Yarn bowl question

Re: Yarn bowl question

John Veerkamp

I outline my "j"slot in pencil on the bowl. Then I drill a hole at the top of the short leg and cope the rest. Sanding with drimmel and the by hand.

There's other methods, but this works for me.

Depends on the knitter (cat doesn't care)

Ken Vaughan

The knitter I live with likes a wide top with flowing curves (think nautilus shell) with very smooth rounded surfaces. Fret saw and abrasives after drawing lines and getting approvals.

Cutting the slot while on the Chuck is good, especially using the carving stand.

Cutting a yarn slot

David Gilbert

I've made a lot of yarn bowls for my daughter to sell and have tried a variety of methods to cut the J slot. We like the slot to be at least 1/8" wide and most saws don't cut that wide. I found that a pinhole Japanese saw works very well to cut the slot and is easier to control than a western saw but gives a narrow kerf. In order to get a wider kerf I glued two of these blades together with CA glue and this works very well. I draw the line I want, cut the slot, and drill the hole at the end since sometimes the saw wants to go its own way and not yours. Once the slot is cut the problem is then to widen and smooth it. I use cloth backed sandpaper from 80 - 400 that is folded over on itself so I can pull it through the slot and sand both edges of the slot.

There is one problem that I haven't seen mentioned in these yarn bowl discussions and that is how to hold the damn bowl. Since I cut the slot after finishing, I can't use a chuck. I have been using my vacuum system to hold the bowl. I built some MDF plates that I plug my vacuum into and mount on my workbench. This enables me to hold the bowl at the right angle for sawing and sanding. It takes me about 30 minutes to cut and finish a yarn slot and then I use MAO to seal the slot.

Re: Yarn bowl question

John K Jordan

I don't remember who, but after cutting the slot one turner who made a lot of yarn bowls said he used this small pneumatic file to smooth the slot:

http://www.amazon.com/Central-Pneumatic-Round-Triangular-Files/dp/B006ZB8ZMS

I bought one and it seems like it would make that task easier.

JKJ

Harbor Freight is much cheaper *LINK*

Dick Coers

I don't have one, but $20 minus a 20% off coupon would make it a cheaper experiment. There was an article in the AAW Journal of making a wood support over the bowl on the lathe and using a router with guide bushing. Much easier if you make several bowls.


http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=pneumatic+file

Re: Yarn bowl question

doug williams

I made some this winter and got a 1 inch by 8 thread bolt and nut, and clamped it in a vise while still in the chuck. You can adjust the bowl for your optium sawing angle. One thing I found out was to keep the saw blade pointed to the center of the bowel as you cut down your slot to get some kind of constant evenness of the slot. Like sawing a compound slot.

Re: Harbor Freight is much cheaper

John K Jordan

I saw the router method but wasn't sure I liked the idea that the shapes would be limited to the template(s) you made. Some of the more interesting yarn bowls I've seen creatively incorporated figure and knots in the yarn slot design. I have a compact recip saw I want to try, probably with a customized blade and a modified foot for support against the bowl.

I'm sure Harbor Freight would be a better option if you have one close. For me, the the click and 2-day delivery was the easy way out compared to driving 60 miles and taking a couple of hours away from the farm! I've been to Harbor Freight exactly once in the last 40 years.

JKJ

Re: Yarn bowl question

Ralph Watts

Ron,

All of the methods described will result in a satisfactory result. I have made a few of these but use a totally different method. If you have a Dremel or other rotary device that will hold a small burr, try cutting a shallow groove along your layout line for the slot. Then slowly widen and deepen the slot with the burr until you have completed the slot. Thinner walls make the job easier. Ebay has a good selection of carbide burrs (inexpensive) that work great. And you don't need to clamp the piece in place. Your lap will work OK for holding the bowl while cutting. Good luck, Ralph

I have a dilemma with Harbor Freight

Dick Coers

after reading about how the Father and other senior management were treated when the son came into power. It's a crazy read. But since Woodcraft closed, it's the only place to go look around besides the big home improvement stores. I still can't get used to the smell of Chinese rubber though. I always wonder what kind of trash they put into the mix to get it to smell like that?

I asked Google why Chinese rubber stinks

Dick Coers

and my favorite response was "it smells like the lost hopes and dreams of American blue collar families!"

Re: Harbor Freight is much cheaper

john Lucas

The air saws work great if you replace the blade with a wood working blade. I buy jig saw blades with the right number of teeth and then regrind the tang to fit the airsaw. I don't have mine in my hand but if I remember correctly you have to thin the tang. easy to do with a grinder. The metal saws that come with it have too fine a set and burn the wood.

I wonder about adhesive sandpaper on the blade

Dick Coers

instead of a file. I would think a metal file would fill very quickly, and not cut the wood. But if a guy glued or used adhesive backed sandpaper on that modified hacksaw blade, if it would work better.

Re: I asked Google why Chinese rubber stinks

Wayne Kuhn

The smell of Chinese tears