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STEFANG'S CHINESE BALL QUEST

191K views 225 replies 49 participants last post by  stefang 
#1 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
 

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#27 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
;-)
 

Attachments

#28 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
I'm ordering the book today!
 

Attachments

#29 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
Great Sanman. This is a very enjoyable project with so many rewards.
 

Attachments

#30 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
I went today to a woodturning symposium, what an inspiration that was and tonight I have been in the shop making a couple of humidors, one of which was requested as a returned favor for a childhood friend of my wife's and the other just to make. All the time I am thinking I wonder what Mike is doing in Norway and Mads in Denmark and others around the world. It has always fascinated me how some make the choice to "do" something with their mind and their hands instead of looking at the boob tube or other time wasters. I wish I was better at preparing posts and doing the photography, it's hard enough to keep up with what others are doing but your work continues to inspire me to keep doing the things I like to do. Thanks Mike!
 

Attachments

#31 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
I think my head just blew up… WOW!
 

Attachments

#32 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
Thanks Ken and Roger If you are wondering what I've been doing in Norway recently it's mostly been sitting in my easy chair, except for a few short sessions in the shop. Now that some time has elapsed after my eye operations, I went to order new glasses today. After testing and adjusting to work out a prescription for my glasses I was amazed that with new specs, my eyesight will now be perfect. The optician was really happy for me to see how well the operations turned out. So now it will be measure once and cut once I hope!
 

Attachments

#33 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
The lathes tools are just too cool, you have been very busy.
 

Attachments

#34 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
Thanks Tim, this project is being done sporadically due to a lot distractions. That's ok though for me.
 

Attachments

#35 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
Stefang, I think I located your brother on youtube:

or go to youtube and search for "Для форума" posted by sweetmaksik.
 

Attachments

#36 ·
Project Description and Making Special Tools

WHAT IS A CHINESE BALL?
Here's a photo of the kind I am attempting to make. There are four balls encased in the outer ball which is about 2-7/16" in diameter. Please note that it is turned from a solid piece of wood on the lathe.
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

I first became aware of Chinese balls while visiting Hong Kong as a young sailor in 1957. I saw some in a shop made from solid ivory. I could see they were made from solid pieces with no gluing. I should have bought one, but they were too expensive for me. During the years after being discharged from the Navy, I wondered off and on how those balls had been produced, but not enough to try and find out.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS PROJECT
I bought a book by David Springett entitled 'Woodturning Wizardry' at my local woodworking store. I had heard that the book had some interesting projects and chucks, so I bought it without leafing through it. When I did finally get time to read it I was amazed that one of the projects was how to make Chinese balls similar to the ones I had seen in Hong Kong, Though these wooden ones were not intricately carved after turning as the ivory ones. Here is a link to Springett's fine book on making them.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodturning-Wizardry-David-Springett/dp/1565232798

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
I'm not intending this as a tutorial blog. The book is far better on the subject than any how-to that I might attempt. I just thought that some of you might be interested in seeing something a little off the beaten path. I also thought that it might inspire others to give it a try.

This will be a challenging project for me and perhaps some others, but a snap for folks who already possess some of the skills required. Referring here mainly to metal working skills and woodturning.

I plan to share with you my failures and successes with this project for better or for worse. This will reveal some of the pitfalls that I have encountered so that others might avoid them. The idea is: If I can do it so can you.

PROJECT SCOPE
1. Make special turning tools
2. Make a ball cutting jig for the lathe
3. Make a wooden chuck to hold the ball workpiece in various fixed positions for drill/turning,
4. Make a special tool rest for the lathe or an adapted standard tool rest.
5. Standard tools needed: Metal cutting hacksaw metal files (small and regular), twist drill bits in various sizes, a
Jacobs bit for the lathe
tailstock, a drill press (small or large), A tap & die set.
6. Suitable wood to turn the balls from (described in the book)
7. A small butane/propane torch. (cheap at most hardware stores).
8. A center punch for steel that can be used for marking out holes to be drilled in the cutters and tool holders.
9. A vise to hold the steel in for sawing out the steel cutters and filing the cutter profiles.

SOME OF THE WORK CARRIED OUT TO DATE
I bought some steel plate cut-offs from a local engineering firm at a good price. This was unhardened plate of a decent quality. I got 1/8" and 1/4" plate. The cutting tools are made from the 1/8" plate and the tool holders from the 1/4" plate.

Tool holders
The thick plate for the tool holders was hard to cut by hand and the jigsaw was no better, so I chain drilled around the layout marking and then cut the thin part between the holes with a metal cutting blade in my jigsaw. The drilling took some time, but it was much easier physically to do. The cutting to separate them from the plate was done in minutes. I first painted the plate with typing correction paint and them traced them using a cardboard template. Here are some pics of it.
"
Glasses Product Curtain Wood Rectangle
"
"
Wood Rectangle Font Pattern Tree
"
After cutting them out I ground the rough edges smooth with my bench grinder, tapped two holes in each to hold the slotted cutting tools and then I polished them. No hardening was required for the tool holders.

Cutting tool
I also made cardboard (cereal box) patterns for the five cutting tools made from the 1/8" plate. I used a hacksaw to cut them out and file/ground the rough edges. I chain drilled holes for places I couldn't get to with my hacksaw. I sawed the slots in these with a metal blade in my scroll saw, but handheld coping saw with a metal cutting blade would also work well here. The tip of these cutters have to be hardened and tempered. Heat to cherry red and then douse in a bucket of cold water to harden, then reheat to a light blue color and douse again to temper.

Tool handles
I turned these from some white oak stock I had on hand. I turned the first one the way I like it, then I made a simple pattern from the inside curve (or cove) and used that to help duplicate the others. Here is a photo of the finished turning tools.
"
Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service
"

That's it for today. I will show you the ball cutting jig in the next episode. I will try to keep the next blogs less wordy now that I have explained what the project is all about. Thank you for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
Gadzooks rance, that guy has balls of steel! Thanks for the link, it was fun to see.
 

Attachments

#37 ·
Some Tool Details and My Ball Cutting Jig

This is what I am attempting to make
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

CUTTING TOOLS DETAIL
I took a few photos to show you some of the smaller details of the cutters. Unfortunately after all the praise heaped on me for making such fine tools, I will now be exposed as less skillful than you might have thought. The details reveal some pretty sloppy cutting and also centering of slots. However, they do work well.

Tip
The slots are centered on the tool with a center line. Drill points are marked on the centerline at the start and finish of the slots. the holes are drilled and the slots are cut out. This is very simple in theory, but I found it much more difficult in practice. I did get better at it with improved technique, but I'm not thrilled with the result. The good news is that I can make these over again whenever I want.

"
Hand Tableware Wood Gesture Finger
"

Note the light blue color still remaining on a couple of the tips shown above. This is the color to look for when tempering. According to the charts it should be more straw colored, but the book said light blue. This works, so it's ok.

"
Gas Font Electric blue Motor vehicle Metal
"

This image (above) is to give you some idea of the shape of the cutting tips.

"
Wood Gas Font Metal Macro photography
"

Another shot of the cutter ends standing on edge. If you were Looking at the cutter laying flat as it would on the tool holder the width of the cutting tip is 1/8"(3mm) on the top and 3/32"(2mm) on the bottom. As you can see, the very end has the bevel ending in a sharp point. This is where the cutting takes place. It is important that this tip is as wide or wider than the rest of the radiused cutting end to prevent jamming as cutting progresses.

BALL CUTTING JIG
The ball cutting jig is somewhat optional. If you can cut balls freehand then you probably won't need it. The one pictured is made from the plan in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry". The cutting tool is adjustable so it can be adjusted in for each small cut. This jig will only cut one radius, the 62mm ball used for my project. I have adapted it to my lathe so it is easily positioned or removed. It's rather a pain in the neck to manually adjust the cutter after each cut, especially since each cut is so shallow (by necessity).

"
Wood Motor vehicle Gas Machine Auto part
"

The knob on the top is to lock the cutting tool.

"
Amber Wood Tints and shades Gas Font
"

Here is a detail photo of the cutting tip.This tool is a piece of hardened and tempered 1/4" (6mm) steel plate shown in the photo above.

"
Wood Creative arts Tool Wood stain Hardwood
"

The book suggests screwing the jig base onto a wooden bench under the the lathe carriage. I tried this but found it very inflexible and time consuming to set-up and remove, so instead I just use a board on the bottom (as seen above) of the platform that sits very snuggly between the carriage bars and keeps it perfectly centered. I then just use a couple of spring clamps on the backside of the lathe to keep it in position.

