Your Best Nifty Shop Tip?

[Russell Neyman]

It's the small things that often make the biggest difference. I've found that the crafty veterans seem to know a little trick here or there that make turning better, safer, faster, or easier. So I'm throwing out a challenge: give us your best "nifty" and when this thread is done, it will make a great starting point for noobs.

What I'm suggesting/requesting here are the simple, everyday practices; things that don't require major investment of time or energy.

[Russell Neyman]

Obviously, I've gotta go first:

THE TASK AT HAND: Taking a half-cut tree round and efficiently cutting a round bowl blank, which isn't easy with the irregular bark or burl shape.

THE NIFTY TIP: Take a round piece of masonite or plywood, place it on top of the irregular surface, then sprinkle line string chalk (flour will do) marking the round blank where it falls vertically. If there's any danger of the chalk falling off during the ensuing bandsaw cutting, spray it with whatever finish (or hairspray) to lock it in place.

[Russell Neyman]

And, to keep it rolling, another one:

THE TASK: When sharpening a gouge, how do you avoid the bother of re-aligning the Wolverine (or similar) guide every time?

THE TIP: I mark the 'depth' setting on the gouge shaft with a permanent marker, so re-sharpening is a snap. Just set the guide a hair further down, remarking it as I go.

[Richard Galloway]

To tell if you are grinding where you Want to grind on your tools, mark the surface to be ground with a felt marker. It won't clog your grinding wheel and makes it easy to see where you are removing material.

[Dick Wilson]

GET A BIG COAL SHOVEL!!! As you swirl further down the vortex and do more turning you will need it. I am working on my shop this morning getting ready for a Creeker visit (Paul Merrill). I realize that the mamby-pamby shovel I have is worthless. Hmmmm. My neighbor has a biggin:D.

A friend once told me that what I ought to do is first order of business when entering my shop in the morning is to take 10 things off the bench and put them away. Of course if you use 20 items during the day.........well you get the idea.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I went down to the local hardware store and got a dishwasher box. I cut templates for cutting round blanks from 4" up to 16" (the size of my lathe). I use a screw in the center to mount it on the blank then cut. Cheap and easy.

[Jim Burr]

I stapled a piece of hook Velcro about 3' long to the front edge of my bench. Sanding pads (assuming of course they are Velcro backed pads:p) stick nicely in order and in easy reach while I go through the grits.

[Prashun Patel]

PVC toilet flanges, pipes, and random fittings make decent jam chucks.
PVC pipes make great tool holders.
$7 clip on utility light from Wal-mart can be repositioned easily on the stand for good lighting on either side of the vessel
Box fan with 20" pleated filter makes an ok ambient dust collector during sanding.
Buy the vari-grind, but make the v-arm.

[Paul Heely]

Use sandpaper like someone else is paying for it. Trying to use worn out stuff just causes frustration. And I don't subscribe to the idea that worn out 120 grit is my new 180....

[Scott Hackler]

There is no such thing as a tool that it TOO sharp!

When hollowing out bowls and open forms, make one solid pass from the rim to the center or vice versa. Breaking up your cuts will likely result in tool marks that you'll have to sand out.

For hollow forms, drill a hole (preferably with a Forestner bit) to ALMOST the desired depth and hollow out afterwards, from the hole to the side of the vessel. That will allow for side grain cutting on an end grain vessel. And clear your shavings every 2-3 passes.

Spend the extra time and get all tool/sanding marks out of your piece. Even if that means that you must work for another hour on it. The quality of your pieces will greatly improve.

Natural sunlight will reveal scratches and tool marks better than your shop light.

Use a contrasting piece of flat cardboard, plastic, paneling ect... to hold under your piece while shaping. This contrast will allow you to see the curve....EXACTLY. Without the solid background, the curve can blend into the lathe ways, floor, ect.

[Reed Gray]

I made a series of plywood strips about 20 inches long, and in widths from 1 to 8 inches in 1/2 inch increments. When cutting a log, I mark a plumb line front and back, and use the plywood strips to mark a parallel line for the other side of the slab. Much more accurate than eyeballing, and can lay out several bowl blanks depending on how big the log section is.

robo hippy

[Kyle Iwamoto]

After I reverse my bowl, (or anything you turned with a tenon) I use a thin 1/16" parting tool and try my best to get the tenon off the bowl in 1 piece. Sand it down flat, and PRESTO! a glue block. AND it already fits your chuck. And its FREE.

[Rob Sitze]

When turning square bowls, or any shape that is not round, I place a white paper towel on the bed, under the piece so I can see the shadow of the edges better.

[Bill Bolen]

DO: Keep a used up bar of soap with your faceplate mounting screws. One or two quick rubs across the threads and no more broken screws.

DON'T: Turn on the shop fan right after putting on that final coat of high gloss wop.:mad:

[Russell Neyman]

Use sandpaper like someone else is paying for it....

Gotta duck this in here: I heard that pearl of wisdom years ago from an old-timer at a woodworking show and quote it often. It's very good advice, actually. So, last year I had a student woodworker in my shop, and offered that comment. A week later, he complained that he was having trouble removing a small nick, and, seeing that the sandpaper he was using was worn out, I asked, "-- Remember what I said about using sandpaper...?"

He thought for two seconds, then replied "Oh, yeah. Use somebody else's sandpaper!" I laughed so hard I nearly choked.

[Wally Dickerman]

Geez...so many tips, where to start. You can get small blocks of parrafin in the canning dept. at the grocery store. I keep a block near my lathe and frequently rub some on the bed and the underside of the tool rest banjo. It now will move smooth as silk.

[Tim Rinehart]

I always keep a small metal 6" ruler nearby, and was constantly losing it or 'blowing' it off into chips.
I take a couple small round magnets (about size of quarter), and keep the ruler attached to tailstock with it. Problem solved.

Here's another using same round magnets...a local turner taught me this to get a consistent second bevel on a bowl gouge for those pesky transitions in bowls (Jimmy Clewes refers to it as the microbevel I think)...but it's just a second bevel about half way down the initial bevel to reduce burnishing when taking steep angles on inside of bowl.

Keep a couple magnets (say 2 or 3) on end of your v-block on Wolverine. I will sharpen initial bevel, the one closest to cutting edge, then lay those 2 or 3 magnets INSIDE the v-block, which pushes the gouge closer to the wheel to establish a second bevel consistently.

[Greg Bolton22]

On bowl blanks that still have the bark intact, use a self-taping Forstner bit to remove the bark where your drive or live center needs to be. I use a 1.5 inch Irwin speed arbor bit and it works like a charm. Much quicker than mallet and chisel!

Greg

[Tony De Masi]

Go slow and be patient.

[Charles Bjorgen]

If you're striving for a nice, flowing curvature on the exterior of a bowl, place a six-inch straight edge at various locations along the bowl and it will reveal any undesirable flat spots. A tip given to me by a turning buddy named Steve.

[Jon McElwain]

I have several magnets stuck to the headstock to hold little items like allen wrenches, calipers, chuck keys, etc. I also use one of those magnetic bowls like they sell at auto parts stores. This hangs on the headstock or the lathe body.

[Terry Quiram]

I pretty much live in pocket tee shirts. SWMBO was always complaining about shavings in the pockets. I solved the problem with blue painters tape. I tape the pocket closed.

Wally's tip about parafin is a good one but I find a wad of wax paper works for me. I rub it on the tool rest, the tool and the ways so the banjo slides easily.

[Russell Neyman]

THE TASK: Repairing a small flaw or void in a complex grain pattern, like curly maple or a burl.

THE TIP: Use regular crayons in the appropriate colors, mixing and matching as necessary. You can melt the primary color into the void, scrape it flat with a razor blade, then scrape away the secondary color areas as needed, adding other colors of crayon. This surface will accept shellac and some other finishes. The crayon can be melted with a heat gun or open flame.

[Toney Robertson]

My wife (a teacher) got rid of one of her old paper cutters that she had broken. I fixed it (don't tell her) and it makes a GREAT sandpaper cutter. Very easy to cut any width strip you want. Reduces waste.

