Turning a small tube plug, lots of em! Help needed !

[gazza_0208]

Hi all,

I have to turn 100 tube plugs from hardwood, with a 10mm insert, and a 20mm flanged top, as in a small mushroom shape. To block off the end of a handle. Other then the normal plodding away turning them a few at a time, any other ideas how to speed the process up and I need some dark timber , cheap! I ave done twenty or o, but find it laborious because they are so small, and you can not do more than five/six on a length at one time.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Gazza,
How about cutting just the caps from a length of 20mm dark dowel and fitting a length of 10mm dowel into a hole in the base (any colour)?

This will cut down on wastage and should be quicker than sizing each time with 10 & 20mm although open ended spanners can help.

If you turn a length of 20mm dowel and then chuck it up.

Face off the end of the 20mm dowel square (spindle gouge or skew) and then drill a shallow 10mm hole (spur drill in tailstock with depth collar) and part off a short length for each cap (rough tops for moment) with a thin parting tool.
Do this for all your caps.

Cut lots of appropriate lengths of 10mm dowel (softwood from B&Q or similar?). You could do this on the lathe too so ends can be chamfered for easy fitting or with chop-saw with a fine blade.

Glue a length of the dowel into each cap.
Make an inserter if the dowels are a tight fit (simple turned wooden knob with a deep 10.5mm hole and a woodscrew in the bottom of the hole which can be screwed in or extended to set the depth)
Set each aside to dry.
Remount each cap (collet chuck or pin jaws) and dome each cap one at a time.

Hope this helps
Jon

 

[gazza_0208]

Hi there,

Tahnks for the idea, I will try a few. I don't think anyway I will get away from this being a bit labour intensive, but least the weathers improving a bit, s being outside does not look so bad as it was.

Thanks again