rose machine for decorating hand turned hand mirrors.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Hi all
Been turning hand held mirrors a bunch lately and was wondering if anyone on this forum turns mirrors and possibly decorate the backs using a rose machine?Wishing I could get in touch with someone that knows about the rose machine and if it's feasible to use on mirrors.
Thanks guys, Mitch

[Michelle Rich]

I do not have a rose engine. But you could easily use templates and a router. Much cheaper alternative. (by thousands!)

[Paul Douglass]

You might do a search on the internet for yoyospin. This guy has a rose engine and always willing to answer questions. He has helped me several times answering my questions.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Thanks Michelle for the reply. Routers I have several of them but where do you get the templates ? I thought about doing this but never found out where to start and just what the templates look like. If I could ask you to e-mail me any info about this I would be grateful. Mit_ch@comcast.net

Thanks again Michelle. Mitch:)

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Paul
Thanks a lot Paul, I will do that and see what he says. I am hoping to see if michelle can help me about router templates first. I decorate my mirrors extensively with turning tools now, but am looking for a different twist so to speak. Mitch:)

[Tim Rinehart]

the other option, depending on how big the mirrors are (can't be that big if 'hand mirror' is to have them routed on an ornamental mill.
I have one, though I've only begun playing with it.

The capabilities have some similarities with Rose Engine work, but different approach.

Do you have a particular design you are thinking about, and how many are you making?

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Tim
Thanks for the reply. Is the Legacy the machine that Sears sells? Seems to me I heard of it before. I made over thirty of these mirrors and give them to women in the family and other friends. No particular design. I start off with a 51/4" square piece of wood and turn a 4" inch mortise in the wood into which fits a 4" mirror and go from there. Lot of fun I decorate the backs now with turning tools. I measured the outside diameter of one I just turned and the diameter is now 45/8", they are all different diameters. Mitch:)

[ed walker]

Here is a guide to making your own rose engine.I made one like this a little over a year ago and it works reasonably well.I have not had a lot of time on it but it was fairly inexpensive.Using what I had on hand,trim router,cross slide vise,MDF,I was able to assemble one in about two nights.My total cost was about $40 out of pocket.
http://woodartbyjack.homestead.com/RoseEngine.html
This was where I got the plans from a kind gentleman that was willing to share.

[Ryan Baker]

Is the Legacy the machine that Sears sells?

No. He's referring to this :
http://www.legacywoodworking.com/

[David E Keller]

Another option for decorating the backs would be to use an eccentric chuck as is done with pendants and such. I bought one from a guy on the IAP(penturners) website, and it has some interesting design possibilities. Several creekers have made and posted versions of their own, but I don't have any of the threads marked.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Thanks Ryan and David. Mitch:)

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Ed Walker
Thanks Ed. That looks simple enough to assemble if you have all the parts. I am sure it will do fine decorating but I need to talk to someone that has a machine and be assured that I can decorate my mirrors, I am not interested in decorating anything else, at least at this time. Mitch:)

[Michelle Rich]

Hey Mitch:Check with folks like Woodcraft, MLCS, and other router bit suppliers. They have premade templates for decorating boxes. (diamonds, bowties, hearts, stars etc you get the inlay bit/bushing combo)..if you want you can see how these are made & then custom make your own templates. Once you see them, you'll catch on quickly. The legacy ornamental Mill is a 2,000.00 option , but for some mirrors that seems a bit pricey! I have seen where folks carve out the receipients name and then use inlace too..nice option. I think on it somemore & if I think of anything else I'll let you know.

[Michelle Rich]

ooohh, just remembered The folks that make Nova lathes used to make a decorative attachment for lathes..I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. ??? ornamental turner??? They no longer make it, but maybe Ebay? Don't think it cost an arm & leg (probably just an arm) ..might try to see if you could find one. anybody out there remember this & can help here?

[Norm Zax]

Cheaper alternative to decorating the mirror back is inserting an inlay, such as this:
http://www.rockler.com/c/inlays-banding.cfm