Chapter 21

TOOL PROCESSES IN FACE-PLATE AND CHUCK TURNING

B-I--1-a. Straight Cuts

1. ROUGHING OFF CORNERS. (3/4" GOUGE.) FIG. 14. The tool rest is set crosswise to the bed of the lathe and parallel to the face of the stock.

Place the gouge on the rest with the handle well down. Roll the gouge to the left until the grind which forms the cutting edge is perpendicular to the stock. The point of contact should be slightly below the center or nose of the tool.

The handle of the gouge is then swung well to the back of the lathe or to the operator's right. The gouge is then pushed forward into the stock and to the left, making a shearing cut. The cut should not be too heavy. The starting point for this cut should be a line which will indicate the largest diameter or circle that can be made from the block.--This cut should be repeated until the corners are removed from the block.

To complete the cutting of thick stock it will be found necessary to change the tool rest to an angle of 45° with the bed of the lathe.

When hardwood is being turned it is sometimes advisable to saw the block almost round with a compass saw or bandsaw, if one is to be had. Should this be done the preceding steps are omitted.

The tool rest is then placed parallel with the lathe bed and a roughing cut is taken with the gouge the entire thickness of the block.

The lathe should be run on second or third speed until the corners are removed, and then changed to first speed.

2. CALIPERING FOR DIAMETER. The true diameter is then calipered the same as in spindle work.

3. SMOOTHING CUT. A smoothing cut is taken with a skew chisel the same as in spindle work.

4. ROUGHING CUT ON THE FACE. (3/4" GOUGE.) FIG. 15. The rest is now placed parallel to the bed of the lathe and slightly above the center of the spindle. Place the gouge on the rest on its edge with the grind toward the stock and parallel to the face to be surfaced. The nose of the gouge is the cutting point.

The handle is then raised and the cutting point is forced toward the center. A very thin shaving should be taken. If the gouge is allowed to roll back so the grind above the cutting point comes in contact with the wood it is sure to catch and gash the wood.

5. SMOOTHING THE FACE. (SMALL SKEW CHISEL.) FIG. 16. For all work up to 3" in diameter, the surface may be smoothed by using a small skew chisel in the same manner as in squaring the ends of Stock in cylinder work. (Step 6--Exercise A-I--1-a, Straight Cuts.)

For larger work, place the chisel flat on the rest with the toe next to the stock and the back edge of the chisel parallel to the face to be surfaced.

The point of the chisel is then forced toward the center of the stock, using the straight back of the tool as a guide against the finished surface. Only a very thin cut should be taken at a time.

Note:--While this operation may be termed a scraping cut, it will be found to be much easier on the tool than if the cutting edge were held flat against the work as in other scraping cuts.

The surface of the work should be tested for squareness by holding the edge of the chisel or a straight edge across the face.

LAYING OFF MEASUREMENTS

In laying off measurements on the face of the stock a pencil compass or dividers should be used. Set the compass or dividers to one-half the diameter of the circle wanted. While one point is held at the exact center of the stock, which is easily located while the stock is revolving, the other is brought in contact with the revolving stock until a circle of the correct diameter is marked.

Should the center of the stock be cut away, rendering this method impossible, the following method may be used: Set the compass or dividers to the exact diameter wanted. Place one point in contact with the stock a little to one side of the required line on the part that is to be cut-away. Bring the other point to the stock and see if it touches the line first made. If not, move the first point until the two points track in the same line.

The rest should be set at the exact center for measuring.

All measurements on the edge of the stock can be made with pencil and rule as in cylinder turning.

B-I--2-a. Shoulder Cuts

1. EXTERNAL SHOULDERS. FIG. 18. The surplus stock at each successive shoulder is roughed out with a 3/4" gouge, keeping well outside the finished measurements. The gouge for this work is held in the same position as described in B-I--1-a, Step 1, for Roughing Off Corners.

2. For the finishing cut a small skew chisel is used, and the process is the same as that used in squaring ends of stock. Both the vertical and horizontal shoulders can be handled easily by this method. Fig, 19.

