Case Formers

[mikeee]

Started working on a 12" segmented case former this weekend.

This will have about 16 segment rings laminated to form the billet.

 

Edited December 20, 2015 by mikeee

[mikeee]

Worked on a few tools today, someone requested a laminated plywood case former tools and the effect is

interesting and the tool should be stable for many years. Also working on a set of hollow wood balls 6", 8", 10" that nest

inside each other, these are used on the Wasp machine to make hemi casings, still working on the 12" ball.

 

 

[OldMarine]

Mikee, do you use those balls on the wasp to tape up a hemi then cut it off? Haven't graduated to shells yet so I'm wondering.

[mikeee]

Oldmarine,

 

Yes, you wrap a layer of saran wrap around the wood balls and past about an 1/8" of tape onto the ball

and let it dry and cut it along the equator line and remove the two hemi halves. The north and south poles

of the wood balls have a 1/4" recessed hole to accept a rare earth magnet which allows the user to mark the

north and south pole after the ball is wrapped, you then measure between the north and south pole and locate

the center equator. There is a narrow slot cut into the ball around the equator to guide your razor knife as you

cut the paper hemi's from the wood form. I usually make the wood balls from solid wood and turn them to the

proper diameter so you end up with the correct dimension for the shell casings.

 

If you have a Wasp machine it is handy to have a wood form and make a shell casing when you run short of the

factory produced hemi's.

[mikeee]

Can't remember if I ever posted a photo of the 12" segmented tool I made last month, my old

laptop running on XP was having problems the last couple of weeks.

 

[mikeee]

Here is a set of hollow barrel stave type case formers I made for our club members to use.

These were made from inexpensive pine slats mitered and glued together into a barrel shape

and then turned to size on the lathe. The larger tools ended up being very light weight for the size.

The case formers are 5", 6", 7", 8" 10" and 12" in size.

 

[lloyd]

For those who haven't guessed it yet, Mikeee is a VERY accomplished woodworker, and especially-so laminating and turning things from those laminates.

 

He has provided many really elegant case formers for pyros. If you want 'classical' tools, case formers are important among them.

 

Lloyd

[mikeee]

Made several more tools from laminated composite woods.

 

 

[mikeee]

Finished a set of hollow wood nested balls for use on the Wasp machine. (6, 8, 10, 12)

 

Edited February 21, 2016 by mikeee

[mikeee]

Found my power supply for my Tesla Coil and put it to work today.

 

Put a Lichtenberg design on a case former, the high voltage signatures are really unique.

 

[lloyd]

Mikee, I've said elsewhere, but will say it here, too: I've owned a large Tesla coil in the past, and was 'interested' by those patterns.

 

Now you've put them to a very artistic use!

 

LLoyd

[Ubehage]

Nice work!

How much would you charge for a 3" and 5" case formers shipped to Denmark, Europe?

[Fulmen]

Mikeee: You know, at some point this simply becomes shameless bragging

[MrB]

Who cares, this is wood-turning pornography!

;- )

[mikeee]

Here is a better photo image of the Lichtenberg figures.

 

[mikeee]

Here are several additional Lichtenberg pieces I made this week.

Bob Ross would be proud of me they look just like trees. :-)

 

 

[mikeee]

Finished turning a 6" Walnut Case Former with short flat handle today.

These short flat handles allow the case former to balance on the handle while working the paper pleats.

 

[mikeee]

Finished a 14" wood ball form for the Wasp machines.

 

[mikeee]

This is an 8" Segmented Kentucky Coffee Tree case former, the lighter colored pieces are sap wood and the darker pieces are heart wood.

The center row of segments are the dark colored pieces but depending on the angle of light hitting them they change in color as you rotate the piece.

 

[chuckufarley]

Mikeee,

 

That looks great. I've done my fair share of segmented wood bowls, I definitly understand the dificulty of a piece like that.

 

What do you use to for making precision repeatable angles for those segments? I used a powered miter saw (after painstakingly adjusting it square) but was always a challenge with so many small, shallow angles.

[dagabu]

I make bowl segments using my table saw, no need to measure each cut and a flip- cut can be used when using a stripped board of alternating colors. I understand that this method is used primarily.

 

Mikee?

[chuckufarley]

Dag,

 

That's what I was wondering. I had thought an adjustable sled for the table saw ( or numerous dedicated ones) would work better. Wasn't sure though. Thanks

[mikeee]

There are a number of ways to produce the segments, some are quick and easy, the older methods slower.

They make a precision miter gauge for making accurate angle cuts, Incra makes several different models.

Some people use a miter saw with a stop to set the length of each segment, setting the angle can be a challenge depending on the degree of angle..

Some people use a table saw sled with a miter angle adjustment.

The newest method which is quick and accurate is a table saw sled with (2) opposing adjustable miter gauge angles.

A precision angle template is placed between the two miter gauge angles to calibrate the angles, each segment cut is a perfect angle.

[chuckufarley]

Thanks Mikeee,

 

Its always interesting to hear about how other people do things. Its been a while since I fired up my lathe, I might have to dust that off again. I like the idea of the sled for the table saw. Once you get the angles locked in, it must be nice and simple to cut all the segments you will need.

[mikeee]

Thanks Mikeee,

 

Its always interesting to hear about how other people do things. Its been a while since I fired up my lathe, I might have to dust that off again. I like the idea of the sled for the table saw. Once you get the angles locked in, it must be nice and simple to cut all the segments you will need.

There are a number of tutorials on YouTube that provide details on building a table saw sled for cutting precise angled segments. There is a link for a woodworker that is making angle templates for cutting different angles on the sled. There is another website that has a cheat sheet for determining the number of segments for any size of ring and provides the length of the segment needed to end up with the correct circumference of ring. Another common sense method is to draw a circle and divide the circle in the number of segments needed and measure the length on the outside edge to determine the length of each segment to cut. Depending on the wall thickness you need for your project you can cut a wider or narrower wood plank for your segments.

 

A similar method used for cylinders, bowls, case formers, etc is a barrel stave cut at precise angles and glued into a cylinder and then turned on the lathe. You can maximize the use of the wood needed to make the item and all of the exposed surface is side grain wood. There is a cheat sheet on the internet that provides details for the angles needed and lengths needed for each stave to make your cylinder.

 

http://www.spacecoastwoodturners.com/newsletter/Segmented_Turning_Table.pdf

 

Edited July 24, 2016 by mikeee