[Mike Peace]

Keep a piece of a candle handy for rubbing across the tool rest to make it easier for tools to glide. Use it on the woodworm screw before using, especially with green wood to make it easier to remove. Also use it on faceplate mounting scews as Bill Bohlen uses soap.

[Gary Kman]

Spend a few bucks and buy the few wrenches, screwdrivers, allens etc that you need often and keep them at the lathe instead of going through the 11th drawer down (or is it the 9th) on the big chest on the other end of the shop.

[Russell Neyman]

Locating the correct wrench to tighten allen screws is a pain in the backside, especially when it comes to standard versus metric. I remove them and spray both the screw and the matching allen wrench with a matching paint, which makes is so much easier to find the right size. I don't do this on all my tools; just the set screws on my cutters and jaws.

[David DeCristoforo]

My very best, all time greatest shop tip is a fantastically simple and cheap solution to an age old problem, namely stuff creeping under clamping pressure as it slips and slides on the thin layer of glue. After years of messing with cauls and extra clamps and a million other cumbersome "solutions", I discovered in a totally serendipitous manner....sand! After the glue is spread, a couple of grains of fine sand dropped here and there in the glue and no more frustrating slipping and sliding and creeping.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Some fantastic suggestions so far. Here's a health related one. To prevent allergic reactions from exotic woods and to prevent long term issues from inhaling dust I'd recommend a shower and a nasal irrigation system over and above the normal dust collections system. I started using a nasal irrigation system years ago after having chronic sinus infections and chronic bronchitis for years. Haven't had a cold and have had only two relatively minor sinus infections in seven years. A link: http://www.waterpik.com/sinus-health/

[Roger Chandler]

+1 on the sinus irrigation system........after a long day of turning and sanding, I always use one and the occurrences of sinus infections has been drastically reduced. My allergist put me onto these a few years back, and I have now had two, and it really does help!

[George Morris]

To lubricate screws buy a wax seal at the hardware and fill a plastic jar with it . Great for lubing screws!

[Curt Fuller]

Use sandpaper like someone else is paying for it. Trying to use worn out stuff just causes frustration. And I don't subscribe to the idea that worn out 120 grit is my new 180....

Being a tightwad, and maybe even taking it to a new level, but also believing steadfastly in what Paul has said here about using sandpaper like someone else is buying it, I learned this trick from a fellow 80+ year old turner in our club. I've learned that when old timers like that start talking it's always worth it to perk up your ears and listen. Anyway, he showed us all a sandpaper cutter he uses. He said his wife keeps him on a tight budget so he has to conserve sandpaper and this really makes a sheet of sand paper last a long time. It's just a simple piece of plywood with an old hacksaw blade screwed to the edge of it and a template for tearing a sheet of sandpaper down until it's in 1/16th size squares. You then fold the 1/16th sheet into thirds. As 1/3 gets used up, turn it over and use the next 1/3 and then unfold it and use the last 1/3. I'm here to tell you that it makes a sheet of sandpaper last forever!
211269

[Bob Bergstrom]

When I turn bowls with a tenon for the chuck I always make a second tenon a little wider at the base of the bowl blank. I call it a fudge factor. If I get a little too deep on the inside i have little extra on the bottom. If it comes out where I planed it, I can cut off the excess when when I reverse it to finish the bottom.

[robert baccus]

Make a couple of wooden cones with tenons in various sizes to turn HFs or vases reversed in order to finish turn the bases. is this a runon sentence? of course you hafta pull up the tailstock with a small flat point to support base end.-------------------old forester

[Clint Baxter]

Beeswax is not only great for finishing, but is also great for lubing screws.

Clint

[Jesse Goodwin]

My biggest time saver is a 4" forstner bit on a drill press and a stainless steel 4" faceplate. Regardless of shape, size or bark, it makes a great surface to mount the faceplate. The heavier or more out of balance the blank the deeper I drill so the plate is surrounded in solid wood and then I fasten it with 1 1/4" deck screws. I have turned many massive pieces this way. I bought the cheapest bit I could find and it has served me well for many years. The bit is easily sharpened with a stone, though it is rarely needed.

[Steve Vaughan]

In a recently posted (here) video of Cindy Drozda (I think), I noticed something really helpful to me. She was hollowing out a small form and then reached and put the end of a clear plastic tube in her mouth, took the other end and stuck it in the hollow form and blew all the chips out. The tube was on a string around her neck. Very simple idea! Keeps you from bending over and blowing into the hollow form only to eat a mouthful and it keeps your compressor from blowing them all over the place if you use that. Remember - EXHALE through the tube!

[robert baccus]

Throw away your powered face masks and dust vacums. mount a 24-30" fan on an outside wall about 16" behind your lathe. on my second fan i also mounted a flying bowl guard. also sucks laquer, fumes, ect. DO NOT mount in close proximity to your wife's clothesline.---------old forester

[Russell Neyman]

My biggest time saver is a 4" forstner bit on a drill press and a stainless steel 4" faceplate. Regardless of shape, size or bark, it makes a great surface to mount the faceplate. The heavier or more out of balance the blank the deeper I drill so the plate is surrounded in solid wood and then I fasten it with 1 1/4" deck screws. I have turned many massive pieces this way. I bought the cheapest bit I could find and it has served me well for many years. The bit is easily sharpened with a stone, though it is rarely needed.

I'd like to see a photo of this.

[Rick Markham]

This thread is fantastic!

Double D, that little trick is pure gold! I will be using that one. Everyone's tips are fantastic, I will echo one of Scott's, only mine is a different twist.... Paint the wall behind (or background) battleship grey, it reveals the line VERY clearly.

Ride the bevel... Let the tool do the work.

Use sandpaper like a 3 year old uses toilet paper. Cheating doesn't work, DON'T Skip grits!

Take as much care on the finish as the piece, even a fantastic piece can be ruined by a rushed/ improper finish. (The higher the gloss the finish, the more it will reveal sanding flaws or toolmarks, DON'T skip grits!)

Be patient :)

DON'T skip grits!

[Jack Mincey]

Some great tips on this thread.
I will add this one. When you need to find a small metal screw or tool in a large pile of shavings use the magnet on the bottom of your shop light. It is strong enough to pull any small metal out of this no mans land. Has saved the day for me more than once for sure.
Jack

[ken gibbs]

Tip # 1. Do not stick your finger into the table saw blade. Ben there and done that.

Tip # 2. Do not buy your wife flowers "just because". That is a florists sucker deal designed to make your life impossible for 72 hours and will become very expensive before you reach the high ground on the other side of this event.

[Michael Mills]

For centers, use the peg board hooks/racks made for screwdrivers. Work with 2MT, I don't know about other sizes.

[Noah Barfield]

If you are skinny, a shop vac can be a wonderful way of getting much of the dust out of your clothes before heading back into the house. If you are pleasantly plump, however, a shop vac adds much entertainment to this process. At least my wife found it entertaining when I showed her all of the "hickeys" and bruises the shop vac bestowed on my belly.

[Russell Neyman]

I'm compiling a list of the BEST OF THE NIFTYTRICKS and will post it at the end of the month. Thanks to everyone who has shared, and still waiting for more of the Old Guard to chime in.

[Tom Rollins]

For those of us that might be experiencing arthritis in the hands, I came up with a tool to ease the process of changing the jaws of my chuck. It consists of a 1/4 inch hex spacer and the appropriate Allen wrench. It fits into my battery powered screw driver and makes changing the jaws much quicker and easier.211328211329

[John Strait]

I use a cheap automatic center punch I found at harbor freight to mark the center points on my turnings.

211373

I check the sharpness of my skews by trying to drag the sharp edge across my fingernail. If it skips across, it is not sharp enough.

[Greg Just]

I have circles of 1/4 inch plywood cut in various diameters from 4 to 10 inches to use as a guide when cutting bowl blanks on the bandsaw. If cutting a blank from a log, always put the flat side down and attach the plywood to the bark side attached wood with a nail.

[Tom Wilson66]

Keep a telescoping magnetic pick up handy, they work great to pick up the jaw screw that just rolled under the tool cabinet. I have several scattered around the shop, always dropping a screw or small metal part!

