Wood lathe and stem making

[thejayrob]

I have been using a forstner bit and delrin on my pipe stems. I haven't had the best luck due to the fact that the stem material was only being held on two sides using the inside of two tower jaws. Getting a flush fit has been impossible. There always seems to be light shining through the joint.

My thoughts have now turned to using my wood lathe with a four jaw spigot set and turning an integrated tenon using the tenon cutter on Pipe Makers Emporium. Has anyone used these tools and if so how well does it work? Thank you in advance for your response.

[sandahlpipe]

The PME tenon cutter works ok, though it is really difficult to adjust. You could turn an integral tenon on the wood lathe with the regular wood turning tools and probably be better off. Getting a flush fit is often a matter of sharp tools and the work not moving between drilling and facing operations.

[thejayrob]

so instead of purchasing the tendon tool I should maybe get the spigot jaws and a Easy Start Rougher 3/8" Carbide Woodturning Tool. Thoughts? I believe it is the same sort of cutting tool.

[Joe Hinkle Pipes]

Take the jaws off the chuck and use the 4 jaw mounts to grip the rod stock. They are tapered to a point and should do a better job of holding the material.

[scotties22]

so instead of purchasing the tendon tool I should maybe get the spigot jaws and a Easy Start Rougher 3/8" Carbide Woodturning Tool. Thoughts? I believe it is the same sort of cutting tool.

This is my setup on my woodlathe.

Cheapy Woodriver chuck and pen jaws from Woodcraft (about $80)
A mini Easy Wood Tools Rougher (square cutter, not the radius)
A mini Easy Wood Tools Detailer
A lot of trial and error

Go slow, check often and plan on sanding that last two thousanths (sp?...my brain stopped working ) off for the best finish

[caskwith]

Buy a metal lathe.

See that wasn't so hard was it

[Charl]

[pipedreamer]

Pick what size you want, this is mainly for the wood lathe. Take a 1/4 " open end wrench, sharpen the top ( longer) tine30 to 45 degrees down to its'inner flat. Cut the wrench in half more or less, then drill out a 2 inch hole deep in some 1 and 1/2" dowel rod, oak is good.Epoxy that in the rod let dry overnight.Now you have a turning tool that will turn a good tenon every time. This works well. Always turn stock down to size with your preferred tool, and when you are close, then apply this tool and it will turn it fast and clean.Wood turners know this already.I have 3 lathes and find it still a useful tool when needed.Get the wrenches at the cheap place, they work. I love having many ways to do things and lots of tools, that work! I like Scotties way also. The Easy wood turning tools are great! They give good results. Hope this makes life easier. Also those little chuck and jaws from Pennstate.com that Scottie mentioned, are worth their weight in gold imho.

[LittleBill]

I started out turning the tenons on my wood lathe. I used a wood scroll chuck with the #1 jaws and a very sharp parting tool to turn the tenon. If you put a small dimple in the end where you will be drilling the airway, you can use the live center for more stability. This method worked reasonably well for me, but it is important to go very carefully when you get close to your target diameter. It is very easy to overshoot and have to start over again.

I would recommend practicing for a while on some scrap material to get your tool technique polished. Otherwise, you will be no better off than you were when you were using the Forstner bit. With some practice you can get a dead on flat surface.

[pipeguy]

Tim West(J H Lowe) Has a Micro adjusting tenon cutter that's very easy and quicker to use I have one for repairs its great.

[scotties22]

He has been out of them for a while.

[thejayrob]

wow. Lots of great information. I just purchased the a Easy Start Rougher 3/8" Carbide Woodturning Tool and a set of pen jaws from woodcraft. I'm going to practice on a bunch of acrylic that I don't really care about first. I'm very interested in using the wrench tool method as well. Thanks so much for all the info guys. And if anyone knows of a good metal lathe for sale hit me up. Thanks everyone.

[PremalChheda]

I think many wood lathe pipe makers "Metal Lathes are for Sissies" just eye it using a skew. Quick and easy to sharpen the tool. Touch up with sand paper and a little buffing compound.

I have done this a couple times on a friends wood lathe before I got a metal lathe. The results were very good and all it took was a couple of practice cuts and steady hands.