Delrin for a churchwarden

[NathanA]

I did a search but didn't find anything on this topic.

Tenon fit and stem flushness(? I guess that makes sense) have been my biggest concerns to date. I have switched to delrin tenons and I think it has solved both issues. One problem it didn't solve is the number of my friends and friends of friends who want churchwardens. Not my favorite thing to make, but then again I have people ordering them up front which is nice from a financial perspective. My question is thus:

I am latheless and drill on a press. The milling vise I use is only about an inch and a half deep. What would you recommend for holding an eight or nine inch stem tightly and straightly, so I can face it and drill it to fit the delrin? My first thoughts were maybe some small tubing the stem would fit in or maybe two pieces of wood with a channel routed down the center, but I thought maybe someone else had already come up with a good fix for this problem.

Thanks everyone for your time.

[DMI]

A. Find somebody with them for sale
B. Had you thought of making them in sections, you could tenon and mortice the joins with a decorative band at each. I did this recently with a stem for a prince, it was all going smoothly until I went through them of the stem.



David

[bregolad]

i use the bits of wood with the channel routed out. using soft wood is a good idea, it gives more grip. it also may depend on the height of you drill press. even with the hole through the bottom of a vise and vise platform, it may not be long enough.

one thing to make sure of is facing, mortising, and mounting the delrin all without moving the vise or readjusting the stem material. I know this because i've f***ed up to many times to count. I have a problem with fiddling

[NathanA]

i use the bits of wood with the channel routed out. using soft wood is a good idea, it gives more grip. it also may depend on the height of you drill press. even with the hole through the bottom of a vise and vise platform, it may not be long enough.

Thanks. That's the route I went and it worked pretty well. With so much stem sticking up out of the vise, I had to use a real slow hand to keep from putting too much torque on it and shaking it around. Thanks for the help.