SYMTEC NETWORK NEWSLETTER No. 6

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Catherine Wilson
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1 SYMTEC NETWORK NEWSLETTER No. 6 NEWSFLASH The Australian Woodworker was kind enough to give the Symtec Newsletter a mention in the April 2009 issue, which has so far produced six more Symtecians to add to our ing list. A few of the Victorian Symtecians got together on Saturday 7 th March at Colin s recently extended workshop in Werribee. While we have had more members in attendance from time to time, it was a small but lively group, full of enthusiasm, ideas and questions just the way a Symtec group should be. The majority of members were from the local area, one regularly makes the journey from Portland at least an 8 to 9 hour round trip. That s dedication for you! Our newest Victorian member, Bill Labbad from Melbourne, told us he was a beginner. We believed him at first until we saw this pedestal he brought along to Show and Tell. In my view it was cleanly turned with nice proportions, indeed, something I would have been proud to have produced in my early Symtec days. Bill said he had salvaged some freshly felled timber [species unknown, but looks a bit like fruit wood] from a nature strip near home. Turning timber this green caused a huge spray of water, Bill told us. After sanding and waxing, the result was a semi-matt finish. Unfortunately cracks have already begun to appear, so while it was a good learning experience it won t be usable as the cracks are bound to worsen as the timber dries. The next items on Bill s shopping list will undoubtedly be a moisture metre and a can of wax sealer. Colin showed us the extension he built and lined to his incredibly neat workshop.

The pix below show some of Colin s recent turning.

Colin lost count of the number of hours he spent creating this superb

The timber used for this piece was Brush Box from the subtropical

As you can see it exhibits quite a subtle range of colour graduation.

2 The pix below show some of Colin s recent turning. You may wonder, like me, just how he finds the time to fit so much in. Colin lost count of the number of hours he spent creating this superb wall decoration. The timber used for this piece was Brush Box from the subtropical forests of NSW and Southern Queensland. As you can see it exhibits quite a subtle range of colour graduation. He also showed some of his recently turned lidded boxes decorated with the laminate trimmer. Boxes 1, 2 & 3 are Red Gum and the small urn is Maranti, finished in wiping poly.

Peter Fanning has been intrigued by spoon carving for a number of years now.

VERSATILE FENCE POSTS A while back a BVW member was given some old fence posts

3 Peter Fanning has been intrigued by spoon carving for a number of years now. The pair 3 rd & 4 th from the left was turned on the lathe before being cut lengthwise and finished by hand. The heavily figured timber of the spoon below is Mulberry. VERSATILE FENCE POSTS A while back a BVW member was given some old fence posts which he passed on to any fellow members who wanted them. I needed a small gift for a friend, but I couldn t stop at just one. Anyway, I was short of stock for an Easter market.

CHEAP PEN MANDREL You can spend quite a lot of money on buying a purpose made mandrel for turning

All you need is: A bolt 140mm long x 6.5mm diam.

3 brass shelving support bushes with an internal diam. of 6.2mm.

4 CHEAP PEN MANDREL You can spend quite a lot of money on buying a purpose made mandrel for turning slimline wooden pens, or you can make your own for almost nothing. All you need is: A bolt 140mm long x 6.5mm diam. 50c or so at your local hardware if you can t find one in your Nuts & Bolt Box. 3 brass shelving support bushes with an internal diam. of 6.2mm. These brass bushes came in a pack of 50. If you make a lot of pens you will find that the bushes eventually need replacing as they wear out or go out of shape due to the huge pressure needed to stop the pen blanks slipping while they are being turned.

Now all you need to do is cut the head off the bolt, lightly grind the cut edges smooth and then put a dimple in the threaded end to allow the point of the tailstock spur to act as a support while

Not being a metal worker I had no idea of how such a person would have proceeded so I used my scroll chuck slides to grip the bolt, leaving only the thread protruding to reduce any possible lateral

5 Now all you need to do is cut the head off the bolt, lightly grind the cut edges smooth and then put a dimple in the threaded end to allow the point of the tailstock spur to act as a support while the pen is being turned. Not being a metal worker I had no idea of how such a person would have proceeded so I used my scroll chuck slides to grip the bolt, leaving only the thread protruding to reduce any possible lateral movement while drilling the dimple. With the Jacobs chuck in the tailstock I used a 2.43mm diam. drill projecting less than 5mm to prevent it bending under pressure. With the drill almost touching the end of the bolt, lock the tailstock in place and turn on the lathe to its slowest speed and wind the chuck forward slowly until the drill has cut a hole a couple of mm deep.

