duncanh
Established Member
I had my doors and windows replaced recently and the company was going to just dump my old door. It looked as though it was made from some sort of foreign hard wood so I saved it to see what I could salvage...
(all photos are clickable for larger versions)
After lots of bashing with a hammer and occasionally resorting to a jigsaw I had 2 thinnish panels ideal for platters and lots of lengths suitable for spindles.
The wood appears to be some sort of mahogany and has wonderful rippling. (WOW - my house was originally council owed and they had mahogany doors!)
Because the panels were so thin there wasn't enough depth use a screw chuck or faceplate so I used a glue joint/waste block to hold the work,and since the method had been discussed here recently I took the opportunity to take some step-by-step photos.
Create a block to hold in the chuck. This is side grain orientation (like a standard bowl) as the glue will stick it stronger than end grain. This is one I've used several times and I can't remember how I made it, but it could have been with a screw chuck, face plate or even between centres.
One side is flat and the other has a dovetail in it to match your chuck.
Find the approx centre of your blank and draw a couple of circles - one the approx edge of the platter and one just bigger than the glue block. (ignore the inner circle in this picture)
Cut a rough circle from a piece of paper or thin card (here I've used some old cereal box). Apply PVA glue to the centre of the wood but don't put so much on that you can't see the centre circle on it. Put the card on this glue so that is in the centre of the circle.
Apply PVA glue to the flat face of the glue block and then place the glue block on top of the paper/cardboard. The block should be located in the centre of the circle on the blank.
Put some weight on the glue block so that the glue spreads evenly. Leave to dry over night. Here I'm doing 2 at once.
Once the glue has dried cut the blank to the approx circle that you marked earlier.
Mount the glue block in the chuck and bring the tailstock up for added support whilst you turn the outer shape. I do most of this with a pull cut.
Once you've got most of the shape turned remove the tailstock so that you can perform a push cut for a better finish and also to allow access to the base to turn a dovetail holding point for turning the top face. Here I'm using a shallow recess (no more than 3mm) so as not to loose too much depth. Finish this side however you wish - shear scrape, decorate the recess, sand, apply finish if you want (I prefer to oil off the lathe when complete).
With the wood reversed in the chuck prise the glue chuck off with a chisel. This shouldn't take much effort but may require a gentle tap with a mallet. If you're worried about damaging the lathe bearings by applying sideways force you could always turn the glue block off with a parting tool.
Turn the top of the platter.
Finish. This isn't the same piece but a similar one made from the other. The finish is Chestnut Finishing Oil and I power sanded to 1200 grit. Oil was applied with 2500 grit and the wood has yet to be buffed.
The final platters are 26cm diameter and 1cm deep.
I hope this helps anyone who hasn't tried glue joints before.
I always use PVA glue and either cereal box or plain lined paper. I've done maybe a dozen like this and had no failures.
Duncan
(all photos are clickable for larger versions)
After lots of bashing with a hammer and occasionally resorting to a jigsaw I had 2 thinnish panels ideal for platters and lots of lengths suitable for spindles.
The wood appears to be some sort of mahogany and has wonderful rippling. (WOW - my house was originally council owed and they had mahogany doors!)
Because the panels were so thin there wasn't enough depth use a screw chuck or faceplate so I used a glue joint/waste block to hold the work,and since the method had been discussed here recently I took the opportunity to take some step-by-step photos.
Create a block to hold in the chuck. This is side grain orientation (like a standard bowl) as the glue will stick it stronger than end grain. This is one I've used several times and I can't remember how I made it, but it could have been with a screw chuck, face plate or even between centres.
One side is flat and the other has a dovetail in it to match your chuck.
Find the approx centre of your blank and draw a couple of circles - one the approx edge of the platter and one just bigger than the glue block. (ignore the inner circle in this picture)
Cut a rough circle from a piece of paper or thin card (here I've used some old cereal box). Apply PVA glue to the centre of the wood but don't put so much on that you can't see the centre circle on it. Put the card on this glue so that is in the centre of the circle.
Apply PVA glue to the flat face of the glue block and then place the glue block on top of the paper/cardboard. The block should be located in the centre of the circle on the blank.
Put some weight on the glue block so that the glue spreads evenly. Leave to dry over night. Here I'm doing 2 at once.
Once the glue has dried cut the blank to the approx circle that you marked earlier.
Mount the glue block in the chuck and bring the tailstock up for added support whilst you turn the outer shape. I do most of this with a pull cut.
Once you've got most of the shape turned remove the tailstock so that you can perform a push cut for a better finish and also to allow access to the base to turn a dovetail holding point for turning the top face. Here I'm using a shallow recess (no more than 3mm) so as not to loose too much depth. Finish this side however you wish - shear scrape, decorate the recess, sand, apply finish if you want (I prefer to oil off the lathe when complete).
With the wood reversed in the chuck prise the glue chuck off with a chisel. This shouldn't take much effort but may require a gentle tap with a mallet. If you're worried about damaging the lathe bearings by applying sideways force you could always turn the glue block off with a parting tool.
Turn the top of the platter.
Finish. This isn't the same piece but a similar one made from the other. The finish is Chestnut Finishing Oil and I power sanded to 1200 grit. Oil was applied with 2500 grit and the wood has yet to be buffed.
The final platters are 26cm diameter and 1cm deep.
I hope this helps anyone who hasn't tried glue joints before.
I always use PVA glue and either cereal box or plain lined paper. I've done maybe a dozen like this and had no failures.
Duncan
