A few beginner questions

[McAldo]

I have had my lathe for a few weeks now, got my grinding jig and having quite a lot of fun, practising my skew mostly, despite the quality of my "pieces" is not that great right now.
I have a few questions, if somebody have a minute to stop by and give me advice.

Woodscrew: I bought a woodscrew along with my axminster hobby lathe. Reading through the forum I realized that it's not the best method for end grain, what about side grain, for instance for natural hedge bowls? Is still a faceplate preferable for let's say 7 inches bowls?

Faceplate: the faceplate I received along with the lathe looks good quality but it has just four holes, I have seen on videos some people use 8 holes and I wouldn't mind doing the same. Is it a bad idea to have other 4 holes drilled in, I might be able to find somebody with the right tools (starting from scratch, so I don't have a drill press) ?

Sanding with a Dremel: is it a bad idea? At the moment I am simply sanding 80 to 400 by hand, wit the lathe spinning. I was thinking of making myself some sanding pads to fit on the dremel, given I even have a flexy shaft which might turn useful for sanding small items and bowls. Just, the dremel runs at a minimum of 500 rpm and my lathe the same, so perhaps it's too fast to get a good finish and prevent over heating?
I see many sand at 250rpm on the lathe and keep their variable speed drill quite slow too.

Stone inlay: I'd love to try my hand at this, just, where can I find cheap stones to grind in the UK, perhaps sample packs with different types? Google mostly points me to American shops. Also, could somebody give me an idea of how much is needed for let's say a 1/4 inch inlay on the rim of a 6" bowl? Just trying to figure out how much should I get, it seems that ever seller adopts different measures, grams, strings, ounces, pounds, boat loads, I am a bit confused

Could somebody point me to a cheap electric drill suitable for low speed sanding and drilling 8mm pilot holes for the wood screw? And perhaps some cheap good deal on electric chainsaws, I have quite a lot of tree surgeon wood to cut through.

Thanks and sorry for the many questions!


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Aldo

 

[Silverbirch]

Hi
I assume your woodscrew chuck will have a fairly small bearing face, so is probably best for smaller side grain pieces. Your faceplate may be more secure for holding larger pieces and should be fine for an 8 inch bowl. I assume also that your faceplate has a smallish diameter. Rather than drilling extra holes, I would be inclined to buy a faceplate with a larger diameter, which will provide a larger bearing surface and also have more holes and therefore provide a more secure hold all round.
I wouldn`t suggest a Dremel for general power sanding. It`s likely to be too localised in its effect and wont give a smooth and iniform overall finish. Hand sanding can work well, or why not consider an inertia or passive sander, which is power by the revolution of the lathe, such as the Simon Hope one, which works well on bowls etc

 

[procell]

For your chainsaw why not try ebay. there are normally plenty on there that go for around £30-50. They are fine for occasional hobby work but if you are thinking of more prolonged use then a petrol saw is a must. I got a Challenge Extreme 14" saw and it is happy with logs up to about 18" if you attack from several sides. Need to be patient and let the saw do the work though and keep the blade sharp.

For sanding. Have you tried Abranet. It comes in grits from P80 to P600 is very flexible and last a lot longer than normal sandpapers. It comes with velcro backing for attaching to sanding pads etc. The abrasive is bonded to a polymer net so clogging is minimal too.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Screw a disc of MDF or ply to the face plate - true it up and you've got yourself a glue chuck. Use hot melt glue to attach the stock to the 'chuck' and turn away.
Make sure that the glue is fully up to temperature and use the tail stock to apply pressure whilst it sets.
Demount the work using either a stainless steel 'cheesewire' or, as I do, a sharpened wallpaper stripping knife.

Forget screw chucks for all but small diameter work which ideally can be suported with a tail centre.

Regards Mick