While I let the blanks set I started measuring and marking
out the segmented pieces on the Leopardwood.
This shows the layout for the center two rings. They are a little thinner than the top and
bottom rings because the top and bottom have the thickened bearing edge.
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| Blank Marked up for Ripping to Size |
With the raw stock measured out I ripped the pieces on the
table saw to correct height and thickness plus a bit. Since the stock is square I marked the “Face”
so I would not cut the blanks wrong.
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| Table Saw Setup for Ripping |
Here are all the blanks ready to be cut into the segments.
I set the digital caliper for the calculated distance of
2.556” clamped the stop block in place and was ready to go. If you look close you will notice that I have
a spacer under the stop block to hold it off the jig base. This is to help reduce the possibility of a
chip getting wedged between the stop and the fence wrecking my accuracy.
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| Setting Segment Cutting Jig |
A quick test cut confirmed the jig was set correctly. OK, it's .0005" oversize and I'll take that.
From there the process is to make an end cut to establish
the first end angle then flip the blank, set it against the stop and cut to
length. The white line on the blank will
let me orient the pieces when I number the ring segments in preparation to
gluing.
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| Cutting Segments with Jig |
Here all 18 pieces for the base ring are cut and numbered
along with the blanks for the center rings.
Note that every other segment has a white line on it. I want the chatoyance of the segments to be
as obvious as possible and this will help that out.
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| Gluing Setup |
This is the setup for gluing the segments together. It is the
same as I used on the mounting ring attached to the faceplate fixture.
As before it’s seven minutes of controlled chaos to get
everything done followed by three minutes cleaning up the glue then the ring is
set aside to cure.
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| 1st Drum Ring Gluing |
The next day I started on the second ring. All of the rings have the same outer face
length so I don’t have to reset the jig, it’s simply cutting 18 more segments
and gluing them up just like before. If
you look at the two rings you will note that this one is a narrower by about ¼”. That is because this ring does not have the thickened bearing edge.
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| 2nd Drum Gluing |
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| Ring Marked for Flattening |
After letting the glue cure overnight the hose clamps are
removed and I inspect the ring for any flaws.
Finding none I marked up both faces with a pencil. I do this to act as a guide so as I run the ring through the thickness sander I can determine when to quit. When all the marks are gone the face is true
and flat.
A few passes through the sander cleans up the ring. All told I probably only removed about
1/32”. Below is a before and after
close-up.
With the ring flattened I am ready to glue it to the
faceplate mounting fixture. I started
with the fixture that had been turned true and flattened on the lathe.
To act as a caul I cut a couple of pieces of ¾” MDF applied
glue to the fixture, centered the ring and clamped everything together.
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| 1st Drum Ring Glued & Clamped to Mounting Fixture |
The next day after removing the clamps and cauls I mounted
the assembly back on the lathe. With it mounted I started rounding off the corners of both
the outside and inside. Leopardwood is
very hard and even with sharp tools it is tough work. The inside turning was the most challenging.
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| Mounted on Lathe, Ready to Start Turning |
This is the end result, both outside and inside are turned
so there are no flat spots. What I have is a true centered cylinder that I will use as a guide for mounting the next
layer.
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| Outside and Inside Faces Turned Smooth and True |
To get an idea of where I need to turn down to I marked out
the inner and outer faces of the drum shell.
These marks are for the half inch thickened edge, once past that the inner face
will transition down to a quarter inch. My plan is to turn the inner face to it's finished dimension as I go and leave the outer face as is until all the rings
are in place. I will then turn the outside to size working back toward the fixture. I want to leave as much material as I can for
stability.
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| Guide Lines for Thickened Edge |
Next Up – More Discussion on the Bearing Edge & Adding
Rings
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