Replace the scroll chuck with the Jacobs chuck.

Bring the point of the tailstock spur into the dimple to ensure that the mandrel is held

Place a brass ferrule on the new mandrel and slide it up to the chuck.

Finally put the third ferrule on and lastly the nut.

6 Replace the scroll chuck with the Jacobs chuck. Insert about 10mm of the new mandrel between the jaws of the Jacobs chuck. Bring the point of the tailstock spur into the dimple to ensure that the mandrel is held squarely. Now lock the Jacobs chuck jaws firmly. Place a brass ferrule on the new mandrel and slide it up to the chuck. Put on the first pen blank followed by another ferrule and the second pen blank. Finally put the third ferrule on and lastly the nut. I use long nosed pliers to make sure the nut is really tight. Bring up the spur of the tail stock making sure it fits snugly into the dimple in the end of the mandrel. It doesn t need to be tight just enough to steady the whole shebang during turning.

7 One bolt with a nut and three brass bushes plus ten minutes work gives you a very cheap mandrel for slimline pens, at a cost of about $1.00 I ve been using mine for about ten years and it has turned so many pens that I have lost count. KEYHOLE CLOCK Recently a BVW member was giving away some dry, spalted Silver Birch so I grabbed a couple of small branches because a lace maker had once told me that this was a very good timber for turning lace bobbins. I suppose this is because it has a straight grain, is quite dense without being heavy and it burnishes well. Anyway, I wanted to try turning a few keyhole clocks to sell at a forthcoming market. So I selected a piece of River Red Gum and a piece of the Silver Birch above. My plan was to drill a 35mm shallow hole with a Forstner bit in each of two blanks which would then be glued together with a piece of newspaper in between to make it easy to separate them after turning. Having left the glue to cure overnight I was dismayed when after a few minutes turning the two halves flew apart in opposite directions. The next idea was to turn a keyhole shape and cut it through longitudinally on the bandsaw, then using a 35mm Forstner bit, make a shallow hole to take the clock fit-up. This plan worked well until it came to drilling the holes for the clocks. One of the holes was too far to one side and another showed some tear out which could not be covered by the rim of the clock. Finishing up with only two saleable items I decided it wasn t a money making idea after all.

SYMTEC FOR SALE John Bishop has a Symtec 1500 wood lathe for sale for $1500 in as new condition. Any inquiries please phone JOHN on 0882848391 OR 0407794537 It is in ANGLE VALE, ADELAIDE.

8 SYMTEC FOR SALE John Bishop has a Symtec 1500 wood lathe for sale for $1500 in as new condition. Any inquiries please phone JOHN on OR It is in ANGLE VALE, ADELAIDE. Accessories are router carrier, tool holder, 3face plates & tool rest. PEN MAKING You may recall reading an article by Peter Crook of Smithton in Tasmania on how he made his one-piece pens: it was in the very first Symtec Newsletter. Lloyd Russell of McLaren Vale suggested putting a tiny air hole in the pen barrel. Peter said he had never had any problems resulting from not putting an air hole in the barrel. A local Geelong maker of rustic pens I met at a market agreed with Peter. Now, a couple of years later, a new member, Bill Smithson from Gulmarrad [about 40km north of Grafton in NSW] has added to the debate. Bill knew an old woody who demonstrated for Symtec at the Brisbane Wood Show. His method was similar to that discussed. He always drilled a small hole in to the centre cavity about 7mm from the blank end. The hole was thought to help equalize any pressure build up due to hot weather that could make the ink run. He also used to carefully nip across the metal end of the refill, away from the ball, near the plastic, with a pair of wire cutters. This produced a rough ridge, which held the refill without having to use glue. This made it a lot easier to renew the refill when the ink ran out.

BALLARAT WOOD SHOW I felt sorry for this

9 BALLARAT WOOD SHOW I felt sorry for this woody demonstrating the pole lathe he had apparently never heard of the Symtec. This Red Gum vase stood out. I quite liked this chunky mortar and pestle. And this simple, oldstyle, Kauri bread board really took my fancy. Demonstrations included coopering, guitar making and rocking horse carving.

TURNING A PEN ORIGINAL BY MIKE RUDE REVISED BY GORDON PATNUDE - AUGUST 2015, OCTOBER 2016 EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES NEEDED

TURNING A PEN ORIGINAL BY MIKE RUDE SEPT 2006 REVISED BY GORDON PATNUDE - AUGUST 2015, OCTOBER 2016 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM GOTT AUGUST 2015 EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES NEEDED A PEN TURNING TUTORIAL [this document]