Thread: freehand turning??

Originally Posted by turbo TA

well, I finished off that handle basically just the way it looks in the photo. I messed up the little shoulder so I didnt make it like the original. but the tang (the original isnt threaded) fit in real snug. So for now I left it,until I make some of these turning tools you guys showed me...thanks!!

Blackfrancis,, I really like that brass thing you made...thats what I want to do ,I think, make nice looking stuff..not thread rods (well maybe one day I'll have to).

Yeah, that looks very nice. Long ways for me till I can produce something as good as that.

I'm thinking of turning door handles and Victorian style bathroom taps, etc. out of brass.

One question tho - how do you accurately duplicate a piece using freehand turning. My hand to eye coordination stinks so I'm sure I wont be able to make a second door handle for instance that looks close to the original.

Just consider how they did it all before the advent of the modern cross slide.....I have seen pictures of early metal lathes, and they don't look all that much different to wood lathes.

I have turned and I know plenty of others that have turned non ferros metals in the wood lathe.

I often scrape furrels after they have been fitted to handles......one member here has made carvers mallets with brass heads and timber handles.....and turned the pieces fitted together and one piece.

I tend to stick to scrapers with almost square releif angles and if you keep the cutting edge below center it can not catch.

remember the file and hacksaw are commonly used in the metal lathe....I often file metal in the wood lathe.

Another member made a pen entirely out of aluminium in the wood lathe.

Steel is going to be hard work.....I'd be doing a lot of fileing.

Of and the sharpening... the sharpening.

cheers

Marc, I found a book by Charles Holtzappfel on Google Books - Turning and Mechanical Manipulation

I think he's of the famous Holtzappfel clan and the book contains sections on free hand + ornamental turning, etc.

It seems to be an interesting read. It's free for download. Volume 1,2,3,4 is at archive.org - I can't find Volume 5 and 6 which is probably the most interesting - bugger!!!

Originally Posted by fluxcored

Marc, I found a book by Charles Holtzappfel on Google Books - Turning and Mechanical Manipulation

I think he's of the famous Holtzappfel clan and the book contains sections on free hand + ornamental turning, etc.

It seems to be an interesting read. It's free for download. Volume 1,2,3,4 is at archive.org - I can't find Volume 5 and 6 which is probably the most interesting - bugger!!!

I found this site and downloaded a few but didnt dig into any yet..something about reading books online, I cant concentrate..I need paper
http://www.archive.org/search.php?qu...on%3Aamericana

There are also the Holtzappfel books there but I cant find them anymore. I think I searched wrong.
maybe this :
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=Holtzapffel