8 years in the making...

[TTIT]

You've probably all been there - other half comes home from the Sunday market with some new invention they've been conned into buying, get's used once, a heap of swearing and wasted time and it get's thrown in the back of the cupboard for eternity! When the missus(ex) bought the wrap-cutter home, I thought it had potential but not clipped to the useless bloody carton - you still needed 4 hands to operate the damned thing:~.
I made the prototype (pic 1) 8 years ago out of crapiata and always intended to make a better one out of good timber once I knew if it worked OK. We've used it every day for 8 years - kids lunches, microwaving etc, should be enough testing for any prototype eh!. The only problems were that it was only big enough to hold a 30metre roll of cling wrap and it was awkward to pick up one-handed without the lid opening - had to hold it just right. The family always reckon it was the only way to use cling-wrap and even the next generation love it - my 4yo grandson HAS to cut off a few strips EVERY time he visits and his 2yo sister is itching to run with it (literally).
I bought another couple of cutters at the Southbank markets about 5 years ago and finally got round to making a goodie (pics 2,3,4,5) out of some Rose mahogany (gawd I love that stuff!) and Bumble tree. A simple spring under a screw keeps the end in place holding the lid on so it's easy to pick up now. This version will hold at least a 90metre roll, possibly more and I reckon it looks bloody alright! The wrap even glides out easier on this one.:U
Only tricky bit was coring the roll holder. Couldn't see myself drilling it straight with a forstner at 52mm diameter and 400mm long so I decided to use the tablesaw with the 2 halves coming across the blade at an angle while the blade is lifted bit by bit (if you know what I mean - I do?!?!). This worked to a point but of course the resulting trench is not a true half circle (hyperbola I think). Moved the angled fence a little this way and that to try and trim out the rest but wasn't getting much better. Took a major leap and went to the darkside:o - bolted the shear scraper blade off the Sorby on to the end of a piece of rod (ie: at right-angles to the rod) and dug in so to speak. They almost had me for a minute - the Rosewood scrapes beautifully but I still had trouble getting it even close to true - too much hard yakka:B.
On the next one I'm thinking I'll try cutting a simple "V" notch in each half, glue them together and see if the forstner will follow the "path of least resistance". With less timber to remove around the square hole, it might just stay online for the full 400mm. If anyone has an easier method of creating a (straight) hole over 50mm diameter for 400mm I'd love to hear about it. I'll even do a WIP on the next one if anybody is interested.

[Gil Jones]

TTIT, that is seriously cool!! We have one in the cupboard, and it works great. Of course, it is attached to the box the wrap came in, hope my ‘missus’ doesn't see this:D

[Wood Butcher]

Now that is original! Beaut work TTIT!!

[RufflyRustic]

TTIT - This is the answer to my dreaded fight with the plastic wrap!!!!:2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup:
You are a genius!!! Are you going to patent the design? Thread vote and greenie (if I can) fired.

cheers
Wendy

[Doc Ron]

TTIT
Seriously cool! very innovative. :woot:

[powderpost]

TT, looks very very nice well executed and practical too.
Would you consider laminating? Try this for size. Draw a full size end section and work out how wide the staves will be. Tilt the saw blade and rip the pieces to the required angle. Cut the staves to length (add a bit for waste). Using a piece water pipe as a core, glue the staves around the pipe. Use rubber bands to hold the pieces in place then use the band clamps to hold it securely. With a bit of thought, some decorative strips perhaps???
Jim

[TTIT]

Are you going to patent the design? I'm sure it's been done a thousand different ways already :shrug:


Would you consider laminating? Thought about it Jim and have noted your tips but for the first one I wanted it to look 'solid' or 'one piece' so to speak. I've never tackled any segmented stuff but if my forstner attempt doesn't work, I may have to give it a shot.:C

[OGYT]

Bloomin' awesome! Beats our, hangin on the back the pantry door! :o)

[Wayne Blanch]

TTit, Great effort, yet another thing on the now very long to do list:2tsup:

[ciscokid]

Fantastic idea for an item used every day! Excellent execution and a nice choice of timbers. I love the profile shot! You could sell those quickly at a crafts show.

[MajorPanic]

Sod off TTIT!!!!

Dat thins' bloody gorgeous!! :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup:

& ya gonna let it be abused in a kitchen?? What are ya sadomasochistic?? You must be a student of Ansel Adams 'there is art in beautifying the mundane'

Well done!!

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Thought about it Jim and have noted your tips but for the first one I wanted it to look 'solid' or 'one piece' so to speak. I've never tackled any segmented stuff but if my forstner attempt doesn't work, I may have to give it a shot.:C

I seriously doubt that the forstner bit will work to clean out the bore... one edge or the other will take a bigger bite than t'other and you'll have an instant disaster. You'd have more success drilling a solid piece of wood. DAMHIKT. :-

I've used very similar to Jim's method for long tubes and with careful matching (and a fine, straight grain in the first place) you can conceal the joints. But I know what you mean by preferring the "one piece" look.

