Wood lathe advice needed - parting chessmen

[HoosierBuddy]

Guys,

My son is working on a set of chess pieces and he has run into issues.

He completed the first sides set of pawns and, not certain he could part them all identically and flat, parted them off with about 1/2" or so extra stock on the base with the intent to...I'm not sure what the intent was except to not mess up the pawns during the parting operation. 1 and 2 below are what I tried...if your impatient....and good with a wood lathe jump to the question at the end please!

So...he brought them to me for advice and so far I've come up short.

1. I tried just using 220 grit on a small bench top belt sander to remove the excess and get them flat. I could not manage to do this and keep them square. Before I even had the first one done I could tell it was going to lean, because I couldn't control the tilt I was pressing against the belt by hand.

2. So...I made a clamping block to hold the pawns on my metal lathe square and then used the cross slide to trim the base flat and removing about 0.20" per cut, got the first 2 pawns the same height. BUT...the third pawn, being hand formed, did not fit my clamping block quite right (essentially a 4-inch cube with a hole cut in it to fit the major diameter of the pawn...and a side cut through that so the block can be squeezed down with the lathe's 4-jaw chuck). Being loose, when my son tried to trim that one down, it came out of the block and got mangled by the tool he was using to work the base down.

QUESTION: Should it be possible to make parting these on the wood lathe our final operation? If we're very careful can we part a chess piece so that it will be flat and the exact height it needs to be? if so, are there any tricks? Use a guide of some sort to line up the parting tool, etc???

My son is pretty down as he has a lot of time just in making 8 pawns and now has to start over on the one that got ruined. Afraid he may abandon the whole project! He's 15 by the way....so lack of patience is easily explained.

Phil

 

[gungatim]

I would probably just make a v-block clamping fixture and use a band saw, then clean up on a sander...

if they are all individually made on the lathe (and not all 8 in one stick), you've either got to start from the flat end and part the tip, or use a 3-jaw individually. wood lathe cutting aint like a metal lathe so you can't necessarily get them all perfect, but you should be able to get them close by marking the line and using a profile template to get started...


post some pics!!! let the kid get some self esteem built up from his actual ACCOMPLISHMENT thus far.

 

[K13]

Is he making them individually or multiples in one stick?I am no expert but I would part them where I wanted them and take it down to a point where there was still a little bit of wood left and then just cut them off flush with a small hand saw. Then just put sand paper on a hard flat surface and run them over it a few times by hand to smooth them out.

 

[Fcvapor05]

It should be very easy to part them exactly the same (or near enough that you'd need to measure to know the difference).

Step 1- get yourself a compass like this:

Make sure it's of reasonable quality, and that you can adjust it so that it will not move (in other words, pass on the cheapo stamped sheet metal type. Nicer ones are still cheap).

Step 2 - part off one pawn to the exact height desired

Step 3 - set this pawn upright on any flat surface. Adjust the compass so that when the tip is place on the top of the pawn's ball, the pencil touches the side of the pawn and the paper.

Step 4 - chuck up your next pawn, and using your compass, mark the point where the parting line should go. Do this with the lathe OFF. You only need a small, light mark- when you turn the lathe on, their will be a visible ring. Remember that you want to part up to the pencil line, leaving the pencil line on the piece. You can remove it later with just a touch of a piece of sandpaper.

You can do this with pieces of every type. Once the first one is parted, the rest can be matched to it with the compass.

Also, as a suggestion- Ideally the pieces would be perfectly flat on the bottom, but they will actually work better, and sit better on most boards (which won't be perfectly flat) if the bottoms are very slightly concave. So don't worry too much about making the bottom perfectly flat- just make sure it isn't convex.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I would probably just make a v-block clamping fixture and use a band saw, then clean up on a sander...

post some pics!!! let the kid get some self esteem built up from his actual ACCOMPLISHMENT thus far.

I'll try to post some pics. The v-block idea might work, but the pieces aren't cylindrical. It's all "swoops". Getting them clamped flat or square after parting is a little bit of a head scratcher.

