# Kind of a Router Lathe, but works as a Leg maker with a hand plane Too!



## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

A few years ago I offered to make a cane for my wife.. She wanted one like mine, which is just basically a hicory stick and a brass duck head off of a fireplace set.
I have tried a lot of different sticks and branches, but nothing worked out right so she has been using a really uncomfortable aluminum store boughten cane that she and I both really detest…. It's adjustable so it's the wrong height no matter where you set it.

So, to get on with the story, I had a nice piece of 5/4 black walnut that I got from Shelly_b. 
I cut a piece 5/4×5/4 and tried planing it down to 1" x 32" x 3/4" at the tip. 
I failed miserably. Instead of being a nice 8 sided chunk, nicely even on all sides, it was just kind of weirdly shaped on all sides so I put it in the "possible" box, (No Shelly, not the same thing).
I thunk and thunk and thunk and one night I had a dream! A dream about a fella that was broke and couldn't afford a lathe, but really needed one. He ended up using a cheap router, some HF clamps, some scrap wood, a 1/4" lag bolt and a 1 1/2" x 1/4" shouldered hex bolt.

When I woke up, and after my pain pills, coffee and e-cigarette fix, (Hey, I'm quitting!), I went over to the shop and put what I thought this tool would look like together. 
Ummm, it didn't work, nuff said.

This morning, I tried again with a few changes and by golly, it seems to work pretty good. Nothing is bolted, screwed, glued, or nailed together, except for some aluminum angle and screws on the bottom of the uprights to hold them to the table with clamps.
*I'll be darned! it actually WORKS!*

This thing is expandable to any size, any width, any height merely by moving or replacing the end pieces.

I chucked up a piece of 5/4×5/4 walnut and had a go with my newish #6, then my #414 and finally my #120.

I got one side a little bit off, but figured out what to do next time so it's not a problem

Next I got out a 1/2" bottoming bit and fit it to my router, I also added a 1/4" piece on top of each side of the original guide to give me room to adjust the router depth.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

Nice jig! did you have a picture of the finished cane.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Ummm, I forgot to say, since the significant other, or SWMBO, might read this….. It's a TABLE LEG! TABLE LEG!

Yeah, Table leg, I'm stickin' with that!

No I haven't finished it.

I just did what you see this morning. I was thinking of adding a pulley and an old cordless Dewalt drill motor that they no longer make batteries for to spin the wood. With an adjustable rheostat and a 50A power supply, I could go from 0-750 rpm to make sanding a lot easier.

I have all the parts except the pullies.

This was just to give an idea of what can be done when push comes to shove!


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## AngieO (Jul 9, 2012)

Very interesting. Very creative! Cool!


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## shelly_b (Aug 8, 2012)

That is a really good idea! I saw a craftsman router lathe for sale on CL a few days ago. I had never heard of them before but it looked really neat. But I thought for 125, surely I could make something that would function the same….well your project leads me in the right direction. Thanks! And glad the wood is working out!


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

The idea was simple, but the execution took a little thought.
If I have to use it again I will make some changes, like a more positive type of chuck. and a bit better tailstock.

the thought of putting a threaded rod through the housing of the router also comes to mind. a 3/8" threaded rod would need 16 turns to go an inch. A slow DC motor would easily accomplish that.


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

For this type of turning it is better to offset the router to cut on the side of the tool instead of the tip as well. It will give you a better finish and take less to sand. I know this vid is of a regular lathe but the theory is applicable. climb cut for roughing an the slender piece is pushed away from the cutter finish with a conventional cut. If you conventional cut first often the blank will be ruined as the cutter blows out along the grain.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks *REO!*
The learning curve on this project isn't too steep. The bottoming bit I used is pretty short and worked on end, but I couldn't get it down far enough to use the side.
Even at that, the finish was acceptable, I simply ran a low angle block plane along the length to smooth it and next I'll sand it to final finish.
Once that is done, I need to cut it to a clean spot on the thick end then cut the diameter down with the router so that I can slide a nice shiny brass cylinder on the shaft to hide the ugly end of the Hame ball I am using for the hand knob.
Once all that is done I stain it even darker and cover it with Tung oil and let it dry until christmas.


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