reverse turning captive rings

[Stephen Hibbs]

How is this done? I'm really getting tired of hand-sanding the backs and edges of these things, not to mention that it doesn't look as nice. Is there a way to stick these on with sticky paper or something? Oh ya, and is there a better way to cut them off than with a hacksaw? I tried using my parting tool but the rings had a habit of exploding into pieces right at the end.

-Stephen

[Andy Hoyt]

Stephen - If you're asking what I think you're asking, then here's what I think is the answer.

Form the ring, sand it, and finish as much of it as possible while it's still attached.
Then use a sharp pointy skew to make the final separation cut.
Stop lathe and move ring to one side as far as possible.
Wrap ring area of spindle with sandpaper - psa should work fine.
Turn on lathe and hold ring with fingers and move it across the sandpaper as needed to achieve desired surface. Repeat with subsequent grits as needed.
Apply finish to ring. Let dry and tape it aside again.
Finish turn, sand, and finish as much of spindle in the ring area as possible.
Move ring to finshed area and complete spindle. Hope this helps.

[Stephen Hibbs]

So I basically turn the lathe into a type of dremel, and just sand the ring with it?

[Andy Hoyt]

Yup. Or if you want - you can think of it as a homemade horizontal spindle sander with captured ring capabilties.:)