"
Gas Machine Wood Engineering Nut
"

the above photo show that the cutting tip is perfectly aligned with the turning centerline height of the lathe. It also has to align perfectly with the tailstock centerline height.

"
Food Plant Finger Wood Fruit
"

Here is a ball that I cut freehand. I will try my ball cutting jig for the first time after changing the base for my next ball. The above ball was cut with a round nosed wide scraper. I got quite a nice cut with that. I will blog cutting with the jig later.

"
Hand Liquid Fluid Finger Plastic bottle
"

And last but not least the stuff I use for depth markers on my drills and also for marking out the turning tools. This stuff is much better than collars or masking tape!

My next blog with will be about the custom made chuck for holding the balls in various positions for drilling and turning. I hope you found something of interest here.Thanks for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
 

Attachments

#38 ·
Some Tool Details and My Ball Cutting Jig

This is what I am attempting to make
"
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part
"

CUTTING TOOLS DETAIL
I took a few photos to show you some of the smaller details of the cutters. Unfortunately after all the praise heaped on me for making such fine tools, I will now be exposed as less skillful than you might have thought. The details reveal some pretty sloppy cutting and also centering of slots. However, they do work well.

Tip
The slots are centered on the tool with a center line. Drill points are marked on the centerline at the start and finish of the slots. the holes are drilled and the slots are cut out. This is very simple in theory, but I found it much more difficult in practice. I did get better at it with improved technique, but I'm not thrilled with the result. The good news is that I can make these over again whenever I want.

"
Hand Tableware Wood Gesture Finger
"

Note the light blue color still remaining on a couple of the tips shown above. This is the color to look for when tempering. According to the charts it should be more straw colored, but the book said light blue. This works, so it's ok.

"
Gas Font Electric blue Motor vehicle Metal
"

This image (above) is to give you some idea of the shape of the cutting tips.

"
Wood Gas Font Metal Macro photography
"

Another shot of the cutter ends standing on edge. If you were Looking at the cutter laying flat as it would on the tool holder the width of the cutting tip is 1/8"(3mm) on the top and 3/32"(2mm) on the bottom. As you can see, the very end has the bevel ending in a sharp point. This is where the cutting takes place. It is important that this tip is as wide or wider than the rest of the radiused cutting end to prevent jamming as cutting progresses.

BALL CUTTING JIG
The ball cutting jig is somewhat optional. If you can cut balls freehand then you probably won't need it. The one pictured is made from the plan in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry". The cutting tool is adjustable so it can be adjusted in for each small cut. This jig will only cut one radius, the 62mm ball used for my project. I have adapted it to my lathe so it is easily positioned or removed. It's rather a pain in the neck to manually adjust the cutter after each cut, especially since each cut is so shallow (by necessity).

"
Wood Motor vehicle Gas Machine Auto part
"

The knob on the top is to lock the cutting tool.

"
Amber Wood Tints and shades Gas Font
"

Here is a detail photo of the cutting tip.This tool is a piece of hardened and tempered 1/4" (6mm) steel plate shown in the photo above.

"
Wood Creative arts Tool Wood stain Hardwood
"

The book suggests screwing the jig base onto a wooden bench under the the lathe carriage. I tried this but found it very inflexible and time consuming to set-up and remove, so instead I just use a board on the bottom (as seen above) of the platform that sits very snuggly between the carriage bars and keeps it perfectly centered. I then just use a couple of spring clamps on the backside of the lathe to keep it in position.

"
Gas Machine Wood Engineering Nut
"

the above photo show that the cutting tip is perfectly aligned with the turning centerline height of the lathe. It also has to align perfectly with the tailstock centerline height.

"
Food Plant Finger Wood Fruit
"

Here is a ball that I cut freehand. I will try my ball cutting jig for the first time after changing the base for my next ball. The above ball was cut with a round nosed wide scraper. I got quite a nice cut with that. I will blog cutting with the jig later.

"
Hand Liquid Fluid Finger Plastic bottle
"

And last but not least the stuff I use for depth markers on my drills and also for marking out the turning tools. This stuff is much better than collars or masking tape!

My next blog with will be about the custom made chuck for holding the balls in various positions for drilling and turning. I hope you found something of interest here.Thanks for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
great post here mike

i'm sure we will all learn quit a bit

glad you got to do this

at such an early age too !
 

Attachments

#55 ·
The Big Chuck Challenge

Here is what I'm trying to make.
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


Essential to this type of work is a chuck to hold the blank ball for drilling the 22 holes at different locations and to hold it in various positions for the turning of the 4 internal balls.

BUILDING THE CHUCK BODY
The outside dimensions of the chuck are flexible as long as there is enough 'meat' around it to hold a faceplate or to accommodate whatever other way you might want to hold the chuck onto the lathe with, and also for the screws which hold the collar in place to lock the ball securely into the chuck.

This blog will be somewhat tutorial because I have made a better chuck than the one recommended in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry', and this might help out someone else doing this project.

This is my third chuck. The first one sucked, the 2nd one was a good concept with a flaw, and the third one is in my opinion bomb proof. That remains to be seen, as I haven't actually used it yet!

So let's get started!

1. Glue up


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Tool Plank


I started out face gluing a couple of 4-1/2" squares of 3/4" wood together as shown above. I used white oak because I wanted a heavy wood to run more vibration free on the lathe.

Wood Hardwood Workbench Wood stain Tool


2. Drilling holes for the 1/4"(M6) collar screws
The next step was to add one more square of the oak and the 1/2" mdf for the collar, both fastened using double sided tape to prepare them for drilling the four collar screw holes, which, as you can see have already been done.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Natural material


3.Installing threaded inserts for the collar screws
After drilling deep enough to insure the proper depth to install screw-in threaded inserts, I removed third layer and drilled the holes out big enough to accept the threaded inserts. They are shown being screwed in above. I could have glued all 3 oak squares at one time and screwed in the inserts from the top, but I didn't want the screwdriver slots on the top, so I inserted them from the bottom, which will then be glued onto the other two boards.

4. Final glue-up
Wood Wood stain Floor Hardwood Gas


After gluing on the 3rd board with the inserts and with the mdf collar still attached, I added a 4th board to protect the MDF while in the glue clamps as shown.

5. Getting the chuck body ready for turning

Wood Electronic instrument Audio equipment Gas Machine


A faceplate has been mounted onto the chuck body and cut round in the bandsaw.

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bicycle part Rim Engineering


Before mounting the chuck onto the lathe I wanted to makes sure my headstock and tailstock were properly aligned.

Wood Gas Machine Engineering Cylinder


The chuck body is now mounted on the lathe and the tailstock brought up to mark the center for hollowing out purposes. The lathe was aligned to make sure the center marking would be correct.

6.Turning the chuck body
The outside is first turned smooth and then a ball shape is turned into the center of the chuck using a half ball template. The diameter is 62mm or about 2-7/16" in diameter.

Wood Banana family Plywood Circle Tool


Here it is the finished hole in the completed chuck body.

MAKING THE CHUCK COLLAR

1. Marking out the collar
Wood Tool Wood stain Hardwood Drill


Here you see the marked out collar. There is a line 1/2" from the center line bisecting the circle. That is the same thickness as the collar and it's length denotes the diameter of the hole to turned in the center on the top of the collar. The bottom of the collar hole will be turned to the same diameter as the hole in the chuck body. In this case the top hole diameter will be our first target. Please note that the screw holes have been countersunk.

2 Turning the collar
Burin Wood Mallet Gas Engineering


The collar is being attached to the chuck body with the four screws which are held by the threaded inserts.

Wood Burin Gas Kitchen utensil Rolling pin

Wood Audio equipment Gas Machine Circle


The outside edge of the collar is turned to the outside chuck body diameter, and the center hole cut out. The next step is to enlarge the internal opening of the collar hole to the same diameter as the chuck body (2-7/16". This is a curved cut that follows the shape of the ball 1/2" out from the front of the chuck body.

Drinkware Fluid Wood Audio equipment Gas

Wood Machine tool Gas Machine Engineering


Here is the completed chuck with the tailstock center pushing the ball in tight before screwing the collar. the 2nd photo shows the chuck holding a ball ready for work!

Wood Wood stain Gas Hardwood Electrical tape


These are the three chucks named From left to right 'Chuck', 'Chucky' and finally 'Chuckles'. I hope this blog wasn't too boring. I just had to get it out of my system, lol. Thanks for reading.

