Popular Woodworking 2007-08 № 163, страница 64

At the Lathe

by judy ditmer

Making Multiples

Sometimes, unique is exactly what you want to avoid when turning.

f you turn, sooner or later you are going to find yourself facing some project that requires several (or many) duplicate turnings. You may feel a brief rush of mild panic, most likely followed by a powerful urge to check your catalog shelf (or browser bookmarks) in search of duplicating equipment that will fit your lathe.

Resist the urge. There may be situations that call for machine duplicators, but in more than 20 years of turning for a living, I have yet to encounter one. Chances are good you can do as well or better without such devices.

With the knowledge of a few basic techniques (and, of course, some practice), you can learn to turn multiple, matching items by hand more quickly than with mechanical duplicators. If you need only to make a few items, you'll save yourself the expense and trouble of buying and fiddling with the device (Rube Goldberg would have loved some of them); if you will be making many copies, your speed and effectiveness will quickly improve anyway.

Matching Needn't Mean Identical

There are usually two primary concerns in turning a batch of matching items. One is, of course, making them match. But be aware that in most cases, this doesn't mean they must be perfectly identical, as if turned by machine. Theyj ust have to look the same. If you were to check out some classic hand-built furniture in a museum (with a tape, caliper and profile gauge) you would probably be surprised to find that there is a fair amount of variation from one spindle to another. And when used

Get a handle on multiples. Turning multiples is not difficult and can be a satisfying accomplishment. You can learn to turn multiples as quickly (and very nearly as accurately) by hand as you could with mechanical duplicators. I once made 175 of these gavels for a client.

in an assembled piece, turnings that are reasonably similar - but not necessarily identical - look fine, if not indistinguishable.

The second concern is speed. If you are turning for pleasure, this may not matter to you at all. However, if you have a fair number of items to produce, you will probably want to be efficient. After all, beyond getting these pieces done, you most likely have other things you want to get to in what may be limited time in the shop.

Beyond an ongoing cultivation of basic turning skills, the key is to set up the j ob in a way that makes repetition simple and minimizes unnecessary actions. Whether you are reproducing an existing item (chair rungs, stair spindles, etc.) or designing something from scratch, turn a few prototypes. Don't

worry about matching them exactly, or how many more you'll make, or about how fast you are going. At this point, you just want to pay attention to developing a logical sequence of cuts, and to get the overall feel of making the object. Time spent here will more than pay off later. The better you understand the job, the easier it will be to increase the speed of making each item.

First, do it right. Then, do it faster. Soon you'll wonder why you ever thought you needed a mechanical helper. And you'll be a better turner, which, as always, will pay off handsomely on your next project.

Judy, author of two turning books and many articles, has been turning since 1985. She teaches and demonstrates her skills throughout the United States and Canada.

76 ■ Popular Woodworking August 2007

photos by al parrish