sapele steve

Thanks Chris that was very informative. I like old Eddie & have viewed some of his other videos, very entertaining chap! UPDATE: Well, I figured out what the problem was/is. The tailstock on this lathe is not in proper alignment & I never even noticed it before now? It moves from side to side by approximately an 1/8" or so and there is no way to set it to the proper alignment. I purchased the lathe from Penn State Industries about 2 years ago. It's one of those Mini lathes (Commander model) & is OK for basic turning but not much more. I should have spent the extra bucks & b

All excellent points to consider! I will have to do some more work on finding out exactly what's causing this to occur. Alignment may be one consideration along with the bit not being sharp enough. Very frustrating having to deal with something that should not be a problem at all. Oh well, off to the wood shop for more experimentation! Thanks everyone for your suggestions/comments...... Steve

Thanks Bruce. That's interesting to know & goes to show how we have to alter our techniques & adapt to different situations. That's what makes woodworking such a fabulous hobby!! Steve

Checked the belt & that is not the problem as it looks new & intact with no evidence of any slippage. I tried the same bits on my drill press and had the same problem, so I think that it's the density of the wood that's the problem. So, I will go with plan B & use the router to cut the larger hole & a 1" drill bit to bore out the center. I am also thinking about trying one of these bits: http://www.irwin.com/tools/drill-bits/speedbor-max-self-feed-wood-bits The other option is to simply stop making S & P shakers! Steve

Chris: Thanks for that info, I will check that out for sure. However, even if that's the case, I think that I am just going to make a template with a 1 5/8" circular diameter that I can tape in place over the end of the wood block & use a plunge router to make the cut. That way I get exactly a 1/2" deep by 1 5/8" circle every time without the hassles of having to use a Forstner bit; which I never really liked anyway. I have used this technique when making Guitar body recess holes, etc... & it works great. Steve

Thanks for the input. Chris: I tried what you are suggesting & all that happens is that the bit jams in the wood & the lathe stops turning. Never had that happen before but it's happening now? I kept trying to feed the bit as you suggest using various speeds, etc... to no avail. So, it may be the fact that the wood that I purchased is meant to be used as table legs and seems quite dense & hard. I just ordered a set of bits that contains a 1" industrial drill bit, so I will see how that works out. However, I still will be left with the problem of drilling the bottom hole which has t

Hi: I bought both Cherry & Walnut in 3" square sections & cut them down to 8 1/2" pieces to make Salt & Pepper Shakers. No problem getting them to round, parting off the top section, and drilling the 1/4" hole in the top piece. However, when it came time to drilling the 1 5/8" inset for the bottom & the 1 1/16" opening for the body, none of the Forstner bits that I tried could cut through the wood. No matter what turning lathe speed that I tried, nothing work. I should also note that these are sharp bits that are almost new. I have purchased and used laminated wood in the past

Hi All: I am planning on building a standing wooden towel rack for our new 1/2 bath. I did a search on Google image but didn't really see anything that I liked. I also checked out towel racks for sale on various websites, again with nothing that interested me (really the wife!). Anyway, does anyone know of plans that would be available for one of these racks? I'd like it to be about 38 to 40" tall, 6 to 8" deep, and 18 to 20" wide with one or two bars to hold towels. Any info would be welcome......Thanks, Steve

Thanks for all of the replies! This will turn out to be a nice project after all........I'll probably wind up designing my own version of a planter...Should be fun & interesting to work on this one........ Steve

Hi All: I would like to build a Flower Box & was wondering if anyone had links to free plans? I did a Google search but really did not come up with much except for pictures of different types of boxes. I would probably use Cedar for the wood with some type of plastic insert. Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated. Also, if you have some pictures of what you built that would be great. Thanks, Steve

Funny you should say that as I just purchased a cheap Acoustic Guitar to fool around with. I figure in my old age perhaps I can learn to play a few notes? I'm willing to give it a shot. At least it will keep me occupied while in "semi-retirement". I've only had it for a week & it's been trying but fun nonetheless.......Steve

Hi Jim: Thanks! However, I must tell you that I don't play an instrument of any kind. This is a gift for my Son-In-Law who does play Bass. Fun build but I don't know that I will be doing one again any time soon.... Steve

Hi All: OK, so I finally finished the Bass Guitar build & thought that I would share some photos. It came out pretty good for a first time build of a body. I took it to a Guitar shop in my area & had the guy set it all up. I had wired the jack plate wrong (crossed the wires), so that had to be corrected. Other than that, he liked the Guitar & said that it played really well, comparing it to Guitar in the 2 to 3 Grand price range! So, I felt good about that. Hope you enjoy the pictures & any comments Positive or Negative are welcome. Finally, thanks for all of the input.........

I forgot to mention to Jim DaddyO what a great Guitar build he did, very nice work. Now if I can get close to that I'd be very happy!! Steve

Creole: Those inserts are for Acoustic Guitar necks as they are not long enough to be able to use on an Electric Guitar set up. Kerry: Thanks for the excellent info, it's much appreciated. I now know that I will have to use the plate on the body. Unfortunately, I had done a 1/2 round over on the back of the Guitar and now the plate does not sit flat but slightly overhangs the round over, not too good & there is really no way to fix that even though it's a minor flaw. I'll just have to make it work. This is my second build. The first one I did was a kit Les Paul Guitar. This time around