Turning Finials

[Scott Brandstetter]

Would appreciate your methods on turning finials. I'm graduating from hollow forms to lidded vessels and I am struggling. Can't figure out how to get the final tip, the small thin point, without ruining the piece. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Thom Sturgill]

Work from tip to base using a good chuck and high speed. On small finials the lathe speed needs to be near maximum as you get the tip down to size. Remember that cutting requires the wood move past the blade at some optimal speed and that is a function of RPM and circumference. The smaller the circumference the higher the required RPM.

Sharp tools of course. Hard tight grained woods such as ebony, blackwood, and holly work best. Use you fingers as a steady to balance against pressure but DO NOT apply pressure toward the centerline. Glide on the bevel with forces being applied sideways, not in and out.

Much easier to demonstrate than to explain. Get a copy of one of Cindy Drozda's videos.

[Jon McElwain]

What Thom said. And +1 on the Drozda videos. She is in our club and did a demonstration a month ago. She can turn a 10" long spindle down to 1/8" in soft wood. Someone asked if she ever broke them. Her answer said a lot about how we should approach spindles - she said she didn't start out turning super long super thin spindles. Her early work was much chunkier. She only got to turning those long thin pointy spindles after mastering spindle turning on sturdier pieces. If you are trying to go straight for the most delicate spindles to match what you have seen others do, it is likely to be frustrating. A better approach might be to practice larger spindles until you master the techniques, then work your way down to the delicate stuff.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Thanks guys. Just watched a video from Cindy....wow, she is very talented. I am going to spend some time in the shop just working on technique with spindles and finials. Thanks again.

[Lloyd Butler]

Also remember that the finals seem to look finer while on their side attached to the lathe. When you take it off and hold it upright, they seem to magically put on some weight. :(

[Glen Blanchard]

I just bought one of these gizmos. Haven't tried it yet, so I can't speak to its effectiveness, but it's interesting.

http://youtu.be/LiK7K5TdDR8

[Peter Blair]

I looked at the gizmo that Glen bought but wonder if I couldn't just make one to fit on my oneway live center.
Anyone 'been there done that"?

[John Keeton]

Let me just comment that the "flex" occurring in the shaft of the finial in that video is not conducive to small diameter turning. It may be that the device can be "tuned" with less tailstock pressure to remove the flex, but my experience is that one can accomplish what needs to be done without another gadget. Others may disagree.

[Robert Henrickson]

I was interested that there was nothing shown of the device actually being used to turn the finial, yet the finial was flexing on its own. Essentially the piece spinning in the video is a trembleur. Much of what I've seen about turning those simply uses string steadies if support is needed.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

What Robert says. Google "string steady rest". You can build a string steady with just scraps laying around for dirt cheap. There are lots of designs.

I also have a Nova tail center that came with a lot of different parts. One of those parts is a small reverse cone with threads in it. I use it like that link, although it does not contact the finial or rotate. All you really need to do is keep that end from whipping about and cracking.
Those of you with the Jet/PM (Oneways too?) centers with the 3/4-16 threads. Drill a 3/4" hole in a short dowel, turn it around and turn a small reverse cone. The 3/4" end will slip over the threads. Some blue tape will hold it on. I think if you look at the center and think about this, you'll see what I mean. Harder to explain.

[Peter Fabricius]

To buy this seems like an excess.... I saw this some time ago and made two to screw onto my Oneway Live Centre, 3/4" x 10tpi. I used the small bearings that you find inside a wrecker hard drive. There are also a couple of great magnets inside the hard drive.
I have not used the bearing steady yet but I think it might allow the vibration shown in the video above. There is some pressure on the Fineal and this is not the case with the string steady.... I also made a string steady that fits into the MT2 in the tail stock, this is the way to go, I think.
Peter F.