The next blog with be about the special tool rest needed for the special turning tools. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
 

Attachments

#56 ·
The Big Chuck Challenge

Here is what I'm trying to make.
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


Essential to this type of work is a chuck to hold the blank ball for drilling the 22 holes at different locations and to hold it in various positions for the turning of the 4 internal balls.

BUILDING THE CHUCK BODY
The outside dimensions of the chuck are flexible as long as there is enough 'meat' around it to hold a faceplate or to accommodate whatever other way you might want to hold the chuck onto the lathe with, and also for the screws which hold the collar in place to lock the ball securely into the chuck.

This blog will be somewhat tutorial because I have made a better chuck than the one recommended in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry', and this might help out someone else doing this project.

This is my third chuck. The first one sucked, the 2nd one was a good concept with a flaw, and the third one is in my opinion bomb proof. That remains to be seen, as I haven't actually used it yet!

So let's get started!

1. Glue up


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Tool Plank


I started out face gluing a couple of 4-1/2" squares of 3/4" wood together as shown above. I used white oak because I wanted a heavy wood to run more vibration free on the lathe.

Wood Hardwood Workbench Wood stain Tool


2. Drilling holes for the 1/4"(M6) collar screws
The next step was to add one more square of the oak and the 1/2" mdf for the collar, both fastened using double sided tape to prepare them for drilling the four collar screw holes, which, as you can see have already been done.

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Gas Natural material


3.Installing threaded inserts for the collar screws
After drilling deep enough to insure the proper depth to install screw-in threaded inserts, I removed third layer and drilled the holes out big enough to accept the threaded inserts. They are shown being screwed in above. I could have glued all 3 oak squares at one time and screwed in the inserts from the top, but I didn't want the screwdriver slots on the top, so I inserted them from the bottom, which will then be glued onto the other two boards.

4. Final glue-up
Wood Wood stain Floor Hardwood Gas


After gluing on the 3rd board with the inserts and with the mdf collar still attached, I added a 4th board to protect the MDF while in the glue clamps as shown.

5. Getting the chuck body ready for turning

Wood Electronic instrument Audio equipment Gas Machine


A faceplate has been mounted onto the chuck body and cut round in the bandsaw.

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bicycle part Rim Engineering


Before mounting the chuck onto the lathe I wanted to makes sure my headstock and tailstock were properly aligned.

Wood Gas Machine Engineering Cylinder


The chuck body is now mounted on the lathe and the tailstock brought up to mark the center for hollowing out purposes. The lathe was aligned to make sure the center marking would be correct.

6.Turning the chuck body
The outside is first turned smooth and then a ball shape is turned into the center of the chuck using a half ball template. The diameter is 62mm or about 2-7/16" in diameter.

Wood Banana family Plywood Circle Tool


Here it is the finished hole in the completed chuck body.

MAKING THE CHUCK COLLAR

1. Marking out the collar
Wood Tool Wood stain Hardwood Drill


Here you see the marked out collar. There is a line 1/2" from the center line bisecting the circle. That is the same thickness as the collar and it's length denotes the diameter of the hole to turned in the center on the top of the collar. The bottom of the collar hole will be turned to the same diameter as the hole in the chuck body. In this case the top hole diameter will be our first target. Please note that the screw holes have been countersunk.

2 Turning the collar
Burin Wood Mallet Gas Engineering


The collar is being attached to the chuck body with the four screws which are held by the threaded inserts.

Wood Burin Gas Kitchen utensil Rolling pin

Wood Audio equipment Gas Machine Circle


The outside edge of the collar is turned to the outside chuck body diameter, and the center hole cut out. The next step is to enlarge the internal opening of the collar hole to the same diameter as the chuck body (2-7/16". This is a curved cut that follows the shape of the ball 1/2" out from the front of the chuck body.

Drinkware Fluid Wood Audio equipment Gas

Wood Machine tool Gas Machine Engineering


Here is the completed chuck with the tailstock center pushing the ball in tight before screwing the collar. the 2nd photo shows the chuck holding a ball ready for work!

Wood Wood stain Gas Hardwood Electrical tape


These are the three chucks named From left to right 'Chuck', 'Chucky' and finally 'Chuckles'. I hope this blog wasn't too boring. I just had to get it out of my system, lol. Thanks for reading.

The next blog with be about the special tool rest needed for the special turning tools. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
congrats mike, three pats on the shoulder for a job well done, and thank you for getting it out of your sytem , so that we could see this in the works…saw the snow you got the other day, that is winter…it was beautiful….grizz
 

Attachments

#80 ·
Making a Wooden Ball - part 1

Here is what I'm trying to make

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I tried my ball cutting jig today to see if it would work. If you remember, I built the jig from the plan in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry' by David Springett.

Blue Gas Engineering Machine Cylinder

Work piece mounted on the lathe. 12cm (4") long.

Product Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue

work piece marked up 62mm (about 2-7/16") and with a center line. The centerline stays on until the ball is entirely sanded, polished and after marking up for drilling of the various holes.

Plumbing valve Engineering Gas Cylinder Auto part

cut to the width (Ball diameter) As you can see, the axle on the left is longer for access by the ball cutting jig.

Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Machine tool Gas

Check chuck centering (left side)

Wood Gas Engineering Machine Auto part

Check chuck centering (right side matches left side.)

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wood Engineering Gas

Cutting after about 10 minutes

Wood Engineering Machine Gas Auto part

Close to finished after about 50 minutes total.

Wood Gas Engineering Motor vehicle Machine

After some sanding and cutting down the 'axles'

Gesture Wood Gas Engineering Thumb

A little test to see that it actually is round (except the axles)

CONCLUSION

1. How good is this Cutter?

On the Negative side, this jig is pretty flimsy, but it does work. I had to hold it down with one hand and hold it steady as I swung it with the other. My locking mechanism for the cutter has to be locked really tight or it will loosen and it backs out of the cut when it does. The cut wasn't as smooth as I would like, but nothing so bad it couldn't be sanded out.

On the positive side, it does more or less guarantee a perfectly round ball. This is a big advantage for this work, where high precision is a must for a good result in making a Chinese Ball.

2. A better alternative
Turning balls by hand or with a jig is not especially interesting or fun. A jig is therefore a great advantage as it is precise. Better tools always do the job better and usually faster too, so I think I will probably make a heavy…ish steel jig for this work with a screw type advancer for the cutter, and while I'm at it I will probably want it to be extendable in order to do larger work in case I get an obsession for big balls (unlikely, but one never knows).

Now all that remains to finish this ball is to part it off and turn off the small nubs left over from the 'axle'. This isn't as easy as you might think, but it's not astrophysics either, so I will show you the rest as soon as I can get back into the shop.

There are lots of ways to hand turn these balls and lots of different types of jigs to do it that way. The way I've shown here is just one way and certainly not the best, but it works. I will just stick with it until I can make something better. I wish I could do welding as this would be an easy way to make a steel jig. Anybody with ideas on how to make one without welding, please let me know. I'm not keen on learning welding either as I would probably burn the shop down and the house along with it.

Thanks for reading and any observations positive or negative are welcome, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with sharpening! The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
 

Attachments

#81 ·
Making a Wooden Ball - part 1

Here is what I'm trying to make

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I tried my ball cutting jig today to see if it would work. If you remember, I built the jig from the plan in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry' by David Springett.

Blue Gas Engineering Machine Cylinder

Work piece mounted on the lathe. 12cm (4") long.

Product Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue

work piece marked up 62mm (about 2-7/16") and with a center line. The centerline stays on until the ball is entirely sanded, polished and after marking up for drilling of the various holes.

Plumbing valve Engineering Gas Cylinder Auto part

cut to the width (Ball diameter) As you can see, the axle on the left is longer for access by the ball cutting jig.

Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Machine tool Gas

Check chuck centering (left side)

Wood Gas Engineering Machine Auto part

Check chuck centering (right side matches left side.)

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wood Engineering Gas

Cutting after about 10 minutes

Wood Engineering Machine Gas Auto part

Close to finished after about 50 minutes total.

Wood Gas Engineering Motor vehicle Machine

After some sanding and cutting down the 'axles'

Gesture Wood Gas Engineering Thumb

A little test to see that it actually is round (except the axles)

CONCLUSION

1. How good is this Cutter?

On the Negative side, this jig is pretty flimsy, but it does work. I had to hold it down with one hand and hold it steady as I swung it with the other. My locking mechanism for the cutter has to be locked really tight or it will loosen and it backs out of the cut when it does. The cut wasn't as smooth as I would like, but nothing so bad it couldn't be sanded out.

