure to mark the pieces as your cut may not have been exactly perpendicular and that joint may not fit in another position.

This may seem like a lot of trouble to go through, but the end result will be a mitre joint to be proud of and is without any gaps between the joints.


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