Beautiful job, well done!

[BernieP]

G'Day TTIT

What a work of art, I've one of those things and have a regular fight with it and my wife won't even attempt to use it, so when do we see the "how to"?

Cheers
Bernie

[joe greiner]

Skew is dead on about the Forstner bit. Forstner bits do not follow the path of least resistance. In fact, a Forstner bit is just about the only tool that can cut half a round hole, or drill straight on a sloping surface.

It appears that the chamber needs to be round at the ends only. Forstner bit works fine there, but note that cutting end grain can be a bear. With the workpiece clamped solidly under the drill press or mounted on the lathe, you can work up from smaller bits; otherwise, need to use a forward/reverse process. See http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=44107 for a suggested procedure.

The interior just forms a shell, so the parabola cut on the table saw should work just fine.

Nice looking piece of kitchenware, BTW.

Joe

[TTIT]

I seriously doubt that the forstner bit will work to clean out the bore... one edge or the other will take a bigger bite than t'other and you'll have an instant disaster. You'd have more success drilling a solid piece of wood. DAMHIKT. :-


Skew is dead on about the Forstner bit. Forstner bits do not follow the path of least resistance. In fact, a Forstner bit is just about the only tool that can cut half a round hole, or drill straight on a sloping surface.

It appears that the chamber needs to be round at the ends only. Forstner bit works fine there, but note that cutting end grain can be a bear.
I've been out in the shed pondering it and thought of a way around it. You are right that it doesn't really HAVE to be properly round inside but it's just the way I do things. I'm going to stick to my original plan but adapt a guide to the forstner similar to Carb-i-tools spade bit guide. If I get the 'V' notches right, I should have a 40mm square hole up the middle. If I work out a way to attach a piece of 40mm diameter tube or similar to the nasty side of the forstner, it will have very little meat to remove and have no choice but to follow the square hole - - - - I hope! Stay tuned for next exciting episode.....

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I'm going to stick to my original plan but adapt a guide to the forstner similar to Carb-i-tools spade bit guide. If I get the 'V' notches right, I should have a 40mm square hole up the middle. If I work out a way to attach a piece of 40mm diameter tube or similar to the nasty side of the forstner, it will have very little meat to remove and have no choice but to follow the square hole - - - - I hope!

In the past I've given similar thought to this sort of thing. (I planned to do a lot of long S&P mills once upon a time. :rolleyes: )

My thought was to get a rod maybe 4' or 5' long (twice the length of the hole you want to bore) sized to fit through the bore in the headstock. In the midle of this, weld a short length (about 1") of pipe that's about 1mm smaller dia. than the planned hole, using a couple of "struts" to hold it centred around the rod.

Then fit some HSS or carbide cutting edges (ex-thicknesser blade?) radially to the cutting face, sorta like a mining mole. A lot easier to build than explain, perhaps. The pipe would not only give you somewhere to mount the blades but would also help hold the timber central. And the leading edge of the rod through the headstock would prevent drift.

Now, one day I may even get around to constructing it... :-

[rsser]

Musical instrument makers use a D bit for this application if memory serves. Try a google. Prob HSS steel; rod with a section of the end ground down to a semi-circle (in cross section) with the flat spot on the equator.

[Touchwood]

A truly fine piece of work .. might have to give it a go ... one day!!!
Love the contrast of colour and the simplicity of the style (that is not suggesting it was simple to make though!!! :no: )
Thanks for sharing

:D

JD

[tashammer]

elegant, simple to operate, very stylish, bluddygud stuff, yew bewty!

[hughie]

Hi Vern,
A bit late on this one, some how I missed this one :?.

Anyway what damn good idea so much so I am gonna steal it.

Long holes in centre of things. Try this, first cut your small vee in the centre. When assembled it should produce a square hole 6x6 or 8x8 or what ever you can do.
Then take a old spade drill and cut/grind the centre point off. In place of the point, silver solder/braze or what ever a piece of rod equivalent to the size of the sq hole ie 6mm etc.

The length of the centre pin should be at least 15-20mm to give good support, basically what your making is a spade bit hole saw.

What is important that the outer points of the spade bit and the centre pin are the same length and that the bit is ground away between the points so that there wood to support the pin as it cuts through the last part at the end sorta like a M shape.

During the silver solder you may find that the spade bit has been softened. As long as you have used hard silver solder as opposed to the soft stuff. The hard has a higher melting point.
You should be able to spot harden the end of the spade bit. Heat it up to around dull red ie just short of bright cherry red and dip it in oil.

