Bowl turner turns spindles??

[Dennis Peacock]

Ok, yea.....I'd much rather turn bowls than spindles.....because spindle turning requires me to refine my turning skills and develop much better tool and body control to achieve the desired profile on said spindle. My issue is duplicating one spindle multiple times. Maybe I'm too impatient with trying to copy a spindle profile to another spindle that looks almost 100% like the pattern spindle. Maybe I'm too happy turning bowls and platters in "free form" where spindle turning requires a more refined skillset. Maybe I'm making it harder than it really is. I would love to have a lathe duplicator with at $800? That's a bit much with my limited budget for tools anymore.

Maybe I'm just complaining because I don't want to spend the time behind the lathe to make 12 spindles that looks exactly like each other.
Maybe I'm old and cranky. I think I will be happier when fall and winter arrive.

[John K Jordan]

...My issue is duplicating one spindle multiple times. ... Maybe I'm making it harder than it really is.
...Maybe I'm old and cranky. I think I will be happier when fall and winter arrive.

What is better about fall and winter? Work schedule? Cooler shop?

I love to turn spindles but I hate to duplicate spindles exactly. I can do it but it's too much like work!

I use the traditional method: turn the first one and make a story stick to mark off key points on the cylinder. I have a drawer full of cheap vernier calipers so I set a caliper to the diameter at each key position on the "master" then use a parting tool to size each point. Then turn between the grooves. I keep the first spindle positioned behind the work so I can eyeball it as I turn.

These are the calipers - I found them on Amazon once for $4 each and bought a dozen. I've seen them at Home Depot but for more money. I usually round off the points like the top one.

calipers.jpg

Have you seen the multiple lever system? A bar behind the lathe serves as a pivot for a number of levers, one positioned and constrained to stay at each key point but still pivot freely. The levers ride on the top of the cylinder and each is sized so it drops through the groove made with a parting tool when the diameter is just right. I've never made one so I can't say if there are any issues with it's use. I've read that it really speeds up "production".

JKJ

[Dennis Peacock]

John,
Thank you for your advice and tips. I love to turn wood but seems like the older I get the less tolerant of the extreme summer heat and humidity I become. I suffered a very near heat stroke several years ago and since then, working in the summer really takes a toll on my body. I've always wanted a lathe duplicator for table legs, chair spindles and such, but they are pretty pricey. I've spent 35 years of work and effort to have the shop I have today. I don't really "need" much, but a way to duplicate spindles would really make my day.

chair_spindles.jpg
These are 2 spindles that I made free-hand. The top one is my master that I made and the bottom one, still on the lathe, is what I called my "duplicate". It's "close" but my eye tells me it's far different than the master I made. That just makes me frustrated because I know I can do better. My real issue here is I have to make a few of these from Mahogany and I have an extremely limited supply of the wood to turn these spindle from. I can't afford to go buy more because I'm already in the financial "hole" on this project. The ones you see in the pic are made from poplar just to see what I could do without turning the mahogany I have onhand into fancy firewood.

Thanks again John for responding with advice to follow. I appreciate it very much.

[Mark Greenbaum]

I have seen videos (youtube, etc.) and have known people who use drastically different techniques.
1) Make a MASTER, and then cut a Masonite contour template that matches the profile exactly;
2) Follow Johns basic steps, and use the template to confirm irregularities.

The odd technique I witnessed was a set of multiple duplicator lathes that used circular saws to cut pieces for saddle trees in Ashland City, TN. Very irregular pieces that make up the bones of the horse saddle, and all copied from centuries old masters using copy lathes, where the cutting is done with circular saws on lateral feed track. Another video the guy uses a Masonite template and a router.

I had a practice about 6 years ago, and I conquered my fear of the skew, by making 20 Magic Wands from pallet and dunnage material, for my daughter's Harry Potter themed birthday party. Story sticks and calipers. Some were identical; most were divergent.

[Dennis Ford]

This is a skill that cannot be taught but can be learned by doing. I suggest making a dozen simple spindles for practice, you will find that # 10, 11 & 12 are much easier than the first ones.

[Don Bunce]

http://www.delorie.com/wood/tips/parallax-jig.html Here is a link to an idea that might work for you.

[John K Jordan]

...the older I get the less tolerant of the extreme summer heat and humidity I become. ...

I also am less tolerant of the heat the older I get. On the farm here I work outside much of the day, summer or winter, and find myself taking more inside breaks in the summer. When I built my new shop a few years ago an HVAC system was high on my list of priorities. The shop is comfortable year round. In my previous shops without air I didn't get much done in the hot part of the summer.

As for the spindles, maybe you can practice on some more available wood before risking the good stuff. Around here maple, cherry, and walnut are widely available and the properties are not too much different from most mahogany I've turned.

JKJ

[Don Bunce]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYB1vWswqLk Here is a video that demonstrates the sizing fingers that John mentioned.