[Dave Masters]

A couple of small beanbags (I fill a pair of socks with dried beans) are extremely handy for serving as a holding base for irregular bowl blanks, especially when trying to drill.

[Paul Heely]

To keep from marring up the spindle on your lathe with set screws from your chucks, use brass tipped screws. I get mine from McMaster, but you can probably find them at a well stocked hardware store.

211404

[Harvey M. Taylor]

Get a small tube blower fitted to compressor hose. Tape it to the top of the shop-vac hose, extended about i in. longer. When chips fill the hollow form. put the air hose inside the opening.allow a second or two for it to suck the chips, then blow the remaining with the air hose agitating them so the shop vac can suck them in, thus not allowing the dust and chips to contaminate the ambient air. Max

[Al Stramiello]

If you've been turning something really special . . . . just about have it done . . . . . and hear yourself saying:

"Just one last cut."

Immediately turn off the lathe.

[Rob Sitze]

Glue up.
Problem: Glue cures on brush during large glue ups, between moving stuff and assembly.

Solution: I usually use an acid brush, to prevent the glue on the brush from curing, I use one of those glad disposable containers, cut a small hole in the lid, fill with water about 1", then I stick my brush in it until I'm ready to use it again. Keeps my brush off of things I don't want glue on, and fresh for more glue.

[dan carter]

Sharpen chisels often.

heh heh I recall I told one of my woodturning students to sharpen a particular gouge he was using after about 15 minutes, meaning keep the gouge sharp, sharpen it often to achieve that condition. Time passed, I was working with other students not paying any particular attention to him or what he was doing. After awhile as I was making another pass thru the shop, I noticed he was sitting on a bench, daydreaming, swinging his legs freely, and generally really enjoying his time in shop class. I asked him what was up; of course you know his answer, he was waiting 15 minutes before sharpening his gouge and going to work.

[Neil McWilliams]

Was recently turning some magnolia and was frustrated by its end grain chippiness, even with freshly sharpened tools and a light touch. Had heard about using mineral oil over "fuzzy" grain to enhance the cut. Not having any MO at hand, I used some petroleum jelly. To my amazement and joy, it worked great, without penetrating into the wood to mess up or soften a subsequent finish. That jar is now standard equipment...and that little bit of vaseline protects your metal tools from the effects of wet wood. Give it a try.

[Russell Neyman]

From all of these, I'm nominating the following three as top tips.


“[To keep from moving] under clamping pressure… a couple of grains of fine sand dropped here and there in the glue and no more frustrating slipping and sliding and creeping.” -- David DeCristoforo, Davis, California
“v-block on Wolverine… sharpen initial bevel then lay those 2 or 3 magnets INSIDE the v-block, which pushes the gouge closer to the wheel to establish a second bevel.” – Tim Rinehart, Charlotte, North Carolina
“Cindy Drozda … was hollowing …[and took a] clear plastic tube in her mouth…and blew all the chips out. The tube was on a string around her neck.” – Steve Vaughan, Chesterfield, Virginia

I picked these because (a) I had not heard/seen it before, (b) they're useful to just about everyone, and (c) just darn clever. Truth is, this could easily be a Top Ten List.

Your nominees? Is there one here that really stands out?

[Bill White]

Remember:
Turning is NOT an intuitive art. Practice is the operative word here.
I still have my first bowl. I keep it as an indicator of what's the right/wrong way to turn a bowl. I sure didn't know anything about sharpening then (I also wonder if I do now).
Bill

[Russell Neyman]

Here's one I spotted in a friend's shop the other day:

George's lids don't always fit perfectly, especially after the wood shrinks a little bit. Sometimes they're a bit loose. So, to create a snugger fit, he puts a small, nearly-invisible dab of Multi-Glue (a clear, rubbery adhesive) in three corners under the edge of the lid and lets it dry. It can be shaved with a razor blade to adjust. This takes a loosey-goosey lid and makes it fit pretty snug, and on one is the wiser.

Thanks, George. Good tip.

[Dave Masters]

Picked this one up on of of the woodworking shows, but just in case you missed it:

It's not unheard of to have a holiday or a knot pop out when turning a hollow form, so how the heck to you patch it when it's virtually impossible to reach inside? Answer: insert a balloon and inflate it until it provided adequate backing for epoxy, filler, or whatever you use to patch holes. Works great!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

[Russell Neyman]

My friend George passed on this suggestion via email, asking me to post it for him:

"When turning rather rustic wood (lots of bark, cracks and knotholes) I often will encounter a major void, especially when the heartwoods begin to dry and shrink. The quickest way to fill these is actually with a piece of natural cork, like the ones that come from a wine bottle. It's flexible, fits snugly, and will accept both a stain and a finish. Last week I had a knothole fly out, and in two minutes I had it patched and ready to continue without waiting for glue to dry. Truth is, it looks like the original knot."

[Wally Dickerman]

Spend an hour with me in my shop and I'll pass along more tips than you can remember...75 years of turning worth of them.

My saying is...Use sandpaper like your rich uncle or your brother-in-law was paying for it.

When examining the profile of a bowl or hollow form, hold a contrasting colored piece of paper behind it. White paper for dark colored wood, black emery paper or sandpaper for light colored wood. Easy to see those little flat spots in an otherwise nice curve.

I have a 1 inch ID piece of pvc pipe of the right length to slip on the post of each of my tool rests. Always the right height, and never changes when I adjust the angle of the rest.

I use DS tape quite a lot. How to remove the piece? Just turn a 1/2 inch deep piece of wood that'll slip inside a faceplate. To remove the turned piece, slip the little piece of wood inside the threaded part of the facplate, thread the faceplate on the spindle and Voila...it easily pushes the turned piece off the faceplate.... no muss no fuss. I got $75 from Wood Mag several years ago for that tip....you get it for free!

I turned a plug with a hole bored in it to fit into the hose on my shop vac. I inserted a 12 inch long, 1 inch dia soft plastic hose. I prefer to vac the chips out of a HF rather than blow them out. I already have enough airborn dust in my shop.

Some of you may remeber the oversize wood handwheel that I posted a while back...much better than the small handwheels lathes are equipped with.

When using a screwchuck, most of the time you don't need the full length of the screw...I use a 1/4 inch plywood shim with a hole in th center to slip over the screw.

A tip I learned from Ray Allen. He used it before glueing on the next segmented ring...I cut 1 inch wide x 12 or more inches long piece of 3/4 inch plywood. Using a thin line of yellow glue, I apply a strip of 80 grit sandpaper to both sides of the plywood. I make several at a time. Flattens out the bottom of a bowl blank to glue on a glue block in seconds. I do the same using 320 sandpaper to prepare a HF rim for a collar.

To apply finish on a piece I pour a small amount of finishing oil or Deft in a bathroom paper cup. The cup is held securely in a 4 x 4 piece of 2 x 4 wood with the correct size hole bored part way through. I use a fresh paper cup to clean the brush with solvent.

I bought a 3/4 x 10 tap from Enco for about $20. It fits the threads on my Oneway live center. PM has the same. I've made threaded hardwood caps of various sizes to hold turned pieces without damaging them. Works great to finish the bottoms of bowls.

I have a lot more..that'll do for now.

When''s that book coming out Russell?

[Pete Gray]

224031Old PC hard drives make great lazy suzies for spraying up finished pieces, I have several of these so I can do a multi spray at ther same time, they are beautifull balanced units & can take a supprising load, just make up a MDF disk & attach a cut out to sit over the bearing housing which is raised
Pete

[George Morris]

I placed a piece of velcro with stickey one side and put it on my headstock. When I sand I stick each velcro grit in line . easy to keep it organized and clean. You can buy velcro by the foot at hardware store. G

[Bill Wyko]

1-When turning square pieces, rap the edges with green masking tape. This will make them easier to see when it's spinning.
2-Use a diamond hone in your flute to make your gouge razor sharp. For that matter, use a hone on everything after your done sharpening.

[Bill Wyko]

Wally ain't lying, He knows his stuff everyone. He's been turning since Christopher Columbus landed here. All kidding aside, he's one smart guy, listen to him.


Spend an hour with me in my shop and I'll pass along more tips than you can remember...75 years of turning worth of them.

