Replies

1. 
   PlaneWood | Mar 07, 2004 07:10pm | #1

   Here is something that I do - 

   First, my Lathe has a #2 jacobs taper on the head.  I cut a #2 taper from a hard dense wood like white oak and then cut the other end of the tapered piece to round (with a lip) to fit in what ever hole diameter needed.  This tapered peg goes into the head stock.

   The center pin is removable in the tail stock bearing.  I cut another small taper to fit in it and cut the other end (with a lip) to fit in the hole diameter. 

   So, to summarize, I bore the hole clear thru the rounded blank first using my 4-way chuck, then mount  the special cut tapers and then do the final turning to size.

   I find this produces better centered holes than trying to use my chuck which ain't the best one in the world.  I do this mostly to cut spoke shave handles which have a blind hole rather than a thru hole.  The largest center hole I've turned around was 1" diameter.

   I once asked an accomplished turner how to get a centered hole.  He said "Turn around the hole."  Took me a while to figure that out.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
   PlaneWood

1. 
   tad | Mar 08, 2004 04:04am | #4

   thanks for your speedy response..i got a few good ideas and I'll give them a whirl..who thought something that should be so simple, wouldn't be?

   Regards

   Tad

1. 
   PlaneWood | Mar 08, 2004 08:26am | #5

   Tad -

   Another thing you could do is this.

   Drill the thru hole in an over sized square blank.  Make the blank maybe 1" longer than needed.  Then insert a turned dowel all the way through the blank.  Cut the turned dowel so that it will be a tight fit.  Just tight enough to hold the blank for the final turning, but not tight enough to split it.  Then remount the turned dowel and the blank and do the final turning on the square blank.  When done, tap out the dowel.  It the dowel is a little to loose, then some small screws out at the ends could keep it from slipping.

   But, cutting #2 tapers from wood has provided options for me that have came in handy.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

1. 
   tad | Mar 10, 2004 04:39am | #7

   thanks everyone for the advice on pepper shakers...It'll give me food for thought this weekend

   tad

2. 
   UncleDunc | Mar 07, 2004 08:15pm | #2

   Drill from both ends. The drill would have to wander really badly before the mismatch would bind the grinding mechanism.

   Or, like the previous post said, start with oversize stock, drill your hole, then center the piece on the drilled hole and turn to size. A mandrel would be the quick and easy way to center on the hole.

   Or start with two pieces of stock, route a half round channel in each one with a box core bit, glue them together and proceed as above. I've seen similar suggestions for really long holes, like the wiring channel in a floor lamp.

3. 
   Jimma | Mar 08, 2004 02:31am | #3

   When I first had this problem I tried a number of solutions and wound up buying a one-inch twist drill that had enough length to drill through the body. I put the drill in the tail stock using a jacob's-style chuck. If this doesn't make sense to you email me and I'll tell you how I approach the whole problem. It's not as simple as some people think depending on your design.

4. 
   GeeSeaWhy | Mar 08, 2004 09:48pm | #6

   "Turn around the hole" is the key. Drill the hole first - lathe, drill press, whatever is easiest. Then mount the still-square blank using the hole as your reference. Now you need a big cone centre in the tailstock and some way of driving it - pin jaws if you have them, or a piece of scrap hardwood held in the chuck and tapered to fit the hole. You must hold the blank using only the perimeter of the hole, not the edges of the blank.

   Pens are done the same way - drill first then turn round. If you intend to do a lot of similar shakers, you might want to build a giant mandrel to mount the blanks.

   HTH

   Graeme