Nutcracker Question

[Joe O'Leary]

I'm attempting my first nutcracker and it required a 3/4" channel in the center of the torso about half way down (for the lever to fit into). The torso turning is round and I'm having two problems:
a) How to cut the channel in the exact center of the turning and
b) How to cut the ramp at the same width.

The photo shows what i did on the B/S freehand, then chisel. It's not very pretty or accurate. Any ideas??

115980

[Ron Coleman]

Joe

I made a few nutcrackers years ago and I remember dreading the internal cuts. I used the bandsaw to make the large cut and a small backsaw to do the angle part and then finish with a chisel. I remember I used glued up blanks of poplar and the center section was 3/4" thick so it was mostly cut on the dotted line to keep things centered.

The nutcrackers I made were originally written up in Fine Woodworking back about 1990. Here's a link to the article and it shows a method for cutting the slot on the bandsaw. Note the handscrew to keep the body from twisting. To do the angle cut on the bandsaw I would use a wedge under the base to hold the body at the right angle and figure some method of clamping the assembly together before starting the cut, maybe glue or screws. As you found out freehand cutting on the bandsaw doesn't work for tall and unstable pieces. :eek:

http://books.google.com/books?id=iwizr3heP3IC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=turning+nutcrackers&source=bl&ots=Cv167udn2O&sig=oRmbcoRhtH6HgLP3_JXdSHVMUSs&hl=en&ei=7ojqSa2_AdLHtgeMqZjGBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPA94,M1

Ron

[Joe O'Leary]

Thanks, Ron. That's the same article I'm using. I also started with poplar, but switched to pine as the poplar was a bear on these cuts. I find the torso tends to rotate in the had screws and I have difficulty extending the cut lines down the side of the torso.

Joe

[Steve Leibold]

I drill 2 holes on the top of the body and insert short dowels which are later used to mount the head. I made a table saw jig for each of the 2 channel cuts and mount the body on these jigs using the short dowels. Then I either use a dado blade or just make multiple passes with a standard blade to make the channel cuts and smooth them up with a chisel or rasp and sandpaper.

[Joe O'Leary]

Steve,

That sounds like a great approach that I'd like to try.. Do you have pics or a description of the jig?

Thanks,

Joe

[Steve Leibold]

Nothing too fancy. The jig for the back channel just has a board with 2 dowels that is vertical to prevent the body from spinning while sawing. This system works good for nutcrackers up to 2 foot tall. I started making a 3 foot tall nutcracker but the tablesaw won't make a deep enough cut for the top channel so I'll have to figure out a different method!