3. INTERNAL SHOULDERS. For internal shoulder cutting the same methods may be used for roughing out and cutting the horizontal shoulders, but for the vertical or base shoulder it will be necessary to use the scraping process. (See "Use of Scraping Tools.")

B-I--3-a. Taper Cuts

Taper cutting will not be found hard as the gouge and skew chisel are used in the same manner as described in B-I--1-a, Steps 4 and 5. After the stock has been roughed away with the gouge to the approximate angle desired, a smoothing cut is taken with the skew. Care should be taken that the skew chisel is held at the exact angle of the taper desired.

B-I--4-a. V Cuts

V cutting will also be found easy as the tool process is exactly the same as that used in spindle turning. Exercise A-I--4-a. Fig. 20.

B-I--5-a. Concave Cuts

Place the 3/4" gouge on the rest with the handle parallel to the bed of the lathe. Roll the gouge on its edge and swing the handle so that the grind is perpendicular to the stock with the nose of the tool as the cutting point.

Force the gouge forward into the wood. As soon as the cut is started, the handle is lowered and swung to the left; (if cutting the left side of the concave) at the same time the tool is rolled back toward its original position. This movement brings the cutting point farther down on the lip and the grind, resting on the side of the cut, will force the gouge sidewise and will form one-quarter of the circle. Fig. 21.

This cut is continued from alternate side until the concave is nearly to size. The cut should be tested with a templet before the finishing cut is taken.

B-I--6-a. Convex Cuts

Rough out the stock between the beads with a parting tool.

Hold the edge of the gouge on the rest with the handle, parallel to the bed of the lathe, to make the nose the cutting point.

Swing the handle to the left so that the grind will form a tangent to the bead at its highest point.

The gouge is then forced into the stock and to the right; at the same time the handle is swung to the right; keeping the grind tangent to the bead at the point of contact. Fig. 22. This cut is continued until the base of the bead is reached.

B-I--7-a. Combination Cuts

As in spindle turning, a combination exercise should be given at this point to provide an opportunity for studying out the best methods of working the various cuts just described into a finished product.

USE OF SCRAPING TOOLS

When scraping is to be employed, it should be done with only those tools that are made for that purpose, i.e., Square Nose, Round Nose, Spear Point, Right and Left Skew. The handling of these tools will be found easy. The only point to remember is that they should be held flat on the tool rest and parallel to the bed of the lathe when in use.

In general practice the ordinary skew chisel should not be used as a scraping tool, for the cutting edge is not sharpened to withstand the heavy strain required by such work. Should it be necessary, however, to use a skew chisel as a scraper, the tool should be held so that the top grind is parallel to the bed of the lathe while in use.

INTERNAL BORING

In roughing out the center for Napkin Rings, Jewel Boxes, etc., the quickest method is to work it out with a small gouge.

Place the gouge on the rest parallel to the bed of the lathe, having the point even with the center of the stock.

Force the gouge into the wood until a hole is bored to the depth required. If the hole is deeper than 1", remove the tool often and clear out the shavings in order not to burn the point.

In order to enlarge the hole to the proper size the point of the gouge is pressed against the left side of the hole a little above the center and a shearing cut is taken. To obviate the danger of the tool catching, all cuts should start from the back of the hole and proceed toward the front.

B-III--8-a. Sphere

After the sphere is turned as nearly perfect as is possible when working between centers (Steps 1 to 4) it is cut free from the waste stock and is centered in a chuck.

The chuck is made of any soft wood and should be cut in the end grain, which will insure equal pressure on all sides. Equal pressure cannot be obtained if the Chuck is cut in cross grain wood, owing to the tendency of side grain to give more than the end grain. The sphere should be forced into the chuck with slightly over half protruding. Very thin cuts should be taken and the sphere should be revolved one-quarter turn after each until true. As the sphere becomes smaller during the cutting, it will be necessary to cut the face of the chuck down and bore the hole deeper and smaller in order to keep more than half of it protruding at all times.

To remove the sphere tap the chuck lightly with a hammer just above it, at the same time pull out on the sphere.