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George discusses his tools.
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Written by Lee Buck
George demonstrated the method he uses to turn wooden balls. The blank
is mounted in spindle orientation between centers. The blank is rounded to a cylinder of the designed
diameter or 1/32" larger to allow for sanding. The length must be greater than the diameter. The blank
is roughed to approximately round and the ends faced off square. George then marks the center of the
length and uses a chart he generated to mark lines on either side of the centerline. Lines are drawn
at a distance of 0.414 x the radius on either side of the centerline. Another pair of lines is drawn
at a distance of 0.586 x the radius from those lines. There should now be 5 parallel lines drawn on
the blank. At the outer line George parts in to 0.415 x diameter. This defines the end of the ball.
George turns a flat from the line nearer center to the outside line. The flat should be at 45 degrees
to the face of the cylinder. The waste outside the outside line can now be reduced to create a tenon
at each end. At this point the blank should look like an octagon with a tenon at each end. George removes
the corners to create a sphere and parts off leaving a little of the tenons.
George uses a piece
of hard maple turned to fit tightly over the live center to grip the sphere. If he were to make another
he would use a softer wood to prevent burning. Another piece of wood is held in the chuck. Each piece
is hollowed to make a cup chuck. The sphere is mounted between the cup chucks and the remains of the
tenon and the high spots are turned away until the shadow is gone. George loosens the tailstock, rotates
the ball and turns away the shadow, repeating as needed until the sphere is round. The process is repeated
with 150 grit abrasive.
George rubs the spheres with a mixture of 3 parts mineral oil to
one part beeswax. He sands with 240 and repeats through the grits as desired. He wipes and burnishes
with a paper towel. George applies a shellac based finish with the lathe running, applying with one
towel and drying with another.
George provided a chart with the necessary dimensions for
many sixes of sphere.
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