Homebuilt Router Lathe

pretty cool.

Very clever.
Are the guides underneath the jig drawer slides?

Thanks for posting.

-- Scott Smith, Southern Illinois

@SASmith

Thats right, I will be posting a video next week going over how it is constructed as well as some other points if you are interested?

Thanks, Alex.

-- Alex - http://www.thiswoodwork.com

I would be interested.
Thanks
Scott

-- Scott Smith, Southern Illinois

well done young man…...

Great Job Alex.

-- Mike, Missouri --- “A positive life can not happen with a negative mind.” ---

As usual, very impressive and quite professional in your delivery in the video. You’ll go a long way, no doubt.

-- Scott, Irmo SC

Very nice system.

Does it have any mechanism to controll the depth of the router cut so you don’t take too much of a plunge before reaching the template?

Very Impressive!!! I would love to see the fallow up. thanks!

very well done so very innovative .

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Great project. Also a very professional presentation. I use a router duplicator for carving gunstocks. You can see how it works in one of the first projects I did to explain how I carve stocks. To get a smooth finish I cut the stock in several passes. The first cut is to rough out the design using a large bit to remove a lot of wood with one pass. For roughing cuts the stylus that follows the pattern is set 1/4” higher than the cutter. For finish cuts, I use a round nose bit with the stylus set about the thickness of a penny higher than the cutter. (I set the depth by using a shim under the cutter on my duplicator) For fine detail a v-groove or lettering bit works great. The stylus that I use is machined to be exactly the same profile as the matching cutter. Having them made at a machine shop is expensive, so to test new cutters I make my own. A block of plastic or hard wax is attached to my drill press and I chuck up the cutter and drill a hole the length of the cutting surface. My router uses a stylus with a 1/2” shank, so I chuck up a 1/2” bolt from the hardware store. I use one with a long shank that has no threads and I cut off the bolt head. The drill press is used to lower the bit into the cavity the router bit just made and I fill the cavity with epoxy mixed with metal powder. Your stylus will be slightly bigger than your cutter. Unless you are making thousands of products, your home built stylus will be good enough. As creative as your project is, I’m sure you’ll find a good solution to making your own matching stylus that will fit your machine and the size bits you are using. Also to get from an out of round blank to a balanced turning blank, don’t turn on the lathe. Make each pass and take off a little from the corners and turn the blank just a slight amount each time. I’d use at least a 1/2” or 3/4” bit to remove a lot of wood to get the blank round. Whatever you do, be careful. I’ve not found a way to shield my router bit, so my mental rule is to never touch anything on the cutting side of my duplicator while the router is running. Thanks for sharing your router lathe project.

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

@HalDougherty

Hey thanks for all these great tips, I certainly have a long way to go and most likely I will be building a second version so I can apply everthing I have learnt.
Another guy mentioned using a ball nosed bit which I will certianly will do, it make so much sence when you think about how the blades on the bit are designed to cut.

Have a great day!

-- Alex - http://www.thiswoodwork.com

I am impressed with your router lathe jig, your work, and your presentation skills. You are a credit to woodworking. Keep up the good work.

-- Rob, You have failed if you have not tried.

Great lathe project and great tutorial on finishing!!

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!!

Excellent project, presentation and finishing info. Most generous Alex!!!

thank you

bilA

-- bilbaggins says: The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now. ~ Chinese proverb