| Project by Jim | posted 1447 days ago | 1091 views | 5 times favorited | 17 comments | ![]() |
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Decided on a whim to try making a wooden ring. I turned a tapered dowell out of pine. I then cut a piece of Padauk larger than needed for the ring. I drilled it with an appropriate finger sized forstner bit on the drill press. Once the smoke cleared … whew!! I then rounded the blank on the bandsaw. I press fit the blank onto the tapered dowell and mounted it on my lathe. I then turned the ring, always working towards the larger side of the dowell. If you try to work the other way, you force the ring loose. This means you work on one side of the ring, and then flip it around on the dowell to work the other side. Once it was turned to the side I wanted, I sanded to 600 grit, still on the lathe. Next over to the spindle sander to sand the inside of the ring and edges. Finally mounting it back on the lathe I polished with very fine grit sandpaper and coated with 3lb cut Shelac. Didn’t turn out bad and the whole thing, including making the dowell took me less than an hour.
-- Jim in Langley BC Canada --- www.sollows.ca
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17 comments so far
scrappy
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3474 posts in 1602 days
#1 posted 1447 days ago
Beatifull ring. Love the color and great shine on the finnish.
It sure would be nice to have a lathe!
Keep it up.
Scrappy
-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!
Dick, & Barb Cain
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8681 posts in 2471 days
#2 posted 1447 days ago
Beautiful!
It looks great on the finger.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
RobH
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#3 posted 1447 days ago
Another great looking ring.
Thanks for showing it off!
-- -- Rob Hix, King George, VA
mreagleeyes
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45 posts in 1450 days
#4 posted 1447 days ago
Agree with ‘Scrappy’, would love to have a lathe. Great ring, this would keep the Girlfriend happy.
a1Jim
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87330 posts in 1749 days
#5 posted 1447 days ago
ooo that’s a pretty one
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
papabear
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86 posts in 1518 days
#6 posted 1447 days ago
It looks great. I now know what to do with the smaller end cuts I didn’t know what to do with.
-- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
PastorRob
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6 posts in 1513 days
#7 posted 1447 days ago
Very well done! I especially like the wood grain details showing through.
FrankLad
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255 posts in 1481 days
#8 posted 1447 days ago
Very nice ring, Jim! Padauk is a pretty wood.
-- Frank, Mississippi, Handcrafted wooden rings - http://www.bentwoodrings.com
dustbunny
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1148 posts in 1467 days
#9 posted 1447 days ago
Oh no…. another project to add to my ever increasing list of “cool things to do”.
Great planning and lathe work, love the ring !!
Thanks for sharing.
Lisa
-- Imagination rules the world. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte ~ http://quiltedwood.com
jockmike2
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10636 posts in 2418 days
#10 posted 1447 days ago
Beautiful ring Jim. Love the finish.
-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -
Maxx
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136 posts in 1477 days
#11 posted 1447 days ago
A tapered dowell! Of course – brilliant. I’ve been wanting to make a ring and this one is just spectacular. I didn’t know how I would sand it down – besides by hand! I can use that idea on my drill press – not as slick as a lathe…but it should work.
-- Where did all this sawdust come from?
Jim
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210 posts in 1816 days
#12 posted 1447 days ago
Thanks for the nice comments. The trick is to always cut pushing towards the larger side of the dowell. That way you are pushing the ring tighter onto the dowell, instead of pushing it the other way. I figured that out after several trial and error attempts.
-- Jim in Langley BC Canada --- www.sollows.ca
dustbunny
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1148 posts in 1467 days
#13 posted 1446 days ago
Hi Jim,
I turned down a tapered dowel yesterday. I had trouble getting the ring to stay put, even working it up the taper. I pressed it on also and it split the ring. So what I did was wrapped the tapered dowel with 400 grit sandpaper fixed with CA glue. The ring didn’t move at all, but I pressed to hard with the lathe tool while turning and the ring split. I am going to try it again ! Thanks for sharing the tapered dowel idea.
Lisa
-- Imagination rules the world. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte ~ http://quiltedwood.com
Jim
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210 posts in 1816 days
#14 posted 1446 days ago
Hi Lisa, I had a very gradual taper on the dowell which let me put it on quite snug. That might be a problem with brittle wood or a thin ring. I did have it slip several times and had to snug it up again. The sandpaper is a really good idea, I will try that. I split my first attempt because I was being too aggressive with the tool, it takes a gentle touch, especially as the ring gets thinner.
-- Jim in Langley BC Canada --- www.sollows.ca
dustbunny
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1148 posts in 1467 days
#15 posted 1446 days ago
I also noticed the grain on your ring is angle cut. Do you cut your turning pieces with a special grain orientation? Or was this just a coincidence?
You may be right about the taper, it is 3/8” to 3/4” in a 7” dowel length. It is rather steep. Thanks for the input.
Lisa
-- Imagination rules the world. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte ~ http://quiltedwood.com
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