My saying is...Use sandpaper like your rich uncle or your brother-in-law was paying for it.

When examining the profile of a bowl or hollow form, hold a contrasting colored piece of paper behind it. White paper for dark colored wood, black emery paper or sandpaper for light colored wood. Easy to see those little flat spots in an otherwise nice curve.

I have a 1 inch ID piece of pvc pipe of the right length to slip on the post of each of my tool rests. Always the right height, and never changes when I adjust the angle of the rest.

I use DS tape quite a lot. How to remove the piece? Just turn a 1/2 inch deep piece of wood that'll slip inside a faceplate. To remove the turned piece, slip the little piece of wood inside the threaded part of the facplate, thread the faceplate on the spindle and Voila...it easily pushes the turned piece off the faceplate.... no muss no fuss.

I turned a plug with a hole bored in it to fit into the hose on my shop vac. I inserted a 12 inch long, 1 inch dia soft plastic hose. I prefer to vac the chips out of a HF rather than blow them out. I already have enough airborn dust in my shop.

Some of you may remeber the oversize wood handwheel that I posted a while back...much better than the small handwheels lathes are equipped with.

When using a screwchuck, most of the time you don't need the full length of the screw...I use a 1/4 inch plywood shim.

A tip I learned from Ray Allen. He used it before glueing on the next segmented ring...I cut 1 inch wide x 12 or more inches long piece of 3/4 inch plywood. Using a thin line of yellow glue, I apply a strip of 80 grit sandpaper to both sides of the plywood. I make several at a time. Flattens out the bottom of a bowl blank to glue on a glue block in seconds. I do the same using 320 sandpaper to prepare a HF rim for a collar.

To apply finish on a piece I pour a small amount of finishing oil or Deft in a bathroom paper cup. The cup is held securely in a 4 x 4 piece of 2 x 4 wood with the correct size hole bored part way through. I use a fresh paper cup to clean the brush with solvent.

I bought a 3/4 x 10 tap from Enco for about $20, to fit the threads on my Oneway live center. PM has the same. I've made threaded hardwood caps of various sizes to hold turned pieces without piercing them. Works great to finish the bottoms of bowls.

I have a lot more..that'll do for now.

When''s that book coming out Russell?

[Russell Neyman]

Spend an hour with me in my shop and I'll pass along more tips than you can remember...75 years of turning worth of them.... When's that book coming out Russell?

This particular thread is coming up on five thousand visits, and not a one of them has more substance than this one by Wally. If you're smart, you'll read what he has to say carefully.

As far as the book, it's at the publisher now, and will soon be available. I'll let you guys know.

[Ted Evans]

It's the small things that often make the biggest difference. I've found that the crafty veterans seem to know a little trick here or there that make turning better, safer, faster, or easier. So I'm throwing out a challenge: give us your best "nifty" and when this thread is done, it will make a great starting point for noobs.

What I'm suggesting/requesting here are the simple, everyday practices; things that don't require major investment of time or energy.

Thanks for starting this thread Russell and thanks to all for the great ideas submitted.

[Lee Hoffman]

Old PC hard drives are a great source for STRONG magnets. A pita to remove from the housing but very handy. Place about 5 of them on a piece of mdf or ply and you have a nice moveable platform to attach to your lathe bed. Only problem is that you might need a prybar to release it! Also consider using these magnets in front of your floor sweep vacum pickups to catch metal objects before they strike the impeller!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

When I'm finished turning the outside form of a hollow vessel, I wrap it in several layers of industrial stretch wrap. That keeps the moisture in the wood while I hollow and adds a layer of security in case I go too thin. I wrap right over the chuck and all.
faust

[Russell Neyman]

The very subtle elements to a design catch my eye, and this week I colored some beads by apply amber shellac only to that area, with clear on the remainder of the vessel. After a light sanding and steel wool, I proceeded with my regular finishing process. Wow, what a difference!

[Jim Colombo]

Problem: Knowing the depth of the inside of a bowl or vessel.
My solution: Mount your 4 jaw chuck on the spindle. Place the end of your tailstock flush with the end of the bed. Rotate the quill as far into the tailstock as it will go. Measure from the ends of the jaws of the chuck to the tip of the quill. That dimension will never change so you can use it to determine how much material is left at the base of your piece. I have a scale on my quill so I rotated the quill until I had an easily remembered dimension from the chuck to the zero reading on my quill.

[Tom Rollins]

Waste block reattachment
Occasionally, a catch will separate the turning from the waste block and it is very tough to replace it accurately. I like to drill a 1/4 inch hole in the center of the waste block. This does two things. It helps me center the block on the piece by sighting through the hole to the center mark on the piece and then after the waste block is glued onto the piece, I drill a very shallow 1/4 inch hole through the existing hole in the waste block into the bottom of the piece. If the waste block should become separated from the piece, it can be re-glued correctly by temporarily sliding a dowel rod through the center hole of the waste block and into the shallow hole in the bottom of the piece. After this alignment, remove the dowel rod and let the glue dry. The shallow hole in the piece is removed when finishing the bottom.

[Peter Fabricius]

Pen makers desk set "hole for the nib"
This is a difficult hole to drill so, a solution.
For the 8mm Round Top European Style Pen - Grind a 11/32" twist drill bit and regrind it to the shape of the nib.
For the 7mm Slimline Style Pen - Grind a 21/64" twist drill bit and regrind it to the shape of the nib.

Note: Grinding a twist drill to a near point is not difficult but getting a cutting edge all the way down might be tricky. I focused on the trailing edge of each flute and thereby getting a positive angle on the sharp edge. It worked out real well and will allow me to drill a nib holder in desk pen sets or at one end of a Pen Box for use as a desk set.

Great thread and I hope the collective book of TIPS will be available as a PFD download when complete.
thanks
Peter F.

[Russell Neyman]

Applying a finish to the outer rim of a natural edge bowl before turning it serves several purposes. First, it just plain looks better, especially if you add a coat of shellac, paint, or CA glue. I've even seen people blacken it with a torch and then apply one of the aforementioned sealers. Having a nice dark rim dramatically enhances the "natural" part of that bowl. The second advantage is it tends to stabilize otherwise loose and sometimes punky wood, improving your chances of keeping all of it intact. Finally, if you can harden these areas, they'll usually cut more cleanly.

[Bill Wyko]

When using masking tape to hold pieces together in a vacuum bag, it can be quite hard to remove the tape when the piece comes out.


Solution: fold over about 1" of tape and leave it hanging. Then when you want to remove it, you have a tongue to pull that won't be stuck to the piece.

[Mark Hix]

Those small bowls that just did not look right make great small parts holders around your workbench.
You can turn your hand held belt sander upside down and mount it in the vise on your workbench. Watch your fingers.

[Rich Stewart]

Turn fast, sand slow.

[Russell Neyman]

This is a clarification of something I posted earlier having to do with re-chucking a bowl. The issue arises when you're either (a) turning a bowl around to turn the other end, or (b) a bowl comes loose and needs to be re-mounded. The problem, of course, is that it's very difficult to get it aligned perfectly. Before I continue, let me post this photo for illustrative purposes:

227125

The tip is to use two sets of jaws in combination with a cone-shaped free center (which isnt pictured, but I'm certain all of you know what that looks like) to be certain everything is in alignment. This is a rough-turned madrone blank, just being mounted in a four-jaw chuck. After rough turning the tenon, I left it in the large Cole jaws, placing the tenon in place but not tightening it. By moving the free center into the thread hole of the larger jaw, it centers the two quite accurately. Then, I remove the Cole, and begin turning the bowl.

This same technique works when a bowl slips in the jaws and needs to be re-chucked, assuming the lip has been turned and is true. Simply re-grip it, engage the live center, and tighten it. I'm amazed how many turners try to re-mount a bowl freehand.

This photo is part of another thread I will post later, dealing with turning wet madrone.

[Prashun Patel]

Yogurt containers make perfect single-shot finishing cups.

[Russell Neyman]

I use those very thin coffee-stirring straws to apply CA glue into specific places. Works much better than the pointy applicator that comes on the top of the bottles, they're disposable, and cheap. Heck, the truth is most coffee shops will give you a couple of dozen if you're a regular customer.

