Making shaft question

cbi1000

cbi1000

It is what it is...
Silver Member
I have a question about making shafts. I have 30" shafts dowels, what will i be cutting off to make them 29" shafts?

Do you take .5" off of each end, all off of one one end, or split the amount differently?

I've turned some squares to rounds and now i'm ready to put the tapering on the shafts.

My guess is you have to know where you're going to trim your shaft down to length in order to get your taper correct, yes?

thanks in advance for all the help, as you can see i'm a newbe.
 
cbi1000 said:
I have a question about making shafts. I have 30" shafts dowels, what will i be cutting off to make them 29" shafts?

Do you take .5" off of each end, all off of one one end, or split the amount differently?

I've turned some squares to rounds and now i'm ready to put the tapering on the shafts.

My guess is you have to know where you're going to trim your shaft down to length in order to get your taper correct, yes?

thanks in advance for all the help, as you can see i'm a newbe.
Click to expand...

On my saw shaft tapering machines I have the Taper bars pivot exactly where the joint end of the shaft would be. The taper bar is 34" long with the last 5" or so are just a straight line. This means that my taper is the same from 29" to 34" so of coarse I take the difference of the shaft length off of the tip end of the shaft. Hope this helps.

Dick
 
The 1st thing you have to do is decide which end of your blank, will be the joint end. There is a big difference in most pieces of wood...JER
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
The 1st thing you have to do is decide which end of your blank, will be the joint end. There is a big difference in most pieces of wood...JER
Click to expand...


I know what end will be the joint and what end will be the tip.

thanks,
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
The 1st thing you have to do is decide which end of your blank, will be the joint end. There is a big difference in most pieces of wood...JER
Click to expand...


This is correct, and it brings up a big question that is up for discussion, which end? All sides are not equal on a large amount of shafts, Lets say I have shafts with 12 gpi, and they are perfectly straight grain? Then just pick an end and go. But if its 12 gpi, and straight until the last 2-3 inches on one end, now should the straight end be the tip end, or the joint end? I believe the straight end should be the tip end. Some I've talked to say the straight end should be at the joint because when people count rings, the look back at the joint end, and they might think it's a bad shaft if the grain is alittle wavy at the joint and people don't look at the tip end very often. Which makes me think some do this just for looks, and not function? Which is totaly opposite to what is important in a playing cue. I won't change my thinking on this. But what do others think?

OH, and if someones going to come on and say, If it's not 100% dead straight grain lines, and never a trace of run out, then it never makes it in my shop, Yeah right, and lets be realistic for most OK.

Which end to use and why is the question correct?

If the question is how much to cut off of each/which end, hey you just have to make that dicision on your own, I usualy take from the tip end.
 
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Before I taper a 1 inch dowel, I take them down to .925 round end to end.
Then I roll them on the table and decide which end becomes the tip.
I keep them at 30 inches until I get them down to .530" ends then I cut and ferrule the survivors.
 
This is correct, and it brings up a big question that is up for discussion, which end?
The one you think will be straight and clean for 16 inches from the tip.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Before I taper a 1 inch dowel, I take them down to .925 round end to end.
Then I roll them on the table and decide which end becomes the tip.
I keep them at 30 inches until I get them down to .530" ends then I cut and ferrule the survivors.
Click to expand...


You know what, I said to my brother years ago, that doing it this way wouldn't hurt and might be a better way of doing it, he argued alot about it, and said no, thank Joey, I feel I'm not as crazy now, this method would also save some time/tapering for shafts that have no chance of making it anyway.

REP FOR YOU, I feel vindicated (sp?)

Who else uses this method?
 
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If using taper bars it can vary as to how much comes off of each end, depending on how close to size you want the joint to be when done tapering. For instance a 12mm shaft run on the same bar with the same length driving center will have a smaller joint diameter than a 13mm shaft run on the same bar. So to produce the same size joint right off of the taper bar you will cut more off of the tip end on the 13mm and more off the joint end on the 12mm.
Adjusting the length of the driving dead center will do the same thing. So if you adjust the joint size by moving the dead center in or out then you cut the extra length off of the tip end. Also if you cut the shafts with the rings glued on you have to cut the length off of the tip end.
Otherwise you can just run every piece on your taper bars with an oversized joint and cut it of how you feel best when done turning. You might decide you want a shaft slightly stiffer and cut the inch off of the tip end. Or you might want it slightly more limber and cut the inch off of the joint end.
 
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good post RF...



usually the tip and ferrule are the last things i do on a shaft.

so generally i take it off the tip end

however

i also ask if my customer wants a longer straighter taper or a little fatter in the middle . thats how i decide what end i take from.

fatter comes off the tip

slimmer comes off the back

i dont offer multiple tapers so its a little way i can change it a bit.

either way is right just depends on what you want to do
 
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If I'm going to have any runout, it's going to be at the fattest (joint) end. Picking which end will be the joint, is somthing that comes with learning from your mistakes. You look at the grain. You look at the runout. Then you have to make a judgement as to what this or that end, would look like at .512" ...JER
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
If I'm going to have any runout, it's going to be at the fattest (joint) end. Picking which end will be the joint, is somthing that comes with learning from your mistakes. You look at the grain. You look at the runout. Then you have to make a judgement as to what this or that end, would look like at .512" ...JER
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exactly what i was thinking. well said
 
Cheez Dawg said:
What is a normal amount of time between cuts on a shaft?
Click to expand...


Boy your going to get some answers on this.

Me, 1 month or longer, I know some say every 2 weeks is good enough I go to the beat of my own drummer on this one. .10 each cut. I get down to .900-.880 and then they sit. A shaft isn't ready for atleast a year for us. I know some don't take that long, and some longer. We also used to use nelsonite, haven't used any in about 3 years, I don't knock the stuff, but have been air drying and it's about the same results thus far.


ME BEING FUNNY..............between cuts? what between cuts, I go from 1in to .860, I don't have between cuts, what a newby question that was right guys, hahahaha,,,,,,right guys, guys.
 
RFisher said:
Boy your going to get some answers on this.

Me, 1 month or longer, I know some say every 2 weeks is good enough I go to the beat of my own drummer on this one. .10 each cut. I get down to .900-.880 and then they sit. A shaft isn't ready for atleast a year for us. I know some don't take that long, and some longer. We also used to use nelsonite, haven't used any in about 3 years, I don't knock the stuff, but have been air drying and it's about the same results thus far.


ME BEING FUNNY..............between cuts? what between cuts, I go from 1in to .860, I don't have between cuts, what a newby question that was right guys, hahahaha,,,,,,right guys, guys.
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Wow, that's a lot of time! I can see a lot of time is required to season and ensure straightness!
 
every maker has their own process. they came up with it by trying different things. some take years. shortest ive ever heard is 4 months. im lucky to have a mojjor wood supplier 30 mins away from my house. i can say i do things a hair quicker bc the wood has been sitting in my climate already. i just make sure it wasnt cut yesterday :D
 
I make my first cuts down to .750 they sit for about 2 months then I will take them down .050 every 6 weeks or so until I get down to .550 then I will take .010 off a month until at finish size. I only use nelsonite on my first cut only after that it is all air dried time. I also use a 3 strike law too! Once I have them down to .700 if they move 3 times betweens cuts, guess what happens. They go in the trash!! Maybe a little over kill but it works for me!
 
I keep mine to 30" and when the customer wants a long taper I cut the joint end and shorter stiff taper I cut the tip.
 
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