Router Plane

Monday, January 22, 2018

Wood Balls, Mallet & Overlapping Circles - #8 A Seam Ripper

This is the last post in this series of turned pieces.  It is a small present for a friend who does a lot of sewing.  For those of you who are wondering what a seam ripper is, it’s a small tool used in sewing.  The primary use is ripping stitches.  The most common form consists of a handle, shaft and head. The head is usually forked with one side flattening out and becoming a blade and the other side forming a small point.  Here is an inexpensive plastic model.

This is not a difficult turning project and the sequence is pretty much the same for a variety of small items like pens, mechanical pencils, letter openers, bottle stoppers, etc.  There are a whole array of kits available that contain the necessary hardware.  This is the pieces in this kit. 

I start by selecting the wood.  Since this is a small piece that will be held and viewed at close range I wanted to use an interesting piece of wood.  Leopardwood was my choice as it has an interesting grain.  After cutting and squaring up a blank about ¾” square I chucked it up in the lathe chuck and drilled a hole length-wise.  The hole will vary by what you are making and the required size is in the instructions.  In the photo below you can see the setup.  If you look at the scroll chuck on the left side you can see a piece of wood sticking out the side.  That’s to provide backup to the blank for two reasons.  First to provide a stop so when drilling I don’t push the blank through the chuck.  Second, so when the bit exits the blank I have a nice clean cut without any chipping or blow-out.  I have on occasion had the bit grab on exit and split the blank turning it into fireplace kindling.

Next is to glue a brass tube into the drilled hole.  This is the tube sanded to remove any oxidation so the glue bonds well.  The pencil is my “brass tube insertion tool” 😊.  The blank is longer than the tube so the pencil helps me insert and center the tube in the blank.


I use Gorilla Glue which is an expanding polyurethane glue cured with moisture.  The left photo below is after the glue has foamed and cured.   Once that is done I cut most of the wood that extends beyond the tube off with the bandsaw.  The top right image shows the tool I use to trim the wood end flush with the brass tube and the bottom right shows what it looks like ready to turn.


The blank can now be mounted on the mandrel along with a couple of bushings.  These photos are of just the mandrel and bushings then with the blank mounted are ready to turn.


The mounted blank is turned to whatever profile you desire.  I decided to turn the handle to a larger diameter than what the instructions suggest.  I used my wife’s hands as a testing subject since her and the gift’s recipient hands are nearly the same size.  It’s always good to size the tool for the user.  The goal here is to provide a handle that is comfortable to grip and easy to use.



I can now apply the finish which is a lacquer based friction drying polish.  It is applied wet using a small cloth then cured via the heat generated from the spinning handle and the cloth.  It is quick and after a few coats builds up a nice protective glossy finish.
 

Last step is to assemble the parts.  Most of the time with these kits the various pieces are held together using a press fit.  For this piece I used my bench vise.  The pine facing is soft enough to not mar the finished surface of the different pieces.  For a little extra insurance, I added a cloth buffer between the metal cap and the vice face.


When all completed the finished piece looks like this all ready to use.



When not in use the business end of the ripper is reversed and stored in the handle.  That way it is protected from damage and from stabbing the unsuspecting user.

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