Who can help...?

[Sigidi]

Hi to all,

I am new on the forum and would appreciate any help which can be offered.
I am wanting to rout longitudinal-parallel grooves in a turned piece of timber. Has anyone done it? Is there a jig to help keep everthing precise?
Unfortunatley, I am one of those people who would rather make something myself than pay someone else to do it, or buy it pre-made. I guess it's called being cheap!!!

Thanks for any help.

[derekcohen]

Sigidi

Build a box (or U-shaped cradle) around your turned piece of timber, leaving it open at the top. The side walls have to just clear the piece. Now you can build a slide for your router (basically a piece of plywood, like an upside-down router table insert - you could even use one such if you have one), which can move (slide) along the top of these walls. Attach a fence to the ply slide (that will run along a side wall) so that you can route a straight dado (groove).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Sigidi]

Thanks Derek,

it sounds sound!! Any chance of a drawing? Nothing fancy.

I stuck my hand up to help out and make a staircase for a friend, they told me in the Army never volunteer, but I just don't learn.

I am turning the newel posts myself and wanting to put in dado's to resemble grecian-like columns, if that makes sense.

How would you suggest to acommodate the square sections of the post when trying to make dado's on locations other than on 90 deg's? Maybe use wedges cut to the required degree's, like a set of 30 deg and 60 deg wedges to get 12 dado's around the circumference?

Thanks again, I think I am forming a blueprint, but any more help would be great.

Sigidi

[mikmaz1]

hi sigidi,
try to locate a book called router magic by bill hylton (possibly your local library) he has a couple of jigs in there .
if you have made a box to go around your stock as derek suggested then to make some flutes on your column , you have to make a locacting disk (theres a name for this, i crs) to atach to your lathes head stock. if you want 12 flutes on your column then you need 12 evenly spaced locating holes around your disk.locating the holes on the disk by a pin or sliding bolt attached somehow to your lathe to keep the column stationery while you route.
i hope im making sense and you understand!
seeyasoon mik.

[derekcohen]

Sigidi

I have encluded below an illustration from Patrick Spielman's book "The New Router Handbook" that offers a similar strategy for routing fluting. His method is better than mine above. He shows that the guide for the router is built into the wall of the cradle/jig (rather than relying on a fence).

You will need to work out where to cut the flutes. The procedure simply requires wrapping a piece of paper around the column to obtain the diameter, then you are able to determine the spacing for each flute, and transfer it onto the column. Wedge the column for each cut.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Sigidi]

Derek,

THANKS!!! That is great!

I should have searched for a forum like this before, but I happened upon it by sheer accident.

The pic really helps out, I know what I will be doing this week, making jigs and turning posts!!

Allan.