Ken Johnson

Thanks to all who replied to my previous post about making dowel rods. Here is how I did it. The dowel rods I was making were 7/8" diameter by 25" long and one that was 34" long. The only part of the dowel where diameter was critical was about 2" on either end where the dowel acts as a pivot point on the table legs (see picture). Everything in between I just made it visually acceptable. To get the ends an accurate diameter I made a tennon tool out of an old 7/8" open end wrench by sharpening the one tip. I used it to get my diameter at the ends uniform after rough turning the diameter. I then took a flat piece of wood with adhesive backed sand paper stuck to it and turned the diameter down to final size. The tennon tool got me within .015" final size so I didn't have much sanding to do. The flat board helped keep me from over sanding in one area and kept the diameter even along the length. The rest of the dowel rod I just sanded to final size with sandpaper.






OK, you're probably wondering why I have a 9" faceplate installed on my lathe when I am turning a dowel rod, right? Well, there is a madness to my method!! Making these dowel rods requires a lot of sanding. Those of you who do lathe work know that when you sand, the dust goes directly to your face. I don't have a dust collection hood for my lathe and thought I could use a fan to blow the dust away from my face. I couldn't find a fan so I installed my faceplate. It sucked all the dust away! It really worked great. OK, so I'm amused by simple things! I hope you like the pictures. The tables are complete with the exception of a pair of stabilizers that span from one leg to another. I made three of the taller tables and one short, long table as a special order. When I get paid I'm buying a Grizzly 14" Ultimate Bandsaw! Merry Christmas to me!

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Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

Joe Lyddon

Very NICE and clever...

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Joe Lyddon
www.WoodworkStuff.net
My Small Gallery

Ken Johnson

Thanks, Joe. I have to ask you, how did you meet Sam Maloof? That is Sam you're shaking hands with in your avitar, right?

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Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

Joe Lyddon

Yep, that's Sam! A great guy! I live just down the street from him, maybe a mile or so.

I think it was toward the end of 2005, a local group got together and took a Special tour of Sam's shop & house... Sam gave us the personal tour of his shop, we sat in a large rocking chair he was just finishing up (I almost fell asleep just sitting in it!), saw various projects in process & some of the techniques he uses... We could ask all of the questions we wanted, as well as take pictures of anything we wanted. When the "Band saw" was mentioned, like what kind of blades he used, the light bulb in his head LIT UP and he gave a wonderful demonstration of his band saw & autographed & gave the demo piece to a lady in the group. It was F A N T A S T I C!! Was the best $25 I've ever spent!

When I told him where I lived, he said "Well, come up and see me anytime!"... I haven't tried it... I don't think his management people would let me.

It was real FUN talking to him like just like any another woodworker and having him answer the questions in a normal down to earth manner.

If you ever get the chance to take a tour with him, TAKE IT... you will never forget it!

I hope I wasn't too long winded in answering your question...

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Joe Lyddon
www.WoodworkStuff.net
My Small Gallery