[ted moore]

Problem: Knowing the depth of the inside of a bowl or vessel.
My solution: Mount your 4 jaw chuck on the spindle. Place the end of your tailstock flush with the end of the bed. Rotate the quill as far into the tailstock as it will go. Measure from the ends of the jaws of the chuck to the tip of the quill. That dimension will never change so you can use it to determine how much material is left at the base of your piece. I have a scale on my quill so I rotated the quill until I had an easily remembered dimension from the chuck to the zero reading on my quill.

That is very helpful.
Never thought of that.
Thanks

[Harvey M. Taylor]

when working with ca glue, liberally apply paste wax, bee'swax or other waxes to your fingers that will be handling the glue/filler with those fingers, refresh regularly and work the filler/glue into the work. When finished, wipe the wax off. No fingers stuck together, no sanding your fingers to get it off no torn gloves, which allow the glue to get on your fingers. Max

[Harvey M. Taylor]

using the formula of one cup of rice, sand or whatever, equals 10 pounds of cremated ashes of a pet poured into a clean white sock will give you an approximate size to make the urn to put the ashes of the pet in. Max

[Tim Chase]

I find that a pencil line on the woolverine bar, gets me dialed right in to where i was and as you said in a hair further than the last turnning. Theres several marks along its length and I can go right to them for the different bowl gouges I use.

[Robert Newton]

Hang a shower curtain to help contain the chips.

[Ralph Lindberg]

Hang a shower curtain to help contain the chips.

I stole the idea of using a Roman (roll-up) shade from Dave Schweitzer (D-Way tools). That way you just roll them up when you don't need them.

[Ralph Lindberg]

One tip I actually came up with on my own... Decide what sand-paper grit is the "final" one by watching for changes in the appearance of the wood. If you can see a difference between the last grit and the current grit, keep going until you can't see a difference between the last grit and the current grit.
On soft woods, this means I might stop at 320, on really hard woods I sometimes go up to 2000 (yup, automotive wet/dry)

[Russell Neyman]

Store your cans of finish upside dawn.

[robert baccus]

A cheap and easy nasal irrigator is a kitchen baster. use it like a big nose drop thing. Lie on t
he bed and fill your face with warm water and expel into a towel. Also keep a supply of small PAPER bowls--handy for mixing epoxy, dyes, sanding sealer for daubing, turquois/glue ect. HF sells an air gun 12" long with an extension--very handy for cleaning out vases and under benches.

[Jim Underwood]

I'd be very careful about irrigating my nasal passages with something that might not be sterile. The neti pot instructions always tell you to use sterile water. There have been a couple of nasty deaths recently related to using plain tap water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_irrigation

[Russell Neyman]

There are times when you find yourself in "tenon no man's land" and your well-planned foot is too small for the set of jaws planned to use. Well, in an emergency and under certain circumstances when it's safe to do so (like turning a bottle stopper) you can make the closing diameter of most jaws smaller by removing two of the four.

[rick pixley01]

When turning green woods, sometimes your hands turn black...Soap does not remove it...Keep a bottle of cheap lemon juice near where you wash up and squirt a little on them...Walla, clean again...Beware, if you have paper cuts( or any other nicks and scratches) they will suddenly stand out...

[Brian Ashton]

Best tip I can suggest is adding a D pull to the control panel of your lathe that sits over the variable speed dial. This will help in stopping you from accidentally brushing the dial and having a bowl go from a few hundred RPMs to a couple thousand in a few seconds. At those speeds you don't even see the pieces fly off in all directions - been there done it so I know.

Other tip is with VFD's at such a low price build your own truly slow speed grinder; mine goes down to 1 RPM if I wanted it to. I usually grind at around 10hz and it is nearly impossible to burn a tool or over grind. At such slow speeds you really have the time to grind very complex finger nail or other shapes without much if any practice because everything happens at such a leisurely pace. And! it's the opposite of what many may be thinking - you actually get results much faster than on a normal speed grinder - about 40% faster in fact YMMV. Or if that's not your cup a tea then buy a mandrel to sit on the outboard side and use that as your slow speed grinder.

[Russell Neyman]

When I'm turning the inside of a bowl, at the point where I begin to check for depth, I leave a deliberate nub in the center as a reference point for the additional material I've removed. If I see a quarter inch nub, I know that I've only gone that far since I last used the thickness calipers. (There's something deceiving about looking into a vessel and figuring out if you close to the bottom; don't know why, but there's a reason turners all use the "I made a funnel today" joke.)

[Dave Masters]

Russell, thanks for starting this thread. I notice that the visits are approaching 14,000, so it must be useful to more than just a few turners.

Here's my add: Working with round or irregular objects can be a pain, but filling two or three old socks with dried beans or rice makes a nice, flexible platform for bowls. Cheap, too.

[robert baccus]

A bag full of chips/curls makes a good padded holder also. Don't waste the beans & rice yeah. Try the foam/plastic fingernail files as a sanding block for working down drips--runs--nits ect. Works good on a curved bowl side.

[Ken Kimbrell]

To safely keep small parts and tools (like an Allen wrench) close at hand on your lathe go to HF and pick up one of their small magnetized metal bowls. Very cheap and works great.

[robert baccus]

If you are half as clumbsy as I buy a large box of large bandaids and using a staple gun----staple 2-3 bandaids eye high all over your shop and 8 or 6 by the door yeah.

[Dick Gerard]

Clean your glasses and your faceshield visor, inside and out. You will be amazed at how quickly your visual acuity declines as dust accumulates and it accumulates faster than you can turn!

Also, to reveal whether you still have sanding scratches to deal with BEFORE applying your finish, flood the surfaces with mineral spirits. The minieral spirits darken the torn grain and/or scratches. Use carbide wet/dry from Vince'sWooden Wonders or let dry 10 minutes or so and use regular sanding disks. I use the 10 minutes to clean my glasses and faceshield and if time permits to start cleaning the floor and lathe. A clean shop is a happy shop.

[robert baccus]

This is a little 0ff the wall but you guys try experimenting with your final sanding grits. Been turning 25 years and I've observed most people make sanding much harder than necessary. A few of my techniques for what they are worth. On soft woods sanding with 6 grits is a crock. Try like 120 and 220 if you have a good final cut. Don't be afraid to power sand with 60-80 if you have a rough finalcut. On harder woods use several steps in grits. Let the wood density set your # of grits. Don't be afraid to powersand(6"--2" pads) to final grit and spend more time with the lower grits than the finer. Finish touchup and final sand with hand paper and sponge backpad. Also I find that for a oil or wax finish 320 + is fine enough usually. For a film finish (multi-coats) anything past 180/220 is really makework. Try an experiment on the same board--150--180--220--320 sanding and then finished out like you normally do. The powersanding i do is at 500-1000rpm reversed against the drill rotation. RPN does not cause scratches, its really pressure and high rpms produce a cooler job if you control your pressure. All this is qualified by the fact that wood and people are both crazy and prone to aberations. I also use airgrinders inside bowls or long shafts on a drill. Even at 10,000 rpm heat buildup is almost impossible with light pressure. Old forester

[Harry Robinette]

Cheap plastic table clothes are about $1.00 to maybe $2.99 each. I use them to cover some of my equipment when I'm spraying finish or to cover whatever I'm finishing on.You can reuse them for a long time and then toss them. Also work for a cover when your gluing up something that the glue runs off of, the glue don't stick to them very well.

[mark ravensdale]

Most of the sandpaper I use is torn into strips around 3/4 - 11/4inch wide, I keep rolls of these (around 30-45 feet) on a shop made holder/dispenser in all the grits I use 80, 120, 240, 320, 400, 600, 800, and 1200, using this method has saved me plenty of the stuff, I do also keep some that's around 4inch wide for the very odd occasion I need wider, I just tear off the length needed and have found that these 1inch (average) wide strips are used for around 95 percent of my sanding needs, when I first tried these strips I was sure they wouldn't be wide enough but they are!!!
hope this is of use!!!

