John Messinger
02-27-2009, 3:44 PM
Recently my wife and some aquaintences started a candy store as a new business venture. She wanted me to make some "sucker blocks" to display candy on a stick. I quickly made some square stadium seating types that look nice enough, but I wanted to make something a bit different such as a rotating stepped design that would spiral up rather than just a round wedding cake type of arrangement. I could not find anything on the internet that could help me do this so I came up with the following layout for a spiral and the jig to make the cutting faster and more reproducable. I don't expect this technique to have a lot of applicability, but perhaps model railroaders and the like could find it useful.
http://inlinethumb10.webshots.com/27209/2846595380092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2846595380092041178izFdvx)
I'll describe a spiral of about 14 1/4" diameter with a layer of about 1 1/2" wide that spirals in. Depicted above: using compass, trammel points and straight edge, I have drawn a 7 1/2" radius circle and divided it into 8 equal sections. Then I drew a 5/8" radius center circle. Resetting the compass to 6 7/8" I drew an arc from one radial section line to the next. Resetting the compass again from the center 5/8" circle to each newly drawn arc I proceeded around the circle to give me a width of 1 1/2" to this initial layer. I determined the radius for the 5/8" center circle by trial and error. I cut this initial layer on the scroll saw by following the graphite line. A 1/4 x 20 stove bolt was placed in the center as an axle.
http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/10522/2855586470092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2855586470092041178voRHVR)
The above depicts the jig. Its main features are 1) a fence that extends to the right that the center axel slides along. 2) an additional "adjustable fence" on the left side of the band saw blade made from a 2" long piece of bandsaw blade. The piece of blade is clamped in a movable piece that can adjust to give a layer from about 1/4" to 2" wide. The ice pick is pointing to the "adjustable fence".
http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/12045/2242686710092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2242686710092041178ctChOA)
Side view. Incidentally, my band saw is a home built Gillium kit band saw that is very easy to clamp things to. I set the adjustable "fence" to 1.5 inches from the bandsaw blade and rotated the workpiece in.
http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/18507/2676707750092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2676707750092041178DLIawT)
Ta da!
http://inlinethumb10.webshots.com/27209/2846595380092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2846595380092041178izFdvx)
I'll describe a spiral of about 14 1/4" diameter with a layer of about 1 1/2" wide that spirals in. Depicted above: using compass, trammel points and straight edge, I have drawn a 7 1/2" radius circle and divided it into 8 equal sections. Then I drew a 5/8" radius center circle. Resetting the compass to 6 7/8" I drew an arc from one radial section line to the next. Resetting the compass again from the center 5/8" circle to each newly drawn arc I proceeded around the circle to give me a width of 1 1/2" to this initial layer. I determined the radius for the 5/8" center circle by trial and error. I cut this initial layer on the scroll saw by following the graphite line. A 1/4 x 20 stove bolt was placed in the center as an axle.
http://inlinethumb27.webshots.com/10522/2855586470092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2855586470092041178voRHVR)
The above depicts the jig. Its main features are 1) a fence that extends to the right that the center axel slides along. 2) an additional "adjustable fence" on the left side of the band saw blade made from a 2" long piece of bandsaw blade. The piece of blade is clamped in a movable piece that can adjust to give a layer from about 1/4" to 2" wide. The ice pick is pointing to the "adjustable fence".
http://inlinethumb14.webshots.com/12045/2242686710092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2242686710092041178ctChOA)
Side view. Incidentally, my band saw is a home built Gillium kit band saw that is very easy to clamp things to. I set the adjustable "fence" to 1.5 inches from the bandsaw blade and rotated the workpiece in.
http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/18507/2676707750092041178S500x500Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2676707750092041178DLIawT)
Ta da!