On the positive side, it does more or less guarantee a perfectly round ball. This is a big advantage for this work, where high precision is a must for a good result in making a Chinese Ball.

2. A better alternative
Turning balls by hand or with a jig is not especially interesting or fun. A jig is therefore a great advantage as it is precise. Better tools always do the job better and usually faster too, so I think I will probably make a heavy…ish steel jig for this work with a screw type advancer for the cutter, and while I'm at it I will probably want it to be extendable in order to do larger work in case I get an obsession for big balls (unlikely, but one never knows).

Now all that remains to finish this ball is to part it off and turn off the small nubs left over from the 'axle'. This isn't as easy as you might think, but it's not astrophysics either, so I will show you the rest as soon as I can get back into the shop.

There are lots of ways to hand turn these balls and lots of different types of jigs to do it that way. The way I've shown here is just one way and certainly not the best, but it works. I will just stick with it until I can make something better. I wish I could do welding as this would be an easy way to make a steel jig. Anybody with ideas on how to make one without welding, please let me know. I'm not keen on learning welding either as I would probably burn the shop down and the house along with it.

Thanks for reading and any observations positive or negative are welcome, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with sharpening! The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
so I will show you the rest as soon as I can get back into the shop.

good to see how a true round ball is turned
i always wondered

and good to know you plan on going back to the shop
every time i see you here

you are just sitting on the porch
 

Attachments

#86 ·
Making a Wooden Ball - part 1

Here is what I'm trying to make

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I tried my ball cutting jig today to see if it would work. If you remember, I built the jig from the plan in the book 'Woodturning Wizadry' by David Springett.

Blue Gas Engineering Machine Cylinder

Work piece mounted on the lathe. 12cm (4") long.

Product Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue

work piece marked up 62mm (about 2-7/16") and with a center line. The centerline stays on until the ball is entirely sanded, polished and after marking up for drilling of the various holes.

Plumbing valve Engineering Gas Cylinder Auto part

cut to the width (Ball diameter) As you can see, the axle on the left is longer for access by the ball cutting jig.

Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Machine tool Gas

Check chuck centering (left side)

Wood Gas Engineering Machine Auto part

Check chuck centering (right side matches left side.)

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wood Engineering Gas

Cutting after about 10 minutes

Wood Engineering Machine Gas Auto part

Close to finished after about 50 minutes total.

Wood Gas Engineering Motor vehicle Machine

After some sanding and cutting down the 'axles'

Gesture Wood Gas Engineering Thumb

A little test to see that it actually is round (except the axles)

CONCLUSION

1. How good is this Cutter?

On the Negative side, this jig is pretty flimsy, but it does work. I had to hold it down with one hand and hold it steady as I swung it with the other. My locking mechanism for the cutter has to be locked really tight or it will loosen and it backs out of the cut when it does. The cut wasn't as smooth as I would like, but nothing so bad it couldn't be sanded out.

On the positive side, it does more or less guarantee a perfectly round ball. This is a big advantage for this work, where high precision is a must for a good result in making a Chinese Ball.

2. A better alternative
Turning balls by hand or with a jig is not especially interesting or fun. A jig is therefore a great advantage as it is precise. Better tools always do the job better and usually faster too, so I think I will probably make a heavy…ish steel jig for this work with a screw type advancer for the cutter, and while I'm at it I will probably want it to be extendable in order to do larger work in case I get an obsession for big balls (unlikely, but one never knows).

Now all that remains to finish this ball is to part it off and turn off the small nubs left over from the 'axle'. This isn't as easy as you might think, but it's not astrophysics either, so I will show you the rest as soon as I can get back into the shop.

There are lots of ways to hand turn these balls and lots of different types of jigs to do it that way. The way I've shown here is just one way and certainly not the best, but it works. I will just stick with it until I can make something better. I wish I could do welding as this would be an easy way to make a steel jig. Anybody with ideas on how to make one without welding, please let me know. I'm not keen on learning welding either as I would probably burn the shop down and the house along with it.

Thanks for reading and any observations positive or negative are welcome, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with sharpening! The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
David If I were sitting on the porch lately I would be frozen into a human lolly pop by now. I am instead lolling in my Lazyboy recliner in front of the fire. Getting out of that chair seems to take up most of my workday lately. I have a fatal decease. It's call old age.

DS251 I enjoy a more hands on approach than a copier on my lathe. That would be ok for someone doing repetitive production, but not the kind of turning I like to do (when I do it at all). I have turned these balls by hand and they came out well enough, but I wanted to test the jig to see which way was the easiest/most accurate.

Yuri That would probably work, but the primary holes for the Chinese balls are only 18mm or near 3/4" and the ball isn't round all the way to the axle yet because I couldn't get access. Also, I'm concerned that the stub would prevent the ball seating properly in my chuck. Your chuck design might overcome that problem. I could maybe put turn a small cup in the bottom of the chuck to accommodate it. Thanks for the tip, I will keep it in mind.
 

Attachments

#99 ·
Making a Wooden Ball - part 2

This is what I'm trying to make:

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I hope you haven't given up on me with this blog. My wife and I spent about a week moving my 92 year old MIL to an old folks home and then a few days recovering from the heavy lifting. We got her new place furnished nicely and my wife sewed some draperies. She seems real pleased with the change after living alone for the last 44 years. Now she has folks of her own generation to socialize with on a daily basis and she has all her everyday needs well attended to.

You might recall that we left off with the ball having been turned on the lathe as shown below.
Wood Gas Engineering Motor vehicle Machine


Mostly finished ball on the lathe above

The next task was to sand off the axle nubs from parting the ball off the lathe. I like to use the disk sander for this because the cups used to hold the ball for the finishing up isn't so secure when you turn off the nubs.

Hand Musical instrument Idiophone Wood Musical instrument accessory


sanding on disk sander above

After removing most of the nubs on the sander I remounted the ball back on the lathe in some cup holders to finish turning the end grain part of the ball and to sand the whole thing smooth. Note that the center line on the ball which was in a vertical position on the original lathe mount is now horizontal in line with the lathe's axis.

Wood Burin Mallet Audio equipment Gas


Ball in the cup holders on lathe above

The finished ball at last! It looks almost round too.

Wood Ball Hardwood Comfort Flooring


finished ball above

The last job is marking the ball up for drilling. There will be a total of 32 tapered holes in the ball, 20 constellation holes and 12 primary holes. The constellation holes are all drilled first at the same time. Each primary hole is drilled separately afterward and the turning of the 4 inner balls is done before moving on to the next primary hole.

The larger primary holes will be used to turn all 4 balls within the main ball (5 balls total), while the smaller constellation holes are used to help clear waste that can't be reached by the turning tools.

The marking is done with a compass according to ball geometry to locate all the holes so that they are evenly distributed around the ball. Please note that you need to have an accurate sized ball and it has to be very round (near but not perfect) I've darkened the lines to make it easier for you to see.

The primary hole will be located at the center of each 'flower' while there will be 5 constellation holes surrounding each primary hole which you can see in the photo below.

The book "Woodturning Wizardry" by David Springett explains how to do the marking.

Ball Wood Circle Art Pattern


Marked up ball above

In the next blog I will show you how the 10 constellation holes are drilled while being held with the ball chuck. I hope you find this work interesting. Thanks for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
 

Attachments

#100 ·
Making a Wooden Ball - part 2

This is what I'm trying to make:

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I hope you haven't given up on me with this blog. My wife and I spent about a week moving my 92 year old MIL to an old folks home and then a few days recovering from the heavy lifting. We got her new place furnished nicely and my wife sewed some draperies. She seems real pleased with the change after living alone for the last 44 years. Now she has folks of her own generation to socialize with on a daily basis and she has all her everyday needs well attended to.

You might recall that we left off with the ball having been turned on the lathe as shown below.
Wood Gas Engineering Motor vehicle Machine


Mostly finished ball on the lathe above

The next task was to sand off the axle nubs from parting the ball off the lathe. I like to use the disk sander for this because the cups used to hold the ball for the finishing up isn't so secure when you turn off the nubs.

Hand Musical instrument Idiophone Wood Musical instrument accessory


sanding on disk sander above

After removing most of the nubs on the sander I remounted the ball back on the lathe in some cup holders to finish turning the end grain part of the ball and to sand the whole thing smooth. Note that the center line on the ball which was in a vertical position on the original lathe mount is now horizontal in line with the lathe's axis.

