Question For Turners

[Carl Eyman]

This is for spindle turner types. I was given this pattern (see attachment) and the dimensions 36",long. 8" square at the ends (end view) with the ball in the middle a 2" radius, I assumed the pattern was what you'd see if sawed it in half along its length in a plane parallel to one of the faces of the original square blank. However the drawing does not represents a plan or elevation view of the piece if looked at when the surfaces of the square ends are in a vertical or horizontal plane. My second attachment represents the elevation in that case. However, if one rotates the piece around its long axis by any degree, the profile is very different.

How would you interpret what the person that drew the template wanted?

[Todd Burch]

What about this?

[Philip Duffy]

Todd, way cool, and right on the mark, I would say. How did you do the drawing? Phil

[Todd Burch]

Thanks Phil. I bought this WAY COOL piece of 3D design software called Sketchup. $475. In my humble opinion ( :D ) this software leverages the PC to where the PC should have been leveraged from the get-go. Sketchup Website (http://www.sketchup.com). Check out their video tutorials. Download an 8 hour demo for free.

Todd (a VERY satisfied Sketchup customer).

p.s. I've had this software about a week. I can't wait until I learn how to use it!

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Carl

I think Tood might have the best interpretation of what your customer wants, but I would not lay a tool on the wood until I had a clarification. I do a lot of pieces for people like this, and often what they don't communicate is even more important than what they do, so I cover my you know what by makking sure I know what they want and they know what they are getting.

Good luck with it. By the way, how is your wife doing? I hope things are progressing well for her.

Bill