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jdowning
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I have never tried it but Basswood is likely too 'soft' for making durable instrument pegs - good for carving though.
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Edward Powell
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Hey JD, this is another of your GREAT threads... highly inspiring!
Lately I have been really frustrated about pegs. . . I have so many instruments lying around unplayable due to me cannibalizing them for pegs cuz of
lack of having enough!
gotta solve this problem --- thinking about ordering 1000 from somewhere. . . got a line on ordering a 1000 from Calcutta for about $600 all told...
but how do I know they will be good quality. . . and even arrive for that matter. . .
Just now got the idea to just go ahead and spend that same $600 on purchasing a mini-lathe (!) and simply make my own pegs!
...but seeing this thread it struck me that if I would simply have a small motor handy it ought to be really easy to simply BUILD my own little peg
making lathe??? Any thoughts on this?
I can't really think what else I would use a lathe for other than pegs....... however, saying this, I would imagine that once I would have a lathe
probably i would end up using it all the time for tons of things.... I remember that Faruk's partner Svat's main axe is his trusty lathe - he
basically does everything on it - it seems to be a fantastic TOOLMAKING machine.
...so maybe worth to get the 'real' lathe. . . .
any thoughts, anybody?
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jdowning
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A lathe is one of the most useful tools to have around a workshop.
Pegs can be made freehand on a very basic small woodworking lathe powered by an electric motor costing nowhere near $600 - and when making pegs
repetitively in batch quantities they can be quite consistent in dimensions.
More versatile is a metalworking lathe that can be adapted for production peg making as well a wide range of metal fabrication work including milling.
My lathe is a metalworking lathe - a British Myford ML7 - powered by a 3/4 HP motor with a work capacity of 18 inches between centres and 3 1/2 inch
'swing' (clearance) over the bed. Sadly the Myford company just recently went out of business unable to compete with low cost Chinese lathes.
The ML7 is not a mini lathe but no doubt these lower powered lathes would serve for peg making as well as for small metal working projects however,
low power = lighter cuts = slower progress. One disadvantage of the low cost mini lathe is that the lowest speed limits the diameter of work that can
be handled - but this should not be a problem for cutting pegs where the small diameter requires a higher rotational speed.
Lee Valley of Ottawa sell a high precision 'Taig' mini lathe. The basic metal working version costs $268. Then - like most lathes - there are the
essential extras such as the electric motor ($119 new), 4 jaw chuck ($67), cutting tools etc.
Busy Bee Tools, Princess Auto and KBC Tools of Canada all sell small imported metalworking lathes of the mini type. I have not checked their websites
recently so cannot comment on what is currently available.
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Edward Powell
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aha... so metal working lathes are more useful, but more expensive?
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Edward Powell
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do u think something like this would suffice for making pegs?
http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-shop/stationary-wood-lathes/8-i...
cool.... i didn't realise a small wood lathe could be attained so affordably... i will go out and snag one just for pegs. Afterall right at the
moment i need well over 100 pegs just to get all my current instruments in playable condition... so for the cost of those pegs I could buy the lathe
and the wood to cut 100 nice pegs for myself... (and more)
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jdowning
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It would likely be OK for peg turning although from the user comments it is not best quality construction. A similar machine is being sold by Busy Bee
Canada for $189 plus tax and shipping - not sure if it is better made though.
Worth checking around for similar alternatives - such as mini wood lathes intended for pen turning. You will also need some small wood turning
chisels.
Also check out YouTube for tutorials on how to make your own mini woodworking lathe starting with a small electric motor (e.g. old sewing machine
motor with variable speed control). A simple mini lathe does not need to be made from cast iron - wood is good.
Suitable small surplus electric motors are often sold at low cost by Princess Auto of Canada.
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jdowning
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For interest, check out 'Moroccan Bow Lathe' on YouTube for a video of master craftsman Mostopher Duouch using 1000 year old technology (a bow lathe),
his hands and feet, and a skew chisel to make intricate chessmen turnings. Astonishing skill!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wnv0DA...
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jdowning
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Edward - Canadian Tire have a similar version of that mini wood lathe on sale this week - with three piece chisel set included - for $99.99 Can.
However, the user reviews confirm that the quality is rather questionable - the plastic handles easily break (but can be replaced with bolts) and the
chisels are of poor quality etc. Motor power seems to be OK for small work.
So you get what you pay for.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Ep...
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Edward Powell
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HI John
Thanks so much for the heads up! ...however I'm now based in Czech. I have been looking for such a deal over here - should be possible (thinks to
China!). In fact I just can't believe how cheap these tools are becoming. . . just yesterday I walked into a store and bought a new electric planer
for $35. It has an 82mm planing width, so I will just build a small "table" for it and I got myself a small jointer that won't blow the house
electricity!
BTW I temporarily solved my 15cm soundboard piece cutting problem without having to buy a large highpowered expensive bandsaw. I bought a tiny table
saw (new $80) and a 1.2mm blade (that was expensive and not good quality - but table saw blades really seem not only extremely important to the
process, but also very expensive!)... So I make two passes from above and below on the table saw then cut the middle uncut bit out with a hand
saw... this easily gives me 15cm SB pieces, and now the mini jointer will greatly improve this process.
I admit that I do like this new availablilty of cheap low-powered mini powertools. They don't clutter your shop or blow your normal house wiring, and
they can speed up the work majorly! ...and do not require a huge investment.
The downsides are many however.... quality companies going out of business, slave labour in China, what to do with the tool when it burns out in 5
years?
...sorry, a bit off topic ;-)
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jdowning
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The best approach with the cheap Chinese made machine tools is to regard them as a kit of parts - a starting point requiring some work to improve fits
and finish and possibly replacement of some low grade components such as bearings and cheap plastic bits. For the 'low cost' mini metal working lathes
there seems to be lots of information on the Internet about how to improve or modify them for greater accuracy and performance.
At the other end of the spectrum many (but not all) of the Chinese made precision measurement tools (micrometers, calipers etc) are quality made and
excellent value.
Glad that the low cost/low power table saw set up works for you.
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