Wood Burin Mallet Audio equipment Gas


Ball in the cup holders on lathe above

The finished ball at last! It looks almost round too.

Wood Ball Hardwood Comfort Flooring


finished ball above

The last job is marking the ball up for drilling. There will be a total of 32 tapered holes in the ball, 20 constellation holes and 12 primary holes. The constellation holes are all drilled first at the same time. Each primary hole is drilled separately afterward and the turning of the 4 inner balls is done before moving on to the next primary hole.

The larger primary holes will be used to turn all 4 balls within the main ball (5 balls total), while the smaller constellation holes are used to help clear waste that can't be reached by the turning tools.

The marking is done with a compass according to ball geometry to locate all the holes so that they are evenly distributed around the ball. Please note that you need to have an accurate sized ball and it has to be very round (near but not perfect) I've darkened the lines to make it easier for you to see.

The primary hole will be located at the center of each 'flower' while there will be 5 constellation holes surrounding each primary hole which you can see in the photo below.

The book "Woodturning Wizardry" by David Springett explains how to do the marking.

Ball Wood Circle Art Pattern


Marked up ball above

In the next blog I will show you how the 10 constellation holes are drilled while being held with the ball chuck. I hope you find this work interesting. Thanks for reading. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
This is a interesting process Mike thanks for the great blog.
 

Attachments

#116 ·
Drilling the 22 constellation holes in the ball

Here is what I am trying to make:
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


Here is where we left off at the end of the last blog with the ball marked up to locate the 22 constellation holes (the small ones) and the 12 primary holes
Ball Wood Circle Art Pattern


Today was used to drill the constellation holes. These holes are done first as the are needed to remove waste that the curved undercutting tools can't reach. They also provide some space for the cuttings to go as the inner balls are turned.

A few words about the importance of doing careful work while drilling these holes

The constellation holes have to be drilled with great care because if one is messed up then the project becomes a practice ball instead of the nicely finished curiosity you might have been dreaming about. The following list are the things you need to do this work properly. These observations are based on my hard earned experience.

1. A good chuck that will hold the ball tightly while being turned.
2. A Jacobs chuck to fit the tailstock of your lathe (preferably the kind you can tighten by hand).
3. Sharp drills are essential. Dull drills wander and will knock the ball off center, even with a good chuck

The drill bits
Only four drills are actually needed as follows: 9mm, 6mm, 4mm and 3mm. These drill only about 4mm each as you can see by the depth marks when lined up. Each hole is drilled until the depth mark gets to the ball surface. The 5th drill is a 9mm twist drill used to start drill the primary holes which will be reamed out to 18mm after drilling.

For the constellation holes I have used brad drills for the first 3 used on each hole starting with the largest bit. and a twist drill for the 4th and smallest bit.

I used the brad point drills because my twist drills in the correct sizes weren't sharp enough and I wanted to get on with the work.

The brad bits work well enough as long as the brad isn't wider or longer than the drill which follows it. Sharp twist drills are the bit of choice though because the spurs on the brad bits cut slightly deeper on the outside perimeter of the hole than in the center.
Wood Hood Motor vehicle Bumper Hardwood


Drills lined up on their depth marks to show the length of the hole at each level above

Here the bits are line up under my lathe bed and ready to use (as mentioned above, only 4 will actually be used, the shiny ones)
Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Office ruler


drills ready for use. above

Preparing the Chuck
Sandpaper grippers have been stuck on with double sided tape to the interior of the chuck and around the inside rim of the chuck collar. I had to add an extra layer to the ones in the collar as the ball was still a little loose with only one layer (not shown).
Wood Circle Wood stain Hardwood Plywood


The ball chuck ready above

Headstock/tailstock alignment
It's very important to make sure your headstock and tailstock are properly aligned to insure that all holes to be drilled will point to the center of the ball (Think radial holes)


The headstock/tailstock are properly aligned above

Proper mounting of the ball in the chuck

The ball is being mounted in the chuck. Please note that I am applying pressure on the ball with my revolving tailstock center first to center the ball and secondly to keep it in place while I tighten the chuck collar.

I am using my battery drill, but only to screw in most of the way to save time and effort. A regular screw driver is used for careful final tightening to prevent dragging the ball off-center. This is done gradually by keeping a pretty even gap between the collar and the chuck body all around as it is tightened.


Mounting the ball in the chuck above

Drill sequence
I took the authors advice from the book, which is to begin with the largest drill bit first and working towards the smallest. This helps prevent drill wander and knocking the ball off center.

The first hole is started in the picture. It's very important to take it slow and easy and not force the drill in to the ball too quickly. I blow out the sawdust between each drill bit. When finished you will have drilled 22 constellation holes, each with 4 drills or actually 88 holes. Establishing a good routine helps to keep the work moving at quicker pace.

Having the right attitude for this sometimes tedious work
My advice on drilling these holes is to take your time and regard each hole as a small somewhat delicate project and give yourself a pat on the back each time one is successfully completed.

Turning the rim around the constellation holes
The last part is to turn the little rim around the hole as soon as it's finish drilled. Less is better than more might be a good thought to have while doing these rims. If your ball is still centered perfectly all will go well, otherwise you have a rim that is wider on one side than the other.

The rim part was a challenge. I use a miniature skew chisel to turn them. I can't say that I am entirely satisfied with the result, but not to worry, I know I will get better with experience.


First hole started above

Todays grand finale
The first 5 holes completed without any major disasters, whoopee!


First five holes completed above

And finally all 22 holes completed (whew).


All 22 holes satisfactorily drilled above

What's next?*
My next blog in this series will cover the special tool rest I made and actually turning the 4 inner balls. I can't guarantee that this work will go well. If successful, I will blog it. If not I will have to turn a new ball and drill those 22 holes again. I really hope that won't happen

Thank you for reading this. It's too wordy, but I want the readers to be aware of some of the pitfalls which can avoided with good practice. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
 

Attachments

#117 ·
Drilling the 22 constellation holes in the ball

Here is what I am trying to make:
Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


Here is where we left off at the end of the last blog with the ball marked up to locate the 22 constellation holes (the small ones) and the 12 primary holes
Ball Wood Circle Art Pattern


Today was used to drill the constellation holes. These holes are done first as the are needed to remove waste that the curved undercutting tools can't reach. They also provide some space for the cuttings to go as the inner balls are turned.

A few words about the importance of doing careful work while drilling these holes

The constellation holes have to be drilled with great care because if one is messed up then the project becomes a practice ball instead of the nicely finished curiosity you might have been dreaming about. The following list are the things you need to do this work properly. These observations are based on my hard earned experience.

1. A good chuck that will hold the ball tightly while being turned.
2. A Jacobs chuck to fit the tailstock of your lathe (preferably the kind you can tighten by hand).
3. Sharp drills are essential. Dull drills wander and will knock the ball off center, even with a good chuck

The drill bits
Only four drills are actually needed as follows: 9mm, 6mm, 4mm and 3mm. These drill only about 4mm each as you can see by the depth marks when lined up. Each hole is drilled until the depth mark gets to the ball surface. The 5th drill is a 9mm twist drill used to start drill the primary holes which will be reamed out to 18mm after drilling.

For the constellation holes I have used brad drills for the first 3 used on each hole starting with the largest bit. and a twist drill for the 4th and smallest bit.

I used the brad point drills because my twist drills in the correct sizes weren't sharp enough and I wanted to get on with the work.

The brad bits work well enough as long as the brad isn't wider or longer than the drill which follows it. Sharp twist drills are the bit of choice though because the spurs on the brad bits cut slightly deeper on the outside perimeter of the hole than in the center.
Wood Hood Motor vehicle Bumper Hardwood


Drills lined up on their depth marks to show the length of the hole at each level above

Here the bits are line up under my lathe bed and ready to use (as mentioned above, only 4 will actually be used, the shiny ones)
Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Office ruler


drills ready for use. above

Preparing the Chuck
Sandpaper grippers have been stuck on with double sided tape to the interior of the chuck and around the inside rim of the chuck collar. I had to add an extra layer to the ones in the collar as the ball was still a little loose with only one layer (not shown).
Wood Circle Wood stain Hardwood Plywood


The ball chuck ready above

Headstock/tailstock alignment
It's very important to make sure your headstock and tailstock are properly aligned to insure that all holes to be drilled will point to the center of the ball (Think radial holes)
Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bicycle part Rim Engineering


The headstock/tailstock are properly aligned above

Proper mounting of the ball in the chuck

The ball is being mounted in the chuck. Please note that I am applying pressure on the ball with my revolving tailstock center first to center the ball and secondly to keep it in place while I tighten the chuck collar.

