Drawer knobs

[craigmarshall]

I've never done any wood turning whatsoever, although I have access to my bosses record lathe with a screw fitting at one end and a point at the other (i.e. no chuck). I'm allowed to use it in my own time, and wanted to make some drawer knobs...

The knobs I've seen everywhere else have a screw holding them on from the back side of the drawer. When it comes to normal joints and things, I like to use as few screws and nails as possible, and use strong wood-only joints as much as possible such as mortise and tenon, for example.

I'd quite like to have a small shoulder, then a largish round tenon coming through the drawer and with a contrasting cross-grain wedge, then finished flush with the inside of the drawer-front. I think I'll need to turn these as I don't think I've seen them (or ever heard of them) before.

Where do I start? :-)

Craig

PS. I can try and draw a picture and scan/post it if it helps?

[tigerturnings]

If you're the type who likes to read the details of things before/as you do them, then let me recommend the late Keith Rowley's book, "Woodturning: A Foundation Course" (2nd ed.). It's well illustrated and tells you all the basics: what's what on the lathe, what tools to use, how to sharpen and use them etc, with a few projects to practice on too.

You could also have a look at the website homepage.eircom.net/~woodcarving/turning.html which seems, at a quick glance, to be a pretty detailed introduction. With some practice on scrap timber you should be able to achieve the shapes you want reasonably quickly.

A blunt tool is probably one of the most off-putting things for a beginner turner, so you'll need to learn to sharpen whatever tools you use. A light touch is crucial if you use a normal (high speed) bench grinder, or you can overheat the tools and draw the temper. Some recommend practicing sharpening on a cheapish set of tools such as the Axminster Perform set.

Neil

[craigmarshall]

Tigerturnings,

Yes - I am the type to read a lot about whatever it is I'm interested in at the time. I don't like to get things wrong if I can help it, so armed with knowledge is the best way to do anything, I reckon anyway.

I've bookmarked that site you mentioned, will have a look at it later, should be helpful. I'll look for that book on amazon or on our library's website, see if I can get a second hand copy, or borrow one. Thanks for the recommendation.

I am quite into general woodworking, so I have experience sharpening chisels and plane irons. I suppose I have a bit of a foot-up on the non-woodworking-new-to-turning people. I'll try not to burn my bosses lathe tools too :/

Cheers,
Craig