Another small table.

Velodog2

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I thought it likely that there be an accessory that would support a thin piece to keep it turning true. I’m honestly not too interested in spending time learning to turn wood on a lathe, unless I absolutely have to do it to make dowels. I’ll find another way hopefully.

But I do love tools. My next purchase is slated to be a good router table and router. They are incredibly useful and the one I have is the absolute cheapest and crappiest. I’m looking at the Kreg system and a 3 1/4 hp Triton plunge router. I need a powerful router to cut raised panels for doors I need to make for the house. I’ve done it using the table saw and would rather not again. I have a good Incra miter guage on my saw but I need a good rip fence system. An oscillating sander and (of course) a good band saw would be nice to haves, and probably necessary to expand into certain designs and sizes. Gotta stop spending money on skiing and ski equipment first ?

Gotta admit those little jewels on that site you posted would be great to work with. But I gotta start making larger tables anyway so best to focus on what I have. I have no doubt boat models would be a blast to make!
 

mcpesq817

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Yeah, I hear you on the tools. I went from building models by hand, to buying a table saw, thickness sander, disc sander, oscillating spindle sander, mill, lathe, and scroll saw - not to mention other implements. I tell my wife that I get use out of them for things around the house or for the kids (which occasionally happens) so she leaves me alone.

A router seems like a really helpful tool. If you are going small, take a look at Proxxon. I think it's a German company, though their tools may be built in China these days. They are very solid tools, and I recall seeing router type tools in their catalog.

Back to the dowels, one thing to consider is a DIY lathe by using a drill. Really all you need is something to stabilize the drill, the right chuck, and something to carve down the dowel to the size you need. When i was trying to shape masts using a lathe, I just let the dowel spin, folded a piece of sandpaper, and held it against the dowel until I got the thickness I needed. See the youtube vid below:

 

Velodog2

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You know, when you start to simplify and demystify the lathe like that it becomes more plausible. Using sandpaper sounds vastly less intimidating than a cutting tool but is essentially the same process. Ideally I would devise a method to provide a consistent diameter. It suddenly sounds doable.

I will check out the proxxon stuff and look for a router table, but I think a full sized setup will work for any sized project, as its really just about a cutter sticking up through a hole with a fence behind it. Even full sized units have inserts w different sized holes to allow work on small items.

Besides the Jet table saw, Shopsmith, and crappy router/table I also have a decent Makita 10” thickness planer (also from dad and very vital), an ok scroll saw, a small cheap band saw (thanks again dad) that I so far never use, and of course a palm sander. Plus a Bose Mini bluetooth speaker. That’s my “shop”. Enough to make some decent stuff with lots of room for upgrades. It’s my winter man cave.
 

PiñonJ

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You know, when you start to simplify and demystify the lathe like that it becomes more plausible. Using sandpaper sounds vastly less intimidating than a cutting tool but is essentially the same process. Ideally I would devise a method to provide a consistent diameter. It suddenly sounds doable.

I will check out the proxxon stuff and look for a router table, but I think a full sized setup will work for any sized project, as its really just about a cutter sticking up through a hole with a fence behind it. Even full sized units have inserts w different sized holes to allow work on small items.

Besides the Jet table saw, Shopsmith, and crappy router/table I also have a decent Makita 10” thickness planer (also from dad and very vital), an ok scroll saw, a small cheap band saw (thanks again dad) that I so far never use, and of course a palm sander. Plus a Bose Mini bluetooth speaker. That’s my “shop”. Enough to make some decent stuff with lots of room for upgrades. It’s my winter man cave.
Mini lathes are really easy to use. It takes no time to learn to use the cutting tools, then you just set calipers to the diameter you want and check frequently as you approach the desired diameter.
 
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