turning oregon

[Billy]

Hi fellow turners,
Im making a model car in the style of a hotrod.
The wheels are;rear...100mm x 55mm, front...80mm x 40mm.
Ive cut out the rough shapes on the bandsaw and started turning one of the rears but...even though the grain is quite tight for oregon the chisels seem to "chatter" on the timber, what Id like to know is...is that typical for oregon? should I use another kind of timber ? :?
I keep the chisels sharp and Im not aggressive with them, just taking a little off at a time.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.:D
cheers, billy:)

[wheelinround]

Billy thats the nature of the wood if the rings are closer together it better but I have turned a small bowl or two with ring further apart. What I did was used an oil let it harden overnight after burnishing it in and what a difference.:2tsup:

Ken from the Sydney wood sale has some Coachwood which would do nicely.

[Ozkaban]

:whs:

Oregon isn't fun to turn. Cuts easily as it;s so soft but tear out is terrible. Can you use a different timber for the wheels? It would be a lot easier.

Cheers,
Dave

[Billy]

Thanks guys,:D what sort of oil wheelin?:?
Yes I have some nice hardwood but it isnt quite thick enough. I could run some through the thicknesser at the mens shed and laminate two pieces together to make up the thickness.
Would titebond 1 be good enough for that? Ive got some epoxy 2 part glue I could use.
One of the fellas at the shed insists I put tread on them, :rolleyes:, so I'll use the oregon ones as experiments and see how that goes.
Loving this lathe , so smooth and quiet, makes a mess though.
Have cut three small grooves about 2mm deep, segmented the radius into 16. Will put the wheel on small bandsaw with the table tilted and make 16 cuts into the tread area same depth as existing ones.By tilting the table hopefully will get treads at an angle (see pencil line, pic 3)

[Ozkaban]

They look really schmick actually :2tsup:

I'd love to see the finished prototype.

Cheers,
Dave

[wheelinround]

Sorry Billy I use either Rustins Burnishing oil or Macadamia or Walnut oil from supermarket to harden up wood gives a better surface.

I like the idea of the tread it would look good, a jig set up with the wheel on the lathe using a dremel would do it very well. Sort of Ornamental turning ok very much so :;

[robo hippy]

Well, you have me very curious. Being from the state of Oregon, I have never heard of 'oregon' as a wood. Can you be more specific about what it is? Almost looks like Douglas Fir.

robo hippy

[rsser]

Yeah, it's Douglas Fir.

FWIW Billy as you can see, the stuff has distinct early and late growth. So distinct diffs btwn hard and soft wood.

Dunno what you're trying to turn it with. But try to get a true face on one end, register your tool bevel on that and progress across.

[rsser]

PS if you're using a skew then barely touch the bevel.

[AUSSIE]

I have a metal turning lathe and have an adapter to fit a wood chuck to it.
I put in a lump of oregon and turned it using a TC metal turning tool bit.
No tearout or chatter.I am still learning.

[Billy]

Started off by putting a faceplate on the back and screwing it down, the piece ran true.
Used a small gouge to take it down to round on the outside and cut into the centre.
Then used skew to finish up on the inside, didnt get tear out on the inside only the outside.
I have run two pieces of hardwood through the thicknesser and glued them together using techniglue 2 part.
Tuesday I'll take that to the shed and cut it into rough rounds ready for the lathe.
Think I'll go to carbatec and check out some good quality chisels/gouge/etc as Im only using a small cheap set.
As for the oregon, Im not sure if it has a name other than oregon although douglas fir could be right. Ive got a couple of big pieces of it here to use, maybe they will behave better. Used to make small racing cars with ladder grade oregon (see blog photo album) but never turned it. I think that was cut differently to the stuff Im using now, as if the grain was at 90 degrees to "normal". Generally speaking, what easily available hardwoods are best for turning?
cheers, billy:)

[robyn2839]

sounds like chisel is not sharp enough and turned too slow,i turn oregon all the time making hat blocks and have no probs , you could try sanding sealer ,will help , but speed it up and use sharp tools,and look at the angle you present to the wood, forget the oil (not needed)....bob

[RETIRED]

sounds like chisel is not sharp enough and turned too slow,i turn oregon all the time making hat blocks and have no probs , you could try sanding sealer ,will help , but speed it up and use sharp tools,and look at the angle you present to the wood, forget the oil (not needed)....bobI agree with Bob.
The other thing to watch with hard growth ringed timber is that you do not ride the bevel too hard and bounce off each ring and "fall" into the soft.

For something that size the speed needs to be as fast as you can get it, 2500 RPM plus.

[Billy]

The lathe is on whatever speed it was set at the factory, will investigate and get it up to top speed.
I did the tread cutting, didnt look that good. Wont be doing it again. Will leave "tyres" slick.
Have started drawing up plans for chassis, will be putting steering on the front wheels (not connected to a steering wheel)just a system to manually turn wheels left and right.Doing some moonlighting at a chemical installation at Botany while on holidays, finish tomorrow so can get stuck in to the car for a bit,then a week fishing at Hat Head.cheers, billy