Hi, first, as this is my first post here, a short intro. I'm a psychotherapist discovering crafty things late in life as a liberation from being stuck in my and others' heads Feels so good to be creating real things and using my body in the new wonderland of my little workshop.

My main project is that I'm setting out to make Celtic whistles - they're sort of like recorders, without a hole at the back, and come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and materials. I'm in North Queensland, so I want to use the local hardwoods.

So why am I on a metal forum? The design of the mouthpiece for the whistles involves what are basically concentrically sleeved cylinders about 50mm long. Getting a precise fit from sanding them on a wood lathe is painfully tricky, so I just bought a little metal lathe:

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L685

When it arrived I took one look at the manual with its complex formulas for calculating rpm, depth of cut for different metals etc and realised I was out of my depth. It doesn't even mention wood (naturally, I suppose, being a metal lathe...).

My thinking (correct me if I'm wrong), is that for what I need the complex formulas are probably overkill. I'm doing very simple, low-load turning. Just reducing the diameter a little on 50mm long wooden cylinders.

I'm hoping, and would be very grateful for, some simple advice on tool type, angle of cut, approximate rpm and maximum depth of cut for a range of Australian hardwoods:

Extremely hard woods: Gidgee, ironwood, ironbark (yes probably crazy using ironbark but I'll probably try it) etc

Very hard woods: Rose gum, Cadaghi etc

Moderately hard woods: Red Mahogany, Kwila etc

Another relevant aspect of this is that in one of the designs I want to try there are three sleeved cylinders with the middle one only 0.8 to 1.0mm wall thickness, so will need to be very delicate.

And what do you think about the need to bolt down the little metal lathe for this very light duty work? I'd rather not bother - haven't bolted down my midi wood lathe and it's fine.

Thanks in advance for any kind help.


Read the full thread at metalworkforums.com...