SYMTEC NETWORK NEWSLETTER No. 16

MINIATURE TURNING

I get fiddly jobs sometimes. Recently the head of the local cabinet making school decided to make an “Apprentice piece” and needed some knobs and bun feet turned. In case some of you haven’t come across Apprentice pieces before, back in the olden days apprentice cabinet makers had to make a piece of furniture to demonstrate their skill. In those days they weren’t paid and couldn’t afford to buy the timbers for a full sized cabinet, so they made miniature versions. Few of these Apprentice pieces survive today. Any which are still around can fetch very high prices on the antique market. You can see from the pix that knobs in particular are really tiny compared with the 50 cent coin.

When you have to turn something this small the

stylus is not fine enough to follow the tiny detail required.

I used the stylus to get the broad outline. With

the stylus removed from the tool jig, I was able

to turn the fine detail by eye using the standard Symtec cutter.

In this issue:

Miniature turning

Tool Rest Pin Chuck Intricate Vases

No chest of drawers is complete without a set of

bun feet.

Soon after I made the miniatures, the same customer came back for a set of full sized bun feet. What a relief.

NEW TOOL REST Hi Rob Attached are some pictures of my new tool-rest. You will recall me telling you that while using the original Symtec "rest", I almost came to grief when changing its' position on the lathe bed. I was turning a pen at maximum speed, the original chisel- rest was (is) too long, & because I am impatient (or lazy, or both), did not turn the lathe off when I needed to re-position the "rest" on the bed of the lathe. At the time, I was wearing a paper surgical gown with long sleeves to protect my clothes from wood dust etc, & on reaching to the rear with the spanner to loosen the hold down nut, the rotating project caught & ripped the paper sleeve of the gown I was wearing. It was a lucky escape from what could have been a very serious injury had I been wearing more robust clothing. Perhaps after a timely lesson like that, one would expect to be more vigilant in the future, but no doubt, as time passes, the close encounter will have been forgotten, & more risks will be taken without Lady Luck watching over me. So, I decided the time was right for a re-make of the tool-rest. I had seen a rest from another brand of lathe, where the adjustment control is by way of a cam arrangement ( similar to most of our tail- stocks ) at the front of the tool-rest. I managed to borrow one to copy & modify to suit the Symtec. Job done, I can now re-position the "rest" safely, even with the lathe still running. As a further improvement, I made a new chisel rest to suit smaller objects such as pens, with the end result being a more pleasant & safer operation in using a tool-rest on the Symtec. Hope this is of interest, Regards, Lloyd Russell.

The attached picture shows how the tool rest is fixed to the lathe bed. No different to the original, other than the nut is now underneath the bed rather than the top. It is locked into place by way of an offset cam at each end of the long shaft giving the effect of raising or tightening the bolt which is attached to the nut.

Another Symtec for Sale

Hi Rob You might recall I mentioned a chap in Adelaide who has a 3600 Symtec no longer in use.

I spoke to him today & he confirms that he has the lathe & that at 87 years of age has no further interest in it. We talked about its' value, & I suggested to him that its' value is probably in the region of a little less than $1000. He seems to have most of the accessories with it. He is happy for me to "put it out there" for sale, & on that note I wonder if you would mind making mention of it in the next newsletter. My name & phone number can be used for enquiries. Kind regards, Lloyd Russell Ph. 08 8323 7585 Email lloydrussell2@bigpond.com

Symtec 1500 for sale – Ballarat area. 1500 model with long borer, router, steady, and a couple of cutters, plus other bits and pieces. Brian Rickard is offering this lathe for sale on behalf of a friend. You can contact Brian for further info on 0428 325 902.

PIN CHUCK Hello Rob The attached picture shows my new pin chuck.

When I owned my previous Symtec lathe, I had purchased a Record brand pin chuck. These chucks were ideal when turning any object with a hollow centre such as small bud vases, pepper grinders etc, because they supported the whole project evenly internally & allowed you to turn the whole of the outside of the

project safely & without having to move it for access from another direction. If you do have to remove it from the pin chuck for any reason, the project is easily re-fitted without it running out. When I purchased my second Symtec lathe, I tried to purchase another pin chuck, but without success. Record UK was the only firm to have produced them, & because of small demand ceased production of them several years ago. Having phoned their UK office, I was told that all the drawings had been destroyed! Fortunately, I was able to borrow the one I originally owned, & made a couple by copying it. (One for me & one for another of my woodie mates). I have 3 different diam. shafts to suit, but my preferred size is the one & one eighth inch diam. This is because when I make small bud vases, there is a need to waterproof the inside. I do this with a small length of irrigation dripper tube. The dripper tube I like to use, measures 1" internally, & you guessed it, 1&1/8" externally. As such, having sealed the bottom of the tube, it press fits nicely into the hole left by the chuck. (The 1&1/8" is also a nice size hole for things like pepper grinders.)

Hope this is of interest to our woodies. Regards, Lloyd. Editor’s note Lloyd’s pin chuck looks nothing like one I bought from Symtec for turning pepper grinders. After a little research I found a chapter on Chucking in a book by Mike Darlow called Woodturning Methods which shows every imaginable type of chuck including one like Lloyd’s which it says is the earliest form of manufactured pin chuck. Darlow describes the type I have as a ‘Pawl-operated pin chuck’. [The Australian Oxford Dictionary defines ‘pawl’ as a ‘lever with a catch for the teeth of a wheel or bar’]

COLIN ATKINS INTRICATE VASES

This first one was turned in two parts, the body hollowed out before the neck is attached, leaving enough wall thickness to facilitate the external carving. The flame embossing was then carved using a Dremel and a small burr plus a lot of sanding and filing. The rest was burnt in using a pyrography tool. The finish is Danish oil.

Long time Symtecian, Colin Atkins, brought some small vases along to our recent get together in Geelong. I’m sure you will be as impressed as I

was.

This one was turned in similar fashion to the first. Whilst it was still on the lathe, I drilled, filed out and shaped the cut-outs around the body, then decorated it with a pyrography tool bit. The wood used in this is cherry.

This one has been turned differently. You probably have heard of "Involuted" or inside out turning. The wood was only rubbishy radiata pine, 4 pieces cut into 40x40x300mm lengths. These were then glued together into a block using brown paper separating each. What is turned on the outside will

eventually become the inside of the vase. After making a concave turning and finishing the pieces are then split apart, glued and rejoined, making sure that they have been turned 180 degrees. Numbering each piece makes this a lot easier to do with no mistakes. Once dry the outside is turned until each edge starts to open. Continue turning until the desired gaps have been reached.

Cleaning up with needle files and sanding down through the grits until a nice finish is achieved. Again the decoration was done using pyrography and water

based dyes.

This one was the off cut of the previous. It was turned in the same way, but with a different design. The shape of the rim is completed at the time of finishing. In other words the flare is turned and then cut and shaped to the desired effect. I rather liked the contrast finish effect between the satin stain on the inside and the gloss stain and varnish used on the outside. Again it was decorated using pyrography.