Wood turning help?

[Atlexus]

I have a friend that turns wood as a hobby and I thought itd be cool to make a cover cone and drop tip for some ego 18650 batteries. Anybody know any guides or advice that would help do this correctly?

-Atlexus

 

[eHuman]

He would need a mini lathe I think as a standard size one is to big to handle the small pieces. There are lathes available specifically designed to make wooden ball point pens and things of that size.

 

[alekos557]

Have him turn a couple of pens. The skill set is the same.
Just measure the diameter of batt tube or whatever, drill a blank. make a mandrel out of a dowel.
Sand, glue, and insert body into wood blank.
And turn.

 

[fourtytwo]

Any fairly good wood lathe should be fine for turning wood parts.
+1 on the pen making thing.
There are a bunch of Youtube vids on that and should be a good start on ideas. A lot of the pen turning tooling can also be used.
One thing to be careful of in making drip tips, make sure you seal the wood well.

 

[alekos557]

Harbor freight has some inexpensive lathes for $100ish.
And Sorby just came out with the Turnmaster tool which will accept 3 different shaped carbide cutters.
While you are shopping get some safety glasses and a dust mask, some of the woods are BAD MOJO to breathe.
I gotta go with fortytwo on the youtube vids, they are great for ideas.
But...I would also suggest that you go to your local woodworkers outlet to take a shop safety class before you start playing.
Just make sure you have fun.....

 

[EagleTa2]

A full size lathe will do just fine. I turn pens on a shopsmith lathe...that also has the capacity to turn a 12" diameter piece over 30 inches long.

As far as the finish...a built up CA finish can be polished to a high gloss shine...and will basically be an acrylic finish when complete.

I'd love to see how it looks when its complete. If your friend needs any turning help, I'd be happy to assist where I can

Thanks

Geo