Skinny spindle tricks?

Question

Hi folks,I need to make a short length of spindle, approx 2" long & 1/4"diameter (does not have to be exact), out of ebony (hard & dense). Ido not have a chuck on my lathe, all I got is a face plate (yup, Santais aware of that...). Any down & dirty tricks, do it on my drill pressperhaps?Bart.P.S. no pics yet, but been playing up a storm on that banjo I justmade :)))-Check my most up to date email address at:   banjo bridges, tabs, stained glass:**may your moments of need be met by moments of compassion**

mac davis · Accepted Answer

I've "turned" things before on the DP.. you could chuck up 1/4" stuff or start with a 3/8" or 1/2" dowel..

If the spindles don't have to be solid, you can drill square stock and run those long, thin screws from wall anchors through them, then chuck the end with the excess screw at the end with the nut on it..

Leo Van Der Loo · Answer

Hi BartBart I assume that your ebony is square, without a chuck I can think of a couple of ways to do the turning.  1) screw a block of wood to your face plate, drill a hole the size of your ebony, then square up the hole so you can hammer or press the ebony in, then use your tail center to steady the end and turn to size.  2) If you have a drill chuck with a morse taper you could hack or whittle, sand or whatever, to make a short end fit into the chuck and then again use your tail center to steady, and then turn your dowelIf you don't have a drill chuck with a morse taper arbor Busy Bee has a morse taper #2 with a Jacob's taper #3 and a Econo Chuck (cheap chuck) that goes 1/8" to 5/8", the arbor is on sale for $5.99 and the drill chuck is $14.99, something to think about, and you should get one anyway I think.Have fun and take careLeo Van Der LooBart V wrote:

Harry B. Pye · Answer

Bart,On his skew video Alan Lacer turns a piece of really soft wood about 8" longdown to 1/4" using just a skew chisel. He has the wood mounted betweencenters. Without going into all the details he is basically pushing the skewtowards the head stock. There is very little force trying to bend the wood.I should also mention, his skew is very sharp! But 1/4" should be quitedoable. I don't consider myself a good turner but I regularly turn roundtoothpicks down to a smaller diameter to use as perches in little acornornaments.Hope this helps,Harry

Barry N. Turner · Answer

Turn it between centers.  You'll waste a little wood (length), but it shouldwork just fine.Barry

Malcolm Cobb · Answer

Bart,   Greetings!Could you trim one end of your blanks to fit the head-stock morse taper?And hold it in with the tail-stock centre. Friction will do the rest.Malcolm Cobb

william_b_noble · Answer

if you want to hold it by one end only, then attach waste block to faceplateand drill hole, then mount ebony between centers and turn to the size of thehole, glue into hole, and finish as you see fit.  1/4 is pretty thick,should have no problem with ebony, I've turned little pieces to 1/32 or sowith no problem

Bart V · Answer

Thanks for all the hints folks, they'll get me going no prob. By the way, I just posted about my completed project, take a peek as a lot of you have been, pardon the pun, instrumental in making this dream come true for me. Bart.

- Check my most up to date email address at:

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banjo bridges, tabs, stained glass:

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**may your moments of need be met by moments of compassion**

Skinny spindle tricks?

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