Netsuke Tutorial Page 5

I use a Sherline metal cutting lathe for making the small tapered pegs we need. I simply place each approximately square peg in a three jawed chuck and turn them round. The tiny Sherline lathe is absolutely perfect for this operation, and chews through wood like it was butter. here's alink to the Sherline Web site: http://www.sherline.com/

For turning tapered pegs, I simply rotate the Sherline headstock a few degrees clockwise. This is a feature that seems unique to the Sherline lathe. See the blue arrow above and note the small angle the headstock makes with the base (near the arrow).

I turn the square pegs round, leaving the tapered peg fairly thick, as above.

At this point, I reduce the thickness of the peg in small steps, as above. Since the pegs we need are much smaller than a pencil lead, I have to approach the turning like this. As the peg becomes very thin, the wood will flex away from the cutting tool and not be cut. Steps like above leave the wood thick enough not to flex very much.

I adjust the crossfeed with the cutting tool at the very tip of the stepped peg until I'm cutting almost a sharp point on the peg. Now as I cut the peg towards the headstock, the thick steps will keep the very thin peg fro flexing away from the cutting tool. When the peg is complete, I make a shallow cut into the peg's base (see the inset picture above). This will allow me to snap the peg off without damaging the very thin wood.

Above are all of the pegs I've turned. The entire group took about 45 minutes.

	Adding Elements to Carvings: Ladybugs
I use a Sherline metal cutting lathe for making the small tapered pegs we need. I simply place each approximately square peg in a three jawed chuck and turn them round. The tiny Sherline lathe is absolutely perfect for this operation, and chews through wood like it was butter. here's alink to the Sherline Web site: http://www.sherline.com/ For turning tapered pegs, I simply rotate the Sherline headstock a few degrees clockwise. This is a feature that seems unique to the Sherline lathe. See the blue arrow above and note the small angle the headstock makes with the base (near the arrow). I turn the square pegs round, leaving the tapered peg fairly thick, as above. At this point, I reduce the thickness of the peg in small steps, as above. Since the pegs we need are much smaller than a pencil lead, I have to approach the turning like this. As the peg becomes very thin, the wood will flex away from the cutting tool and not be cut. Steps like above leave the wood thick enough not to flex very much. I adjust the crossfeed with the cutting tool at the very tip of the stepped peg until I'm cutting almost a sharp point on the peg. Now as I cut the peg towards the headstock, the thick steps will keep the very thin peg fro flexing away from the cutting tool. When the peg is complete, I make a shallow cut into the peg's base (see the inset picture above). This will allow me to snap the peg off without damaging the very thin wood. Above are all of the pegs I've turned. The entire group took about 45 minutes.
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