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-   -   Technique needed flattening dowels (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=16747)

scott_mills 07-25-2017 06:35 PM

Technique needed flattening dowels
 
I've searched, and can't seem to find a reliable technique to flatten 1 side of a wooden dowel, ie estes Saturn 5 conduit. I've thought that i might take it to work and clamp it, and machine it with a cnc but that sure seems overkill. Maybe a hole drilled in a block of wood, and using a router to flatten a side. Anyone had a successful technique ?

tbzep 07-25-2017 06:45 PM

The easiest way is to chunk it into your scrap wood bin for future use and buy some 1/2 round stock. ;)

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/pls/pls90887.htm

luke strawwalker 07-29-2017 06:40 PM

Yeah I bought a bunch of half round evergreen styrene at the hobby shop for just this propose.

OL J R

jeffyjeep 07-29-2017 07:46 PM

I've done it. This is how I did it:

I started with my flat Corian board covered with 220 grit. I then cut a piece of straight, 1/4" basswood or birch dowel approx. 6" longer than what I need. I'm right handed, so using the meaty part of my left palm as a guide I hold the dowel in my right hand and pull the dowel across the 220, repeating until half of the diameter is scraped off. It takes a while, but it's not terribly hard to do.

The key is having the 220 grit taped to an absolutely flat surface.

LeeR 07-29-2017 07:51 PM

Jeff,

Did your process also require the use of your Herculean thighs?

Not intending to get personal, just looking for guidance, based on your posts in the past about your Corian board sanding techniques ... :)

GlenP 07-29-2017 08:43 PM

I was thinking a router table would work, if you use a straight bit long as the dowel diameter. You just need to use some feather boards to hold the dowel in place against the table and the fence. Drill a square section block at one end to keep it from spinning. Do not remove a full half in one pass, but take several small shallow passes to work up to the final shape. The outfeed fence needs to have a shim that is about the same thickness as what you are removing in that pass. Like you are edge-jointing a panel on the router table. Note that the dowels will probably warp and twist when you cut them as you are releasing stress grown into the wood grain, so I would keep the lengths fairly short, only slightly longer than the final cut needed.

one example for a really large dowel:
http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/f...s-router-table/

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/etip031114wb.html

http://www.finewoodworking.com/2008...gs-featherboard

jeffyjeep 07-29-2017 09:46 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeR
Jeff,

Did your process also require the use of your Herculean thighs?

Not intending to get personal, just looking for guidance, based on your posts in the past about your Corian board sanding techniques ... :)


My Herculean thighs were not required for the aforementioned operation--the constant rippling of the muscles would have made the Corian board unstable. In this case the Corian board was C-clamped to my bench.

LeeR 07-30-2017 01:53 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffyjeep
My Herculean thighs were not required for the aforementioned operation--the constant rippling of the muscles would have made the Corian board unstable. In this case the Corian board was C-clamped to my bench.


Thanks for the clarification, visual images notwithstanding ...

jeffyjeep 07-30-2017 08:31 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeR
Thanks for the clarification, visual images notwithstanding ...


Any time.


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