"Kevroo, not to give away trade secrets, but are you turning those on a wood lathe and then drilling the hole after wards or do you have some way to chuck up a smaller diameter hole and then turn the bead?
BTW, thanks for doing this!"
Swo, I probably need to re-examine and rethink my method in making these. If you Google search "make wood beads without a lathe" a video will pop up. That's where I got the idea, the method I use is like this but more in depth. Aside from the liner's & burlap, I purchased some wood pen blanks from bell forest. I hand cut the pen blanks, anywhere from 1/8-3/8" at a time. The liners & burlap are also typically hand cut about an inch square. Once I have numerous pieces cut, I rough sand all edges with a 60 grit sandpaper ( it's my understanding that will help the epoxy bond strength). After sanding, I check all sides against a light to make sure there's no gap's or large spaces in between the layers. I then brush everything with a wire brush followed by a cloth wipe down (getting rid of all the dust/debris). From here I mix up the epoxy, glue, and let sit clamped anywhere from 1 to 2 days. Afterwards, I go to my little belt sander to kind of square it up, get rid of the excess edges (liner mostly). I use a little square to find the center from which then I drill out with a 1/4" bit in my drill press. Once all this is done, I take a 1/4" brass bolt and place it through the block with washers on each side. I run a nut down and snug it up and chuck it in my electric drill. With the drill on low speed I use a rough grit paper in my belt sander, slowly working my way up to a 600 grit paper. From there I usually sit inside the house and hand sand with these little padded pen sanding blocks (sometimes up to a 12,000 grit). Once all is finished, I've been applying ren-wax to give it a little more shine. That's it more or less.
I know that I could find some easier ways to cut down on the time, but I enjoy working with my hands. I'd love to try something with a lathe, finances & space are my largest obstacles. I'd consider myself a beginner and am open to any input or idea's. And Thank you for participating!
ALSO, A big thank you to Andy & crew for letting us post here to raise some cash for a well deserving person.
Kev
BTW, thanks for doing this!"
Swo, I probably need to re-examine and rethink my method in making these. If you Google search "make wood beads without a lathe" a video will pop up. That's where I got the idea, the method I use is like this but more in depth. Aside from the liner's & burlap, I purchased some wood pen blanks from bell forest. I hand cut the pen blanks, anywhere from 1/8-3/8" at a time. The liners & burlap are also typically hand cut about an inch square. Once I have numerous pieces cut, I rough sand all edges with a 60 grit sandpaper ( it's my understanding that will help the epoxy bond strength). After sanding, I check all sides against a light to make sure there's no gap's or large spaces in between the layers. I then brush everything with a wire brush followed by a cloth wipe down (getting rid of all the dust/debris). From here I mix up the epoxy, glue, and let sit clamped anywhere from 1 to 2 days. Afterwards, I go to my little belt sander to kind of square it up, get rid of the excess edges (liner mostly). I use a little square to find the center from which then I drill out with a 1/4" bit in my drill press. Once all this is done, I take a 1/4" brass bolt and place it through the block with washers on each side. I run a nut down and snug it up and chuck it in my electric drill. With the drill on low speed I use a rough grit paper in my belt sander, slowly working my way up to a 600 grit paper. From there I usually sit inside the house and hand sand with these little padded pen sanding blocks (sometimes up to a 12,000 grit). Once all is finished, I've been applying ren-wax to give it a little more shine. That's it more or less.
I know that I could find some easier ways to cut down on the time, but I enjoy working with my hands. I'd love to try something with a lathe, finances & space are my largest obstacles. I'd consider myself a beginner and am open to any input or idea's. And Thank you for participating!
ALSO, A big thank you to Andy & crew for letting us post here to raise some cash for a well deserving person.
Kev
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