I am using my battery drill, but only to screw in most of the way to save time and effort. A regular screw driver is used for careful final tightening to prevent dragging the ball off-center. This is done gradually by keeping a pretty even gap between the collar and the chuck body all around as it is tightened.
Automotive tire Yellow Motor vehicle Gas Engineering


Mounting the ball in the chuck above

Drill sequence
I took the authors advice from the book, which is to begin with the largest drill bit first and working towards the smallest. This helps prevent drill wander and knocking the ball off center.

The first hole is started in the picture. It's very important to take it slow and easy and not force the drill in to the ball too quickly. I blow out the sawdust between each drill bit. When finished you will have drilled 22 constellation holes, each with 4 drills or actually 88 holes. Establishing a good routine helps to keep the work moving at quicker pace.

Having the right attitude for this sometimes tedious work
My advice on drilling these holes is to take your time and regard each hole as a small somewhat delicate project and give yourself a pat on the back each time one is successfully completed.

Turning the rim around the constellation holes
The last part is to turn the little rim around the hole as soon as it's finish drilled. Less is better than more might be a good thought to have while doing these rims. If your ball is still centered perfectly all will go well, otherwise you have a rim that is wider on one side than the other.

The rim part was a challenge. I use a miniature skew chisel to turn them. I can't say that I am entirely satisfied with the result, but not to worry, I know I will get better with experience.
Wood Machine tool Gas Machine Engineering


First hole started above

Todays grand finale
The first 5 holes completed without any major disasters, whoopee!
Sculpture Wood Artifact Ball Art


First five holes completed above

And finally all 22 holes completed (whew).
Ball Wood Door Circle Artifact


All 22 holes satisfactorily drilled above

What's next?*
My next blog in this series will cover the special tool rest I made and actually turning the 4 inner balls. I can't guarantee that this work will go well. If successful, I will blog it. If not I will have to turn a new ball and drill those 22 holes again. I really hope that won't happen

Thank you for reading this. It's too wordy, but I want the readers to be aware of some of the pitfalls which can avoided with good practice. The following links cover all the blogs in the series to date.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
facinateing….....
 

Attachments

#145 ·
A Small But Significant Victory

Hi Friends. The Chinese Ball war isn't over yet, but I did manage to win a battle today. I was able to successfully turn all four inner balls in the first main (primary) hole. The first two holes are turned in end grain. The book suggests turning those first. I suppose to save a lot of time in case one of these aren't successful and the ball is wasted.

On the negative side, I did a little damage to the rim around one of the small (secondary) holes. I think I can fix that. Otherwise I managed to compress the wood around the primary hole with the tool holder, which is radiused and used as a stop to keep the cutter at the right depth while work is underway. I will try to use a lighter touch next time. Meanwhile I sprayed it with some water to swell the compressed wood back to normal. That seemed to work ok.

Here are some photos of the work progression and the tools used for each step: First photo is the tapered hole used for entry by the cutting tools. The hole is first drill with a 9mm drill to a depth of 22mm and then widened and tapered using the tool shown in photo 2 at the far right. Now we have an entry hole for the undercutting tools.

Vehicle brake Rim Gas Auto part Automotive wheel system

Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service


Here is the #1 cutting tool in photo 1 and at full depth cutting in photo2 below.

Wood Hand tool Tool Gas Household hardware

Wood Gas Machine Machine tool Auto part


Below are tools #2, #3, and #4 before insertion just to show you the difference lengths for each inner ball. On this last pic you can see where I compressed the ball with the tool holder and also the messed up rim around the secondary hole.

Wood Hardwood Workbench Machine Wood stain

Wood Gas Machine Auto part Metal

Wood Hand tool Metal Auto part Machine


And lastly a shot showing all four inner balls successfully turned by your overwrought blogger. I forgot to mention earlier that this ball is Maple.

Wood Bicycle part Rim Gas Household hardware


This was a very positive experience, but I still have a long way to go before all 12 holes are finished. I just hope that it goes equally well on the next 11!

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry this blog is taking so long, but family business has caused delays plus I was nursing a bum knee for a few days. Everything seems to get out of control when you get old! So long for now.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
 

Attachments

#146 ·
A Small But Significant Victory

Hi Friends. The Chinese Ball war isn't over yet, but I did manage to win a battle today. I was able to successfully turn all four inner balls in the first main (primary) hole. The first two holes are turned in end grain. The book suggests turning those first. I suppose to save a lot of time in case one of these aren't successful and the ball is wasted.

On the negative side, I did a little damage to the rim around one of the small (secondary) holes. I think I can fix that. Otherwise I managed to compress the wood around the primary hole with the tool holder, which is radiused and used as a stop to keep the cutter at the right depth while work is underway. I will try to use a lighter touch next time. Meanwhile I sprayed it with some water to swell the compressed wood back to normal. That seemed to work ok.

Here are some photos of the work progression and the tools used for each step: First photo is the tapered hole used for entry by the cutting tools. The hole is first drill with a 9mm drill to a depth of 22mm and then widened and tapered using the tool shown in photo 2 at the far right. Now we have an entry hole for the undercutting tools.

Vehicle brake Rim Gas Auto part Automotive wheel system

Wood Cutlery Kitchen utensil Metal Service


Here is the #1 cutting tool in photo 1 and at full depth cutting in photo2 below.

Wood Hand tool Tool Gas Household hardware

Wood Gas Machine Machine tool Auto part


Below are tools #2, #3, and #4 before insertion just to show you the difference lengths for each inner ball. On this last pic you can see where I compressed the ball with the tool holder and also the messed up rim around the secondary hole.

Wood Hardwood Workbench Machine Wood stain

Wood Gas Machine Auto part Metal

Wood Hand tool Metal Auto part Machine


And lastly a shot showing all four inner balls successfully turned by your overwrought blogger. I forgot to mention earlier that this ball is Maple.

Wood Bicycle part Rim Gas Household hardware


This was a very positive experience, but I still have a long way to go before all 12 holes are finished. I just hope that it goes equally well on the next 11!

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry this blog is taking so long, but family business has caused delays plus I was nursing a bum knee for a few days. Everything seems to get out of control when you get old! So long for now.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
Wow good going Mike! If I understand correctly each ball is created by a different tool? Does the outer part of the tool ride on the outer ball? Interesting to watch and learn this, thanks. Good luck on the next 11.
 

Attachments

#162 ·
Learned Something New Today?

Today was a total success! I proved that my wooden plugs just weren't good enough! Now to be fair I have gotten some good advice on how to make my plugs from Yuri, but apropos to JimA1's latest blog on advice, I choose to ignore it and I have been duly rewarded with a new learning point, Aka disaster.

I was determined to continue today and I felt a little uncertain about Yuris method and the time it would take for me to experiment with it, so I continued with the wooden plugs. I reckoned that I would use his method on my next ball.

The wood plugs stayed tight in the first two holes, but I suspect they didn't give uniform support to the 4 inner layers. This resulted in a breakout between #2 and #3 holes at level three and four where they intersect. The damage is too great for any kind of fix.

Now I have to turn a new ball and drill the 20 secondary holes I will need before I begin turning the inner balls again. That is ok, because I had planned some tactical changes in the way I will do that ball and of course I plan to use Yuri's plugs. Below are some photos to show what I did today.

Here is some experimentation with making the plugs a new way (which failed of course). I have put the large diameter end of the plug at the tailstock end instead of the headstock end as before. This is so I can test it for fitting and remount it on the lathe to refine it if necessary, which I couldn't do before with the plug the other way around.
Engineering Beer tap Wood Gas Machine


Here the plug is being tested for fit and it needs some adjustment.
Wood Wood stain Gas Hardwood Engineering


2nd test fit after a little more turning and it seems ok. Now hole #2 is ready to be plugged and the work on hole #3 can begin.
Wood Hand tool Tool Art Workbench


Hole #3 with the catastrophic result as explained above. If you look closely you can see where a section is broken out between the two main holes on layers 3 and 4.
Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue Circle


So another chapter in this exciting turning melodrama comes to a close. It's looking dark right now, but soon the light will shine through and you will be able to say "He did it!" (maybe).

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend. The links to this project blog are below.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
 

Attachments

#163 ·
Learned Something New Today?