[Russell Neyman]

...to reveal whether you still have sanding scratches to deal with BEFORE applying your finish, flood the surfaces with mineral spirits. The minieral spirits darken the torn grain and/or scratches....

Great tip, Diok. I'm slapping my head, thinking I should have posted that two months ago!

[Russell Neyman]

This one came from a woodworking magazine, and I've already begun using it in my shop:

In the same way a diode works on a boat to defray any corrosion/rust, wrapping steel objects in aluminum foil will keep them from degrading.

[Dave Masters]

This one came from a woodworking magazine, and I've already begun using it in my shop:

In the same way a diode works on a boat to defray any corrosion/rust, wrapping steel objects in aluminum foil will keep them from degrading.

Ahhh, ha! I'm going to use this one! I have some seldom-used accessory items that always seem to be a bit rusty when I get around to using them. A ziplock plastic bag and WD-40 works well, too, but for old files and faceplates that are buried in the deepest drawer, I'll go with the aluminum foil.

[mark ravensdale]

Here's my tip,
try dipping the tip of your screw chuck in some paste wax before you mount the blank, it makes getting the blank back off much easier, used to use candle wax but found paste wax works much better!

Also, most of my sanding is done using 1inch strips of sand paper, it really does save on abrasives and works for around 90 percent of my sanding!

Another tip is at the end of a turning day to prevent corrosion wipe down your lathe bed with an oily rag (I use 3 in 1 oil) over the years I have tried many different sprays both cheap and expensive but have found that a wipe down with an oily rag works best, and cost next to nothing (once the rag is soaked with oil it last months and months!) but remember to wipe it off before you start turning the next time!!!

Also, before I start turning I always rub over my lathe bed with a block of bees wax, makes things nice and smooth!!!

[Brian Finney]

Get the correct tenon size for the jaws everytime. Cut a max/min gauge for each set of jaws 260649

[Russell Neyman]

Get the correct tenon size for the jaws everytime. Cut a max/min gauge for each set of jaws 260649

Both interior dimension and exterior dimension, right?

[robert baccus]

When doing a glueblock mount the block on the lathe and square the wood fair with the lathe. Glue is a dripping mess --try this. Spin the lathe(var. sp.) very slowly and apply the thick CA in rings on the glueblock. It will hold boocoo without running everywhere and allows more glue if necessary.

[Gerald Wervey]

rags / paper towels An empty one gallon paint can cleaned out works perfect for putting in soiled paper towels that might go up in flames including your shop cheap way to possibly save it. cost free. Jerry

[Brian Finney]

' Both interior dimension and exterior dimension, right? '


No! But you could poss make it do that if you wanted to - may need to use metal as the legs maybe thin, I used a scrap of hardboard and went for the simple approach. The photographed gauge is for just exterior ie tenons. Gripper jaws don't do interior and I tend not to use interior.
The smaller gap is the minimum tenon diameter for those jaws and the larger gap is the maximum tenon diameter. Turn the tenon within the range and it fits the jaws, everytime.

It just saves the effort of remembering the dimensions of each set of jaws - which I can never do.

[Gerald Wervey]

Empty one gallon paint can for all your used finishing rags just put them in at the end of what ever phase of the project that you are on could save your shop house from burning down. Jerry

[robert baccus]

Do you have roaches, mice, kids, cats or other pests---Turn a nice piece of Camphor.

[robert baccus]

When setting up a glue block attach it with an expanding chuck, tenon in chuck, or single screw and turn the block true. Rotate the block slowly(only) and apply your thick CA in circles on the block face. No dripping and it will hold much more glue than you need.

[Russell Neyman]

A local turner, Ron Price, visited my shop today, and came up with this one:

We were cleaning off my bed ways -- no matter how careful we are, they get glue, finish and other junk on them so the banjo and free end are difficult to manipulate. Anyway, I scraped, sanded, steelwooled and waxed my ways, and the tool rest was still hard to move around. So Ron says, don't forget to clean off and lubricate the underside of the ways and banjo! He was right! A bit of CA had gotten on the washer-type fitting, and that was the problem.

Thanks Ron.

[Rich Stewart]

Turn fast, sand slow.

[Russell Neyman]

There are times when we all need to chuck up something really small, and we simply don't have anything that fills the bill. I was cleaning up a handle on an old awl I found in the basement today, and wanted to take the metal spike portion and mount it so I could sand and spin on some finish. With that in mind, here are two ways to grab onto a small item:

== Most chucks go pretty small with no jaws mounted, and you can place a small object in the wedge-shaped moving carriages.

== A Jacob's chuck, mounted on the power head, can hold onto something as small as a nail. Most people only think of that piece of equipment as something to be mounted in the free end.

[Russell Neyman]

Dents can often be removed.from wood with a shot of steam or a hot damp rag.

[Peter Blair]

Similar to what Tim said about his wolverine, I used to used to scratch marks on my bar but now I have drilled several hole to exactly locate the various often uses positions. I found an allen wrench of that fits the drilled hole works great as a 'pin'.

[Jim Underwood]

RE: Dents in wood.

I use my soldering iron and one of those new aluminum pennies along with a folded paper towel soaked in water.

Most of the dent comes right out as the water in the paper towel turns to steam. That penny conducts heat very well!

[Russell Neyman]

RE: Dents in wood.

I use my soldering iron and one of those new aluminum pennies along with a folded paper towel soaked in water.

Most of the dent comes right out as the water in the paper towel turns to steam. That penny conducts heat very well!

This is spot-on Jim! This tip alone makes the thread worth reading.

[Russell Neyman]

There are times when you have no other option than mounting a finished surface in steel jaws (see the previous notes about removing dents), as in tbe case when you're parting off a tenon or detailing a bade. In the past I have wrapped that vulnerable surface with blue tape with mixed results.

Recently, I began using that medical underwrap football players use, similar to an ace bandage. Works great, minimal wobble, and no residue.

[Marc Himes]

Try using a large Squeegee (sp?) insetad of a broom for cleaning up the floor. Works very well for me.

[Jim Hipp]

A camphor block placed in a drawer with steel tools will protect them from rust. I have purchased in the past 2X2X1/2 blocks individually wrapped in plastic film. I would slice the film and place the block in the drawer. It would last for months.

[Jim Hipp]

What exactly is a clothes line?

[Russell Neyman]

This tip for a shop-made chatter tool works great!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?213854-Instant-chatter-tool

[Russell Neyman]

You know those worn out foam sanding mandrels with the hook-and-loop that won't hold onto the sandpaper any more? I haven't had much luck repairing them, so lately I've taken to simply gluing a piece of 60 grit on to it. Comes in pretty handy for grinding off a tenon nub. I'm still annoyed that another $7 mandrel has bitten the dust, but at least I can squeeze one last bit of usefulness out o f my investment.

[Russell Neyman]

Wood shavings -- and we all have an ample supply of that, right? -- make great packing mateterial. I fill shopping bags o other plastic bags with the chips, creating "pillows" that I use to cushion my bowls for shipment. Cheap way to go.

[Russell Neyman]

Our club is presenting these nuggets of woodturning wisdom at next week's meeting under the.title, "Fifty Nifty Shop Tips". We plan to film it and post it here and on YouTube eventually. Yes, we're crediting the Creepers who provided the tips.

There is still time for late additions if you've been holding back!

[Jeff Gilfor]

Tired of sawdust and chips in your socks and shoes? You can purchase some "shoe bibs" online from one of the big tool houses, or...
Go to Target, purchase infant bibs (come in sets of 2 for about $5), add a bit of velcro so that it can be snugged up well, and there you go.

293768 It's important to chose a non-embarrassing print though.

[Russell Neyman]

This one wad added by George Kromka last night at our monthly Woodturners' meeting:

Guitar strings make great burning wires.

[Terry Vaughan]

Make a centre finder for spindle blanks from a short bit of square section timber. Drill a hole in it for a pencil then put it and the blank on a flat surface. Strike a line across the end of the blank, flip it 90 degrees and repeat. The lines will form a little square and you can dot the middle by eye accurately enough for most work.

Make the pencil hole off centre in the block. That way you can lay it on the side that brings the pencil point closest to the centre of the blank. The block doesn't have to match the size of the blank.

