Popular Woodworking 2006-02 № 153, страница 32

Popular Woodworking 2006-02 № 153, страница 32

Ingenious Jigs

Spindle Dancer Jig

A modern interpretation of a classic trick from old-school turners.

I believe there are two types of wood turners, those who turn for pleasure and those who turn out of necessity. I started in the latter group. I started turning because I needed to make spindles and my goal was to get the best results with the least amount of effort.

Once you've developed some competence for turning, making spindles is easy. And making multiples is just more time. Over the years I've come across articles showing an old turner's trick for multiples. A rod is suspended above the lathe with lengths of wires hung from it. The turner cuts at the spot under each wire until the bouncing wire

swings free, indicating the correct diameter has been reached.

I decided this trick could be applied to a lathe j ig that would work like a profile gauge. Each wire could be adjusted and readjusted for different spindle profiles, and you could use as many or as few wires as necessary. So was born the Spindle Dancer Jig.

by Eric A. Hedberg

Eric is a writer and woodworker in St. Paul, Minnesota. When he isn't designing creative wood-workingjigs, he actually takes time to work on the projects for which they were meant.

The Parts of the Jig

The star of this jig is the dancer. Each tiny dancer pivots on a rod above the lathe. The dancers can be positioned at any location along a threaded rod. The dancer tiptoes on the work on an adjustable rod of wood, bamboo or wire secured with a screw. The offset pivot causes each dancer to swing quickly out of the way when the desired diameter is reached.

The spindle dancer jig has three main components; the dancers and rod, the rod supports, and the setup board. I added a little ledge to the top at the supports. This allows you to keep your template handy.

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Popular Woodworking February 2006