Today was a total success! I proved that my wooden plugs just weren't good enough! Now to be fair I have gotten some good advice on how to make my plugs from Yuri, but apropos to JimA1's latest blog on advice, I choose to ignore it and I have been duly rewarded with a new learning point, Aka disaster.

I was determined to continue today and I felt a little uncertain about Yuris method and the time it would take for me to experiment with it, so I continued with the wooden plugs. I reckoned that I would use his method on my next ball.

The wood plugs stayed tight in the first two holes, but I suspect they didn't give uniform support to the 4 inner layers. This resulted in a breakout between #2 and #3 holes at level three and four where they intersect. The damage is too great for any kind of fix.

Now I have to turn a new ball and drill the 20 secondary holes I will need before I begin turning the inner balls again. That is ok, because I had planned some tactical changes in the way I will do that ball and of course I plan to use Yuri's plugs. Below are some photos to show what I did today.

Here is some experimentation with making the plugs a new way (which failed of course). I have put the large diameter end of the plug at the tailstock end instead of the headstock end as before. This is so I can test it for fitting and remount it on the lathe to refine it if necessary, which I couldn't do before with the plug the other way around.
Engineering Beer tap Wood Gas Machine


Here the plug is being tested for fit and it needs some adjustment.
Wood Wood stain Gas Hardwood Engineering


2nd test fit after a little more turning and it seems ok. Now hole #2 is ready to be plugged and the work on hole #3 can begin.
Wood Hand tool Tool Art Workbench


Hole #3 with the catastrophic result as explained above. If you look closely you can see where a section is broken out between the two main holes on layers 3 and 4.
Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue Circle


So another chapter in this exciting turning melodrama comes to a close. It's looking dark right now, but soon the light will shine through and you will be able to say "He did it!" (maybe).

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend. The links to this project blog are below.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
You Sir, have my undying respect.

Your patience makes Job seem like a whiny 5 year old.

I was up half of the night catching up on your project blogs after I just happened upon your most recent blog.
I am hooked on this project blog thread, as are most LJs from what I read.

God's Speed (well easy on the speed part)
 

Attachments

#183 ·
Having a Ball (or at least making one)

You might guess that I wouldn't have a new ball ready so fast after the last fiasco. Well, I did get out to the shop long enough to turn a new one today.

I used a new method to turn this ball, and I think it is the best one I've done so far. Nothing original about the way I did it, but new for me. It could be that many of you out there aren't interested in turning Chinese balls, but I would think most turners would like to try their hand at doing a ball sometime, so I thought I would share this method with you. It's mostly photos and not too much babble, so I hope you will have a look.

Wood Gas Engineering Machine tool Machine

The workpiece

Blue Gas Technology Engineering Electric blue

Mounting the workpiece between centers

Product Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue

Turned down to the finished diameter and marked with the ball's diameter and a centerline.

Scroll Wood Gas Mallet Cylinder

A spigot is turned to fit into my 4 jaw chuck.

Wood Engineering Metal Machine Armour

Mounted in my 4 jaw chuck and with the tailstock brought up and locked in to ensure stability and accuracy. I have also turned it down to make the 25mm axles (left thick for stability).

Engineering Gas Machine tool Office equipment Machine

Here you can see the template and that it fits the circumference of the workpiece.

Wood Gas Engineering Auto part Symmetry

I have partially turned the ends at 45 degree angle and you can see what is left to turn by the template. I used a wide round nosed scraper up to this point. It doesn't really scrape, it cuts. You can get A nice smooth cut without have to worrry too much about cutting too much off as you might with a gouge.

Safety glove Wood Gas Engineering Machine

I have been using a gouge since the last photo because I can cut closer to the axles. You have to use good technique on these cuts to get them smooth and consistence since you are working more or less on vertical surfaces. A check with the template indicates that we are getting closer.

Safety glove Wood Gas Engineering Machine

continuing with the gouge and also using the scraper again on surfaces closer to the centerline. Not far to go now.

Wood Gas Machine Metal Ammunition

Almost there! Note that the axles are turned down. Be careful with the axle on the headstock side because you will need it to be strong enough to eventually turn the ball without the tailstock in place.

Wood Automotive design Propeller Aircraft engine Gas

Ok, this is pretty close. I think it will be easiest, safest and quickest to start sanding from this point.

Office equipment Wood Gas Machine Machine tool

The template shows that it is perfect. Now I just have to get those axles turned off.

Gas Personal protective equipment Machine Engineering Metal

The tailstock end is parted off and you can see the nub.

Wood Gas Engineering Machine Personal protective equipment

The toolrest is brought up and the nub turned off.

Wood Audio equipment Engineering Laboratory equipment Safety glove

A little sanding and a check with the template, Bingo! Take your time with this. It's not overly easy to get that nub off and even with the rounded surface of the ball.

Wood Finger Thumb Nail Circle

The ball parted off from the chuck. Now the last remaining axle nub has to be turned off.

Wood Hand tool Gas Engineering Metal

The ball is mounted in my ball chuck and the last nub turned off and sanded smooth. If you don't have a ball chuck, you can just turn a cup with the same radius as the ball, place the ball in the cup and bring your tailstock up and lock the ball in place, turn off as much of the nub as possible, sand and then remove the ball from the lathe, cut the remaining tiny nub off with a chisel and then sand by hand.

Hand Plant Flowerpot Houseplant Finger

And here it is, the finished ball.

Some helpful tips
1. Take extra care to get your diameter right when you rough down the workpiece so you know exactly what it is.
2. Very important to keep your tool cutting edges as close as possibel to the horizontal center-point of the
workpiece
3. Make sure that the length of the workpiece between your marks is exactly the same as the diameter and that the
centerline is truly in the center.
4. When you reduce the diameter of your axles make sure you don't cut too close and make the end of the ball flat.
It is easier to do than you might think.

5. After the initial roughing of the ball you have to stay focused as it is easy to cut to much off, especially with the
gouge. Keep an eye on the ball profile as you turn and take light cuts and check often with the template. Some
turners use a water glass or other round container to check the ball's roundness with, but that doesn't tell you if
are at the right diameter, so I prefer the template.

Thanks for reading and I hope you find something interesting here. Below are links to this series.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28905 #8
 

Attachments

#184 ·
Having a Ball (or at least making one)

You might guess that I wouldn't have a new ball ready so fast after the last fiasco. Well, I did get out to the shop long enough to turn a new one today.

I used a new method to turn this ball, and I think it is the best one I've done so far. Nothing original about the way I did it, but new for me. It could be that many of you out there aren't interested in turning Chinese balls, but I would think most turners would like to try their hand at doing a ball sometime, so I thought I would share this method with you. It's mostly photos and not too much babble, so I hope you will have a look.

Wood Gas Engineering Machine tool Machine

The workpiece

Blue Gas Technology Engineering Electric blue

Mounting the workpiece between centers

Product Wood Gas Engineering Electric blue

Turned down to the finished diameter and marked with the ball's diameter and a centerline.

Scroll Wood Gas Mallet Cylinder

A spigot is turned to fit into my 4 jaw chuck.

Wood Engineering Metal Machine Armour

Mounted in my 4 jaw chuck and with the tailstock brought up and locked in to ensure stability and accuracy. I have also turned it down to make the 25mm axles (left thick for stability).

Engineering Gas Machine tool Office equipment Machine

Here you can see the template and that it fits the circumference of the workpiece.

Wood Gas Engineering Auto part Symmetry

I have partially turned the ends at 45 degree angle and you can see what is left to turn by the template. I used a wide round nosed scraper up to this point. It doesn't really scrape, it cuts. You can get A nice smooth cut without have to worrry too much about cutting too much off as you might with a gouge.

Safety glove Wood Gas Engineering Machine

I have been using a gouge since the last photo because I can cut closer to the axles. You have to use good technique on these cuts to get them smooth and consistence since you are working more or less on vertical surfaces. A check with the template indicates that we are getting closer.

Safety glove Wood Gas Engineering Machine

continuing with the gouge and also using the scraper again on surfaces closer to the centerline. Not far to go now.

Wood Gas Machine Metal Ammunition

Almost there! Note that the axles are turned down. Be careful with the axle on the headstock side because you will need it to be strong enough to eventually turn the ball without the tailstock in place.

Wood Automotive design Propeller Aircraft engine Gas

Ok, this is pretty close. I think it will be easiest, safest and quickest to start sanding from this point.

Office equipment Wood Gas Machine Machine tool

The template shows that it is perfect. Now I just have to get those axles turned off.