I use two or three of these marking blocks for different sizes of blank. They are very quick to make and use.

[Glenn Howard]

This one wad added by George Kromka last night at our monthly Woodturners' meeting:

Guitar strings make great burning wires.

Being a guitar player, I may be able to add some further detail...

Guitar strings vary in gauge, type of metal, wound vs unwound, and coated vs uncoated. Rather than expand on the explanations for each, I'll add the following link:

http://www.stringbusters.com/stringfaqs.asp

Most of this information is intended to help select the best strings for your guitar, but the same explanations can help you decide which would be best for your turning application. The good news is that guitar strings are relatively inexpensive (from around $3-4 on the low end).

[John Grace]

What a great thread and so many creative suggestions...now for my little addition. I use garden hose reels to keep my extension cords tidy.

[Peter P. Brown]

What a cool thread!

Instead of using burning wire to make marks, I use a piece of scrap laminate. It sits on the tool rest and there is no danger for your fingers...

[Ron Lynch]

Some days your tool work may not be up to snuff, when it happens to me I grab the shellac. Liberally coat the torn grain or other problem areas. When dry I wet sand with 60 or 80 grit lubed with mineral oil/beeswax blend (sold as butcher block conditioner). 700 RPM is a reasonable speed when sanding wet, the oil/wax keeps the heat down. A small bowl takes two or three minutes then on to 100 grit wet. Wipe with mineral spirits to clean, then move to the finer grits dry and lower RPM. I find that once the heavier grits have done their job 180, 240, 320 will produce a glass like surface with only thirty second per grit.

[Russell Neyman]

I can't wait to try this one, given by Jimmy Allen of our club:

Sharpen scrapers UPSIDE DOWN, creating a burr on the cutting edge. It makes perfect sense
I imagine a wood spacer would make things easier.

[Reed Gray]

Russell,
Well, sharpening them right side up or upside down is an interesting concept. I was talking to Jimmy Clewes in Phoenix about it because he sharpens his scrapers that way. I sharpen the other way. Jimmy now has a CBN wheel. His theory is that because the wheel is dragging off the bottom of the tool, you get a sharper and more sturdy edge. My theory is that with the wheel driving into the top edge, you get more of a burnished edge. I have tried the upside down method, and it is sharp, but I can't say that it is sharper than right side up. For sure, it doesn't last as long as one sharpened right side up. This is with a CBN wheel. Now, the CBN wheel does give a much better burr than a standard grinder. Jimmy was going to try it both ways on his new wheel, and I haven't heard back from him yet. Most platforms can go to negative angles. For my robo rest, I tilt the platform down, stick the pin through in the 90 degree mark, but the pin rests on the frame rather than going through the pin hole in the frame. This gives about a 75 to 80 degree angle. I hadn't considered using the negative angles when I designed it. If you don't already know, scrapers are my primary bowl roughing tool.

robo hippy

[Jeff Gilfor]

"Some days your tool work may not be up to snuff"
Have you bee snooping on me in my shop?

[Russell Neyman]

Russell,
Well, sharpening them right side up or upside down is an interesting concept......If you don't already know, scrapers are my primary bowl roughing tool.

robo hippy

I'm a fan of scrapers, too and make no apologies for it. As long as they're THICK and of high grade steel, they give good results, especially if you have a light touch.

[Russell Neyman]

Dave Schweitzer of our club -- who brings up something new and interesting every time I see him -- came up with this on in a discussion of trying to dry holly without it turning gray, which it is prone to do:

Simply toss it in a freezer and allow the darn thing to freeze dry! I don't see why that wouldn't work for all species, as long as you can talk your spouse into letting you do it.

[Harry Goodwin]

Fasten a magnetic long tool bar fastened to your stand. It will catch a lot of you pen busshings on the ewy down and hold some smaller tools. HG

[Peter Blair]

I have been using a freezer to 'keep' wood in for several years and have limited success. Not sure about maintaining color but I can see how it wouldn't spalt anyway. I try to use the freezer for short periods and for this it works great. As far as freeze drying, well, at least in my experience it is a toss up. Some of my wood splits and some doesn't.

[Brad Morrow]

When turning square bowls

Do you find that your lathe dances/jitters a bit when turning those square pieces?

[Russell Neyman]

Fasten a magnetic long tool bar fastened to your stand. It will catch a lot of you pen bushings on the way down and hold some smaller tools. HG

You can take that one step further, Harry. Mounting a couple of rare earth magnets on the mouth of your shop vacuum will help collect those errant allen wrenches and jaw screws that seem to vibrate into the pile of shavings below. I do that, and every once in awhile I'll discover that I accidentally recovered something important.

[Alan Arnup]

Fit a flat magnetic bar on the wall reasonably close to your lathe.
Make a wooden base with a lip about eight inches below the bar.
Sit your seldom used chisels upright on the base with the steel
resting against the magnetic bar.
Chisels are stored without damage to each other and are easy
to find when needed.

[john snowdon]

With Christmas here, many of us are in the shop making gifts or are new woodworkers getting started. Do not be careless like I was when I first started woodworking and throw used rags and paper towels in the trash after applying BLO, CA and other finishes. Luckily, we smelled a strange odor coming from the basement while everything was still smoldering before it caught fire. Now I have a 5 gal galvanized can with a lid that contains a 1 gal plastic pail of water inside. Use a rag, into the water it goes! You can also take the rags outside and spread them out on the driveway or burn them.

[Russell Neyman]

Those two-gallon plastic bins are a must around my lathe because they facilitate easier cleanup. I use them to store sandpaper, polishing wheels, adhesives and the like. It keeps the from getting tangled up with flying woodchips.

[Harry Goodwin]

I have installed one of those magnetic bars on the edge of my lathe and some benches. It's great to catch bushings from pen turning and small tools on the way down. HG

[Bob Bergstrom]

You know those worn out foam sanding mandrels with the hook-and-loop that won't hold onto the sandpaper any more? I haven't had much luck repairing them, so lately I've taken to simply gluing a piece of 60 grit on to it. Comes in pretty handy for grinding off a tenon nub. I'm still annoyed that another $7 mandrel has bitten the dust, but at least I can squeeze one last bit of usefulness out o f my investment.

if you apply little heat to the Velcro area it will shrivel up and come right off. Carful of getting the hot adhesive on your fingers. Kingspoor sell some great self adhesive Velcro. Cut the desired size and apply. Your back in business with a like new mandrel. I have 20+ home made mandrels all with special shapes to suit what I am sanding.

[Russell Neyman]

One of our club's veteran turners, George Kromka, offeres this one: He applies ordinary glue to the edge of a stack of pre-cut sandpaper, creating a nice, organized "tablet" that won't get spread out on his workbench. He also color-codes the back of the paper so that he instantly recognizes the grit. Both of those tips are quite useful.

310561

[Russell Neyman]

Three of the four of us -- Brad Stave, Ralph Lindberg, and I -- gave an encore showing of the "Nifty Fifty Shop Tips for Woodturners" last night for the South Puget Sound Club and everyont (a crowd of about 75) seemed to enjoy it. A link to the collateral brochure is below.


http://opcaaw.com/Library/50%20nifty.pdf

[robert baccus]

Never set the set screws on a chuck. Use machinist thread lube-it has metal powder and fiber strings and a tightened chuck will never wear threads or lock threads or back off.. The plastic washers are a toy.

[robert baccus]

Keep a handy supply of--band aids, q-tips, artist brushes, plastic coated paper bowls, spray cans of finish and retarder (lacquer users) for screw ups. Always blow off the tops of finish cans before opening and after. Practice saying " yes dear".

[Russell Neyman]

If you are going to apply spray finish to a vessel that's still mounted in a chuck, cut the toe end off of a sock and slip it on as a protective sleeve.

[Russell Neyman]

Came up with this one this weekend in a moment of inspiration:

Those bottles of CA glue/finish are quite tipsy, and every one of us has spilled some. Previously, I suggested gluing a piece of wood to the bottle, but what works even better is dropping a couple of Rare Earth magnets into the stuff so that it stays on your lathe while you're coating an object. And if you add a second, larger magnet to the lathe itself, that bottle will really stay put.