OHHH....YOU MEAN DON'T PART THEM AT ALL leave them way long and set the extra dowel in the v-block and then cut off the good part (the pawn)!

That will work! Gotcha!

PHil

 

[HoosierBuddy]

It should be very easy to part them exactly the same (or near enough that you'd need to measure to know the difference).

Step 1- get yourself a compass like this:

Make sure it's of reasonable quality, and that you can adjust it so that it will not move (in other words, pass on the cheapo stamped sheet metal type. Nicer ones are still cheap).

Step 2 - part off one pawn to the exact height desired

Step 3 - set this pawn upright on any flat surface. Adjust the compass so that when the tip is place on the top of the pawn's ball, the pencil touches the side of the pawn and the paper.

Step 4 - chuck up your next pawn, and using your compass, mark the point where the parting line should go. Do this with the lathe OFF. You only need a small, light mark- when you turn the lathe on, their will be a visible ring. Remember that you want to part up to the pencil line, leaving the pencil line on the piece. You can remove it later with just a touch of a piece of sandpaper.

You can do this with pieces of every type. Once the first one is parted, the rest can be matched to it with the compass.

Also, as a suggestion- Ideally the pieces would be perfectly flat on the bottom, but they will actually work better, and sit better on most boards (which won't be perfectly flat) if the bottoms are very slightly concave. So don't worry too much about making the bottom perfectly flat- just make sure it isn't convex.

GREAT! THanks!!!!

 

[gungatim]

...Ideally the pieces would be perfectly flat on the bottom, but they will actually work better, and sit better on most boards (which won't be perfectly flat) if the bottoms are very slightly concave. So don't worry too much about making the bottom perfectly flat- just make sure it isn't convex.

That is an excellent point! I do the same with candle sticks and other items. it's why you see a ring left proud a lot of times on commercially made junk too.

 

[rsanter]

If it was me I would make a pattern to turn the pieces to. Then have a second pattern or a mark on the first pattern that indicates the location of the bottom.

Turn the piece, then turn a step that is at the right dimension for where the bottom will be.

Then start to part the piece. Have the parting tool at a couple degreee angle that will make a slight cup in the bottom.

You only want to part in part of the way. Leave enough material that will still hold the piece on. Then use a coping saw to cut the piece off.
With a hand held sanding drum in a drill or dremmel you can knock the majority of the nub that is left off of the piece. Then use a finish sander to clean up the bottom as needed.
Most wood chess pieces will have a felt pad on the bottom that will cover.

Alternate method
Turn like above but have a second person that will have their hand around the piece loosly and continue to a complete part off. The piece will end up in the second persons hand.

Next alternative.
Make your blanks very close to finish size .
Cut a long strip and use a router to make them semi round. Cut them to close to finish length. Attach a sacrificial piece to the lathes backing plate and facebthat piece leaving a nub close to the size of the blanks.
Then glue the blank to the nub with a piece a paper between the blank and the nub. Best to use a piece of bright colored paper to stand out from the wood color.
Turn your piece using a pattern to verify shape and height.
When done you will be able,to break the piece off as the paper will be the shear point.
Use a finish sander on the bottom or even hand sand against a block

Try those

Bob

 

[jimreed2160]

Only 15 and on the lathe? Well good for him!!! A chess set is quite an ambitious project. I had a chess set at that age and wanted a nice board. So I went to the flooring store and bought some vinyl tile in black and white. I gang cut the pieces square (kinda) on my bandsaw and glued it all up on a plywood base (painted black). It was impressive at a distance.

But this is how we learn. He started on the pawns and that is the hardest part--16 identical pieces! As said, most turners would have turned them on a stick of 4 or 8. The safest route of parting was mentioned earlier--use the parting tool and leave a dowel at the base. I like to leave about 3/4". He can even apply finish while they are on the lathe and then cut them apart with a flush cutting saw. After that, he only has to finish the round on the bottom and the top.

I recommend working on the kings or queens next. Do them as a pair.

Great project. There is a lathe tutorial over on my Woodworking 101 thread. It shows how to make and use a story stick so you can duplicate turnings.

 

[kbs2244]

I like the v-block and band saw idea.