I
then sanded the spindle by hand, starting with 120 grit abrasive paper
and moving to 320 grit. Be sure to remove all the deep scratches on the
surface before moving to the next finer grit of abrasive paper.
I like to use the stearated silicon carbide paper for sanding small spindles.
The stearated paper doesn’t clog up as fast and the abrasive fractures
faster, thus ensuring that the sharp grains of the abrasive are available
at all times. The paper is a little more expensive but the sanding process
is so much quicker. Even though I am a bit of a tightwad, I am not so
cheap that I’d rather invest more time sanding just to save a few
pennies!
Turn
the base
Once the glue for the base has dried, find the center of the blank, draw
a 4” diameter circle on the back of the stock, and cut the stock
out on the band saw. Drill pilot holes and attach the faceplate to the
block. I used three No. 12 x 1” pan head sheet metal screws for
this purpose. If your faceplate is thinner than mine, you might have to
use shorter screws so you don’t make any holes in the good part
of the blank.
Turn the blank down so it is round and to the correct diameter. Remember,
standard spindle gouges should NOT be used to do faceplate work—they
might catch. Special gouges for faceplate work are available. If you don’t
have any, use scraping tools instead.
Next, find the center of the stock and centerpunch it with an awl. Measure
1” away from the center and layout a circle. This stock will not
be removed as it forms the base on which the spindle will sit.
Insert a 5/8” diameter brad point bit into the chunk in the tailstock
and drill a hole 9/16” deep for the mortise. Check to be certain
that the tenon fits correctly. |
Measure
over 5/8” from the paper joint and lay out a line around the perimeter
of the blank. Make sure the outside lip of the base is lower than the center.
Remove this waste stock with a parting tool. Using a roundnose tool, form
a cove in the base, starting with the 2” diameter line laid out previously
and continuing over to about 1/8” away from the edge of the base.
When you are satisfied with the profile, sand it smooth just as you did
with the spindle. Using a spearpoint tool and being careful not to break
the joint, turn the profile of the exterior of the base. When tapped with
a mallet, a sharp, wide chisel placed on the joint with the flat of the
chisel against the part you wish to keep will cause the joint to separate
cleanly.
Excess stock is removed. Note that I didn’t go exactly up to
the line at first. I’ll do that in the next step so that I will
have a curve instead of a square shoulder. The cove is turned using
a sharp roundnose tool. |
The exterior profile is turned with a sharp spearpoint tool. Note
that I extended the cut below the joint. |
|