Jeez, it makes sense to me, If not I will knock a dummy up and send a pic

[TTIT]

Hi Vern,
A bit late on this one, some how I missed this one :?.

Anyway what damn good idea so much so I am gonna steal it.

Long holes in centre of things. Try this, first cut your small vee in the centre. When assembled it should produce a square hole 6x6 or 8x8 or what ever you can do.
Then take a old spade drill and cut/grind the centre point off. In place of the point, silver solder/braze or what ever a piece of rod equivalent to the size of the sq hole ie 6mm etc.

The length of the centre pin should be at least 15-20mm to give good support, basically what your making is a spade bit hole saw.

What is important that the outer points of the spade bit and the centre pin are the same length and that the bit is ground away between the points so that there wood to support the pin as it cuts through the last part at the end sorta like a M shape.

During the silver solder you may find that the spade bit has been softened. As long as you have used hard silver solder as opposed to the soft stuff. The hard has a higher melting point.
You should be able to spot harden the end of the spade bit. Heat it up to around dull red ie just short of bright cherry red and dip it in oil.

Jeez, it makes sense to me, If not I will knock a dummy up and send a pic
Thanks Hughie - have you seen Carb-i-tool's answer to this? they've aimed it at enlargeing existing holes - same end result but no heat involved - the pin slots over the point of the bit and is held in place via the holes in the bit. Worth a look here (http://www.carbitool.com.au/router_catalogue.html). Just click on 'Spade bits'.

[hughie]

have you seen Carb-i-tool's answer to this? they've aimed it at enlarging existing holes - same end result but no heat involved - the pin slots over the point of the bit and is held in place via the holes in the bit. Worth a look here (http://www.carbitool.com.au/router_catalogue.html). Just click on 'Spade bits'


Vern,
No I had not seen idea, very good, you darn near do it your self.
For me, I will make one for the big 300m roll, so I will most likely bore it out then split it on the band saw. The vase tool should do the job.

http://www.shop.woodcut-tools.com/section.php?xSec=4&jssCart=76dfcf3bf75498a731b0e32da1c66999

I've made one of these tool rests and you would be surprised how easy it is to bore parallel. The only difference is I have made the rest part way longer to catch the support bar

[RETIRED]

To drill the hole. I am assuming a bit (no pun intended) here that you have access to a metal lathe or a tame engineer.:wink:

Get a 25MM rod about 450MM long. machine a hole the size of the shank of the drill in one end. The hole must be centre. Fit a grub screw in to hold the bit.

Machine other end down to suit your drill chuck on your drill press.

Turn the table of your drill press to 90 degrees (or in line with the quill), clamp the timber blank to it. Put drill in chuck WITHOUT the extension piece and start hole. I am assuming you have previously centred the timber to the drill bit. Drill as far as the travel on the drill allows.

Drill slowly and clear often.

Remove drill bit and fit in extension. Drop the table to allow for this.Bring table up to the end of the last hole and drill to the depth that the drill allows. Repeat until bored right through.

I hope this makes sense.

It is much easier here because we have a drill with a 12" depth. All our forstners are also carbide tipped.

[TTIT]

Turn the table of your drill press to 90 degrees (or in line with the quill), clamp the timber blank to it. Put drill in chuck WITHOUT the extension piece and start hole. I am assuming you have previously centred the timber to the drill bit. Drill as far as the travel on the drill allows.

Drill slowly and clear often.

Remove drill bit and fit in extension. Drop the table to allow for this.Bring table up to the end of the last hole and drill to the depth that the drill allows. Repeat until bored right through.

I hope this makes sense.Makes perfect sense but I would have thought the bit would still wander to buggery over a 400mm hole depth. What level of drift if any do you get this way ?

[RETIRED]

Not a lot if everything is tight.

We sometimes have to drill the bottom of posts up to 700MM deep to fit over 2" pipe and the wandering is not really noticeable.

Drill slowly, clear often and make sure everything is tight.

[shedman]

:) What a beautiful thing!:2tsup: I am a real ametuer at this type of thing but it occurred to me that a possible solution would be to turn the roll holder as a cylinder and then hollow the entire length either with a deep boring tool or maybe even a forstner bit fixed in a chuck with an extension bar fitted to the tailstock.
Once hollowed the cylinder could be split on the table saw or even grooved on one side only with a router table.
Probably just showing my ignorance with totally impractical ideas but good luck anyway and what an inspiration.

Shedman

[RETIRED]

It is far easier, more practical and safer to drill the hole in square stock and then use the holes (with plugs) as the centres than drill the hole after it is turned.

Nothing looks worse than off centre holes in the ends of turnings.

[rsser]

It is far easier, more practical and safer to drill the hole in square stock and then use the holes (with plugs) as the centres than drill the hole after it is turned.

... exluding brute force and innegrance of course.