I'll post photos of this later.

[Wes Ramsey]

Came up with this one this weekend in a moment of inspiration:

Those bottles of CA glue/finish are quite tipsy, and every one of us has spilled some. Previously, I suggested gluing a piece of wood to the bottle, but what works even better is dropping a couple of Rare Earth magnets into the stuff so that it stays on your lathe while you're coating an object. And if you add a second, larger magnet to the lathe itself, that bottle will really stay put.

I'll post photos of this later.

Was just pondering the logistics of this. Great idea, but probably best not to do it on a new bottle, lest it overflow. I will be using this one myself.

I am also in the habit of dropping allen wrenches, screws and the like into shavings and started keeping one of those magnets with the extending handle stuck to the lathe. It is small enough to root around in the shavings, but strong enough to pull out tools and bits.

[Russell Neyman]

Here's the CA bottle with two dime-sized Rare Earth Magnets dropped in, stuck (securely) to my lathe tailstock. I gigure this suggestion will save woodturners hundreds of gallons of glue annually, and get me in the doghouse with all those manufacturers who sell tippy bottles. And no, Wes, two of these magnets don't nearly cause an overflow.
316316

[Tom Wilson66]

To me it would make more sense to drop a couple of steel washers in the bottle, then put the magnets on the outside. Would save having to retrieve the magnets out of the empty bottle.

[Russell Neyman]

Yeah, Tom, but if the magnets are IN the bottle you can put it anywhere that has a steel surface. Besides, fishing the magnets out of a near-empty container can be done with a nail or screwdriver in three seconds.

[Russell Neyman]

Here's an updated version of these tips, edited and collected in a PDF that can be printed out. http://www.opcaaw.com/Library/50%20nifty.pdf

For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, a group of us will be making yet another presentation of "Fifty Nifty Shop Tips" this Thursday at the Olympia Woodturners meeting in Olympia, Washington.

Want to add something? It's a group effort.

[Dan Jechura]

i like this one

[Russell Neyman]

323733
My fellow woodturner George Kromka threw this neat one into the mix: He busted apart a broken hand drill (every one of us has one of those in our shop) and pulled out the chuck, then mounted it into a turned handle. The resulting "hand chuck" is handy for holding onto a drill bit (for center boring), a chatter tool, an allen wrench, or just about anything. Cheap and clever!

[Russell Neyman]

Troy Kellington, Ralph Lindberg, and I will be doing another live presentation of "Fifty Nifty Shop Tips" at the Seattle AAW Chapter in January, so if anyone has additional ideas to the collection, please post them in the next few weeks. Whenever possible, we credit the contributor.

[Ralph Lindberg]

Troy Kellington, Ralph Lindberg, and I will be doing another live presentation of "Fifty Nifty Shop Tips" at the Seattle AAW Chapter in January, so if anyone has additional ideas to the collection, please post them in the next few weeks. Whenever possible, we credit the contributor.


OK, since you haven't pass along the date to me, what is the date?

[Russell Neyman]

Second Thursday, of course. Jan 12th.

[Ted Baxter]

Watch Robo Hippy's youtube videos full of lot's of good tips and advice.

[Gary Baler]

A piece of leather between a jam chuck (or vacuum chuck) and the bowl will keep the jam chuck from marking the bottom of the bowl. I recently threw away an old leather easy chair ... and cut squares out of the leather to cover my jam chucks and vacuum chucks. I'm 70 ... and have enough leather squares now for the rest of my life.

[Jay Mullins]

Great idea.

jay

[Jay Mullins]

must be a young whipper-snapper, It's the orginal solar clothes dryer. LOL

[Russell Neyman]

I'll be doing yet another live presentation of "FIFTY NIFTY SHOP TIPS FOR WOODTURNERS"* at the Olympic Peninsula Woodturners meeting in February. Anyone have any new things to add?

*Actually, it's closer to 150 tips now; this has really grown in the last four years. Various incarnations of this "show" have been presented to about ten groups throughout the West Coast.

[Brian Deakin]

colour code tools with nail varnish

I use nail varnish to colour code tools to power tools eg all of the tools associated with adjusting the height of my planner knifes are colour coded with blue nail varnish
I find colour coding allen keys very useful

I also apply the same principle to keys eg All of the front door keys to the house for each family member have a red spot on
This allows simple matching of key to lock and reduces wear on lock by he eliminating errors of trying to open doors with an inappropriate key

External porch keys are marked with white nail varnish which is easier to see in the dark

In some situations to aid memory a spot of varnish on the lock and key allows matching of key to lock

I used the nail varnish tip when working as a manager of a pharmcay store to grade keys

eg All external door keys green nail varnish, all till keys red nail varnish , controlled drug cabinet fluorescent pink nail varnish

Applying this principle is useful if undertaking a staff security search You have a simple visual indicator if staff have in their possession any shop keys

[John K Jordan]

colour code tools with nail varnish


I like that idea. I have some padlocks around the farm that are identical except for the keys.

For tools I use outside I spray paint them fluorescent orange. This is not for identification but to find the hammer or c-clamp on the ground.

JKJ

[Peter Blair]

Any chance that someone is going to assemble these tips for us here?

[Russell Neyman]

I've compiled this into a pdf booklet. I'll dig it up and add it in a day or two.

[Jack Tyree]

That second bevel tip is priceless!

[Jack Tyree]

This is a great tip! Here's another update: Next time you go to a fast food restaurant, grab a fistful of salt packets. Works as good as sand but dissolves with no residue.

My very best, all time greatest shop tip is a fantastically simple and cheap solution to an age old problem, namely stuff creeping under clamping pressure as it slips and slides on the thin layer of glue. After years of messing with cauls and extra clamps and a million other cumbersome "solutions", I discovered in a totally serendipitous manner....sand! After the glue is spread, a couple of grains of fine sand dropped here and there in the glue and no more frustrating slipping and sliding and creeping.

[Russell Neyman]

Refurbishing a worn morse taper can be a tricky process, especially when it's mounted on your Jacob's chuck. I came up with simple way to clean up one using another in combination with my tailstock and live center. You can see by the first photo that, through the years of service, the old surface had gotten dirty, dinged up and corroded, and came loose too often. I wanted to clean the gripping areas without damaging it further or changing the shape.

Mounting both chucks nose-to-nose with a brass rod clamped securely to both, I put the entire thing onto the lathe and, with it spinning, filed it smooth. This worked like a charm! It now seats into the taper more snugly.

400097 400098 400099
By the way, I use a system of color-coding my chucks (scroll and jacobs) so that I can easily locate the correct chuck key, allen wrench, or whatever. The one I just resurfaced is my "white" one, per the photo.

[Thomas L Carpenter]

The spray cans of air used to clean keyboards and computer fans works great for cleaning the dust and debris out of router collets. Many other uses around the workshop without having to set up the compressor and hoses.

[Ron Page]

I've compiled this into a pdf booklet. I'll dig it up and add it in a day or two.

After reading through all 12 pages of tips, I'm really looking forward to the PDF. Thankie a bunch.

ron

[Bryan Lisowski]

After reading through all 12 pages of tips, I'm really looking forward to the PDF. Thankie a bunch.

ron

Same, read all the posts this morning.

[Bill Carey]

I've compiled this into a pdf booklet. I'll dig it up and add it in a day or two.

Thx Russell - look forward to it

[Russell Neyman]

After reading through all 12 pages of tips, I'm really looking forward to the PDF. Thankie a bunch.

ron
I tried posting the PDF but the file is too large for the forum. I'll see if I can get it posted elsewhere.

[Russell Neyman]

The file is simply too large to post here in a PDF, but if you message me with your email I'll be happy to send a full list of these tips via email.

[Bob Barth]

When gluing a project and have glue on your fingers, don’t scratch your beard.

[Jason Edwards]

I tried posting the PDF but the file is too large for the forum. I'll see if I can get it posted elsewhere.

Hi, try going back to your settings for saving a PDF. You can probably select a reduced file size.

[Tim Elett]

Being new to turning, I sometimes tell my significant other how mutch money i saved buying barely used machines, rather than new.Not always possible in todays world tho.