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Thread: How to you finish the base of a spindle while on the lathe?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Phoenix, AZ
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    How to you finish the base of a spindle while on the lathe?

    Specifically if you're turning a spindle and the both ends need to show, how do you finish them? If you leave them attached to waste material it leaves an unfinished spot where you eventually cut it off.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Lummi Island, WA
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    Careful work with a carving knife and sandpaper seems to work for me. I can't think of a way to conveniently hold it on the lathe if that's what you're after, but I'm sure someone here can come up with a way - turn a cup that's the right size to hold one end, slice the end into four sections and put a clamp on it. Seems like an awful lot of work unless you're going into production...and, if it's long, the potential for whipping action could be dangerous.

  3. #3
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    Oct 2006
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    Jared, it would be helpful if we knew what kind of spindle work you are talking about. Candle holders, pepper mills, vases all use spindle orientation but have different ways of finishing the ends.
    Steve

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  4. #4
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    Jan 2013
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    Think more like a baton, narrow and solid on both ends.

  5. #5
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    Mar 2003
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    Redding, CA (That's in superior Calif.)
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    I'm sure there are lots of ways to do this. What I do with tool handles is to have one end in a chuck and part it off or leave a small tenon and cut it off with a dozuki ( or fine toothed) saw. Then I chisel off any unwanted stock sand with the various grits and finish. If I use wipe on poly, I finish off the lathe.
    Project Salvager

    The key to the gateway of wisdom is to know that you don't know.______Stan Smith

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Kapolei Hawaii
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    I do like Stan does, cut the final bit with a fine pull saw. If you're turning between centers, at the very end you have to back off the pressure from the tail stock. Keep in mind this does require a bit of sacrificial waste wood on the ends.....

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Carterville, Illinois
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    390
    If it can fit into the through hole in the headstock, you might try putting tape around the end to prevent marring, and leave a short piece extending out from a scroll chuck. This should turn fairly true and allow finishing the very end of the baton. If it has a handle, this won't work unless the baton is long enough to allow the handle to stick out of the back of the headstock.
    The hurrier I goes, the behinder I gets.

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