Gas Personal protective equipment Machine Engineering Metal

The tailstock end is parted off and you can see the nub.

Wood Gas Engineering Machine Personal protective equipment

The toolrest is brought up and the nub turned off.

Wood Audio equipment Engineering Laboratory equipment Safety glove

A little sanding and a check with the template, Bingo! Take your time with this. It's not overly easy to get that nub off and even with the rounded surface of the ball.

Wood Finger Thumb Nail Circle

The ball parted off from the chuck. Now the last remaining axle nub has to be turned off.

Wood Hand tool Gas Engineering Metal

The ball is mounted in my ball chuck and the last nub turned off and sanded smooth. If you don't have a ball chuck, you can just turn a cup with the same radius as the ball, place the ball in the cup and bring your tailstock up and lock the ball in place, turn off as much of the nub as possible, sand and then remove the ball from the lathe, cut the remaining tiny nub off with a chisel and then sand by hand.

Hand Plant Flowerpot Houseplant Finger

And here it is, the finished ball.

Some helpful tips
1. Take extra care to get your diameter right when you rough down the workpiece so you know exactly what it is.
2. Very important to keep your tool cutting edges as close as possibel to the horizontal center-point of the
workpiece
3. Make sure that the length of the workpiece between your marks is exactly the same as the diameter and that the
centerline is truly in the center.
4. When you reduce the diameter of your axles make sure you don't cut too close and make the end of the ball flat.
It is easier to do than you might think.

5. After the initial roughing of the ball you have to stay focused as it is easy to cut to much off, especially with the
gouge. Keep an eye on the ball profile as you turn and take light cuts and check often with the template. Some
turners use a water glass or other round container to check the ball's roundness with, but that doesn't tell you if
are at the right diameter, so I prefer the template.

Thanks for reading and I hope you find something interesting here. Below are links to this series.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28905 #8
i never knew how any of this was done

great tutorial mike

you are on the ball today !
 

Attachments

#209 ·
Started the new ball today with some changes

Here is what I'm trying to make.

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I drilled the small holes in the ball today and turned the first large one.

The small holes are different this time
I decided to not do the little collar around the holes until after I'm finished with all the other turning. I don't know how well this will work out, but it's worth a try. Previously the collars got messed up by the tool holders while turning the inner layers of the large hole, doing a lot of damage. This new procedure is to prevent that from happening. Here's a photo of it.
Helmet Wood Gas Circle Wire


What would we do without tape
Before turning the large hole, I decided to put some masking tape over the the small holes, again to prevent damage. I figure this would also protect in between the holes and prevent some scraping/compression problems I had in that area before. Here it is all taped up.This worked very well and I experienced no damage at all this time.

Wood Art Gas Font Circle


I finally made a plug that fit properly
I was going to use Yuri's method with a stepped plug and wax seal. After thinking it over a bit, the thought occurred to me that Yuri is probably using different sized drills to make his large holes with. That means the hole walls are straight (90degrees), while my holes are made with a tapered cutter the the hole edges are also tapered. That makes a tapered plug a better fit.

If you recall I was having a lot of problems making a plug that would actually fit the hole. After checking some old plugs closely, I found that for starters the plugs were too short. In addtition to that, I used the bottom diameter suggested in the book, but I found that the actual hole diameters were a bit larger. So now I will make each plug from actual hole measurements (duh) and use the plug turning procedure I showed before. Here it is again in case you didn't see it.

Engineering Beer tap Wood Gas Machine


Wood Wood stain Gas Hardwood Engineering


Getting the plug in is easy, but getting it out again requires rocket surgery
As you can see from the photo I did get a good fit, and all the way to the bottom this time. The plug has good contact with every layer now and hopefully will hold everything in place while I turn the other Holes. After plugging the hole, a small hole is drilled in the center of the plug to accept a small screw which acts as a handle for removal purposes. I just put it in for the pic, but I won't be using it until completely finished with the ball.

Wood Helmet Circle Art Font


Chinese ball turning requires a wide flat tool rest
The toolrest has to be flat and wide to support the special turning tools at exactly the right height (cutter tip perfectly centered) and therefore requires a special toolrest.

I didn't want to make a whole new toolrest so I adapted the one I have. The pictures below tell the story pretty well. I did have to drill a couple of mounting holes in my stock toolrest. The rest is just a piece of wood with a thin slice from a counter top. I had to cut a bevel on the wood mount to get the counter top piece level. The counter top bit is held on with carpet tape for easy change out. I do plan to make a new one soon that is wider, but this one works well as long as I remember not to push down on the handle of the turning tool while cutting.

Wood Machine Engineering Hardwood Gas


Wood Musical instrument accessory Gas Machine Electric blue


That's all the minutia I have for today. I hope I get a chance to continue tomorrow, so if I do I will let you know how it's going. Thanks for reading. Here are the links to the series.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28905 #8
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28944 #9
 

Attachments

#210 ·
Started the new ball today with some changes

Here is what I'm trying to make.

Art Rim Wood Circle Auto part


I drilled the small holes in the ball today and turned the first large one.

The small holes are different this time
I decided to not do the little collar around the holes until after I'm finished with all the other turning. I don't know how well this will work out, but it's worth a try. Previously the collars got messed up by the tool holders while turning the inner layers of the large hole, doing a lot of damage. This new procedure is to prevent that from happening. Here's a photo of it.
Helmet Wood Gas Circle Wire


What would we do without tape
Before turning the large hole, I decided to put some masking tape over the the small holes, again to prevent damage. I figure this would also protect in between the holes and prevent some scraping/compression problems I had in that area before. Here it is all taped up.This worked very well and I experienced no damage at all this time.

Wood Art Gas Font Circle


I finally made a plug that fit properly
I was going to use Yuri's method with a stepped plug and wax seal. After thinking it over a bit, the thought occurred to me that Yuri is probably using different sized drills to make his large holes with. That means the hole walls are straight (90degrees), while my holes are made with a tapered cutter the the hole edges are also tapered. That makes a tapered plug a better fit.

If you recall I was having a lot of problems making a plug that would actually fit the hole. After checking some old plugs closely, I found that for starters the plugs were too short. In addtition to that, I used the bottom diameter suggested in the book, but I found that the actual hole diameters were a bit larger. So now I will make each plug from actual hole measurements (duh) and use the plug turning procedure I showed before. Here it is again in case you didn't see it.

Engineering Beer tap Wood Gas Machine


Wood Wood stain Gas Hardwood Engineering


Getting the plug in is easy, but getting it out again requires rocket surgery
As you can see from the photo I did get a good fit, and all the way to the bottom this time. The plug has good contact with every layer now and hopefully will hold everything in place while I turn the other Holes. After plugging the hole, a small hole is drilled in the center of the plug to accept a small screw which acts as a handle for removal purposes. I just put it in for the pic, but I won't be using it until completely finished with the ball.

Wood Helmet Circle Art Font


Chinese ball turning requires a wide flat tool rest
The toolrest has to be flat and wide to support the special turning tools at exactly the right height (cutter tip perfectly centered) and therefore requires a special toolrest.

I didn't want to make a whole new toolrest so I adapted the one I have. The pictures below tell the story pretty well. I did have to drill a couple of mounting holes in my stock toolrest. The rest is just a piece of wood with a thin slice from a counter top. I had to cut a bevel on the wood mount to get the counter top piece level. The counter top bit is held on with carpet tape for easy change out. I do plan to make a new one soon that is wider, but this one works well as long as I remember not to push down on the handle of the turning tool while cutting.

Wood Machine Engineering Hardwood Gas


Wood Musical instrument accessory Gas Machine Electric blue


That's all the minutia I have for today. I hope I get a chance to continue tomorrow, so if I do I will let you know how it's going. Thanks for reading. Here are the links to the series.

http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27858 #1
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/27938 #2
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28079 #3
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28240 #4
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28512 #5
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28536 #6
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28866 #7
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28905 #8
http://lumberjocks.com/stefang/blog/28944 #9
back in the saddle again

paul had mentioned something before
in an earlier post
about the holes and plugs
that i keep thinking about

since you made the cutters for the various levels of hollowing out
why can't you make a set for drilling the stepped or tapered holes
that chucks into the tail stock
with a matching one for the plugs
with a stop on the tail stock rail
to keep them all the same in depth
and centered precisely

not being a turner
i don't know if this would work or not
but in my razor dull (after many shaves) brain
it seems like it might help
to keep all the holes consistent
 

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