>Jon, I'm not as skilled a turner as you and I'm lazy. A couple of years ago I bought a Vega lathe duplicator for my little table-top lathe. It follows a template made from storm door window plexiglass. So I basically round off the stock, take the cutter into to the widest part of the peg (the head) and then just use the duplicator to guide the cutting from there. I can't do as fine a turning as you can, but I'm happy.
Chad Neal, who lives in Columbus, Ohio and has a lot of experience turning pegs, says that he once had the same problem and decided that he was trying to take off too much wood with the shaver. He tightened up his turning tolerances and the problem disappeared. After hearing from Chad, I've tried backing up and beginning to shave at a larger hole on my multi-hole peg shaver. That takes off irregularities and begins to give the final taper. I then work down the hole sizes, taking off more irregularities and finally shaving the peg to the final dimensions. Not an elegant solution, but it seems to have taken care of the problem. I'm a simple man with simple needs for pegs. And thank God (and Chad) that a solution was available, because I don't have an endless supply of the mountain ash. Tim > > >---- Original Message ---- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu, [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: Off-center pegs >Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 07:33:13 -0500 > >>Dana and Timothy, >> >>I haven't gotten my lute to the point of needing pegs, but being one >who >>likes to change gears I've gotten into the peg making while I'm >still >>finishing the mold. Tim, you know I bought David v.E's course on >your >>advice. I've made myself a shaver, partly because they are so damned >>expensive and partly because I didn't see one I wanted. I have a >rule for >>the house, if it involves heat or electricity I pay the price (I >live in a >>condo apartment, and were I to make a fire with a tool I'd made I'd >be in >>trouble with the insurance, and suits from the neighbors). So I >spent the >>money for a commercial bending iron, even though I could have made >one. >> >>As to the shaver, one can get two double sided planer blades at >Sears for >>about $11 (no way to get one, they are in two packs). That solves >the >>tempering and whatever that involves fire. I can only think that Tim >is >>either a bit out of alignment with the shaver, or pressing too hard. >(I've >>been making good pegs, even though I haven't a real peg box for the >lute yet >>I've made a "dummy one" to test the pegs). The final cuts by the >shaver >>should shave the entire peg, the shaper should be set up so all the >uneven >>points are taken out before fully inserting the peg. >> >>As to the turning, I've been following Davids plan. I can't see the >>rechucking that Dana is doing. I was turning wood before doing this, >so have >>a number of tools. But David does his with only a roughing guouge >and a 3mm >>cut off tool. He makes a template of formica (couldn't find a piece >cheap >>enough, so I bought a stick on floor tile for about 89 cents. He >over >>lengths the blank and uses a three blade pin drive, I have a nice >two blade >>of just the right diameter to avoid chipping the tool on the drive, >and a >>live center at the other end. I don't have to rechuck. >> >>So let me suggest the process. First round the blank (not >necessarily fully, >>as one can make the blank thinner on one axis where the head is >flattened to >>save wood). Turn a deep groove into the head end (drive end) with >the cut >>off tool to leave a piece that will later be cut off, but is the >drive >>vehicle. Then do it again, the head length below the first cut. Now >you have >>a set point that will be the wide point of the taper (use the >template to >>test). Then do the same at the far end, with the template for the >desired >>small end (but leave a bit for the cut off). Now shape the taper >from the >>already cut depth of the top and the small end. David does this with >what >>looks in his photos to be a large roughing gouge (I think he has >only two >>turning tools, the 3mm cut off and the roughing gouge, but it works >for >>him). I tried a skew chisel on my first try at making a taper, but I >happen >>to own a Sorby Spindlemeister which is perfect for that cut. A >spindle gouge >>would do also. Once the taper is made, using the template at both >ends (and >>I added a middle, and one should mark the template in distance from >the top >>of the peg head. And the taper should be a hair oversized. Then on >can rough >>out the profile of the head, and any ridges between the head and the >taper. >>At this point we still are chucked as the blank was originally >chucked >>(wrong word, I don't use my jawed chucks - I punch set the two ends >of the >>blank and press in the two blade drive). What we have is a false >head, then >>a deep cut, then the part that will be the real peg head, then a >small space >>for decorative ridges, or whatever. Then the taper, a hair >oversized. And at >>the tail a bit extra where the live center has driven in. >> >>Now, still "chucked" between centers, shape the profile of the peg >head. >>Once that is done one can remove the peg an cut it off at head and >tail, or >>just cut them on the lathe (being careful to catch the flying peg). >Now to >>the scraper (pencil sharpener), and the band saw or belt sander, or >both to >>cut the sides of the peg head. The key to all this talk is a basic. >No >>turner can ever exactly duplicate a rechucking without luck. Never >rechuck >>unless really necessary. >> >>I'm using cocobolo for the pegs, and I bought some "eye wash" that >is needed >>after turning that. >> >>Tim, I made a thickness guage, not from your suggestion, nor from >anyone >>else's drawings. I'll send a picture on day. One Sear's gauge at >$35, plus >>about $5 worth of scrap. >> >>Best, Jon >> >> >> >>To get on or off this list see list information at >>http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>
