Wednesday, April 3, 2019

How to make a DIY sphere making jig for the lathe


















Tools and materials I propose:

This is a simple ball making jig for your lathe. I used 9mm plywood, 6mm threaded rod, washers, nuts and an old woodturning scraper to make it. 

First of all I made a prototype. Knowing that the basic idea worked, it was time to make the final version of the jig. 

I begun by cutting all the parts for the base on the table saw. 

I used the live center of the lathe to align the jig with the center of the lathe. 

Then I glued and nailed the pieces of the base together. 

I cut the curved sides on the bandsaw. I used the first cut piece as a template for the other one. 

I glued and nailed the sides in place but I also reinforced them with screws. 

To make the cutter I used an old, cheap woodturning scraper.

I roughly shaped it with the grinder. Water helped me keep the tool cool. Then I tilted my grinding wheel’s tool rest a by few degrees and sharpened the edge of the cutter.

I made a groove on the table saw to keep the cutter in place. I added some material on the bottom of the cutting mechanism so the cutting edge was just under the center of the lathe.

A piece of steel and a couple of threaded rods with nuts and bolts keep the cutter in place. 

To make a knob for the top I silver soldered a butterfly nut on a 6mm threaded rod. 

At this point the jig was ready for a test. First I prepare the stock so the jig can reach as far as possible. Then I tried it out. I did shallow passes instead of deep fast cuts.

It worked nicely. I hope you’ll find my ball making jig useful!

See you soon with a new project video! 




Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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