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Baby Rattle Continued fromPage 25ring has just cleaned up. See Figure3. The only sharpening you need todo on the beading tool is to hone thetop face. You should never grind theother parts that were ground to shapeat the factory.Using the skew chisel, I cut avee about 1/2 inch to the left of thering recess and another one aboutone inch further to the left to definethe far left dimension of the rattle,also the end of the handle. Form abead between the handle and thering recess. Make this bead smallerthan the ring diameters, but largerthan the inside diameter of the rings,you don’t want them to slip off.Figure 3. Here the top of thering to be has been cut with theSorby beading tool.The skew chisel is used towiden the space on each side of thebead. You need a 3/8 to 1/2 inchwide vee on either side of the bead.I generally cut straight in on eitherside of the bead with the long pointof the skew. It doesn’t really matterwhich side of the bead you attackwith the ring cutting tools first. I’vedeveloped the habit of cutting onthe right side first and then cuttingthe ring loose with the left sidetool. It takes a little practice to usethese tools. A steady hand and alittle care is all that’s needed. Youdon’t have to be a great woodturnerto cut a very acceptable loose ringwith these tools. The instructionsthat came with the ring cutting toolssaid you can cut rings without usingthe beading tool first, but I’ve foundmy rings are better when the beadingtool is used to cut the top.Figure 4. Here the ring is nearlycut loose. I finally cut the ringloose with the tool on the leftside of the ring.From the Woodcraft catalog,here are the instructions for cuttinga loose ring:(1) cut a bead with a beading tool,(2) cut to depth beside the bead witha parting tool,(3) use the right ring tool to cut therear right of the ring,(4) use the left ring tool to cut therear left of the ring, which will alsoseparate the ring.Once the ring is loose, I takea 3/8 inch spindle gouge and makethe recess deeper to allow the ringto float freely.Make a second loose ring withthe right hand side of the beadingtool just cutting into the vee on theleft side of the ring recess. (SeeFigure 5.) This is done in exactly thesame manner as the first ring. Usethe 1/ 4 inch spindle gouge to cleanup and size the bottom of the ringrecess. I generally cut this down toabout 1/2 to 3/8 inch in diameter.Again its not critical, no need to sizespecifically.Figure 5. Starting the secondloose ring.Form the handle and put intwo decorative vee cuts with theskew. At this time I cut the vee atthe end of the handle down to about1/4 inch. I then shift to the far rightside and turn the piece between thefirst vee cut and the ring recess intoa pleasing knob shape. Babies liketo cut their teeth on this knob, atleast my grandson used his for thatpurpose. Again leave about 1/4 inchof material on the right end, also.(See Figure 6.)Now, you can sand the rattle. Igenerally don’t go finer than 280 or320 grit or a fine grit as some sandpapers are marked. Remember, thisis going into a baby’s mouth and, ifthey are cutting teeth, it will not besmooth for very long. I personallyPage 26 More Woodturning February 2010
find them more attractive if theyaren’t too highly polished.Figure 6. Here the piece is prettymuch ready for sanding.Figure 8. The finished baby rattle. Now ready to ship to mycustomer.Figure 7. The Robert Sorbytools used in this project: (topto bottom) Right hand side tool,beading tool, and left hand sidetool.After I’m satisfied with thesanding job, I cut the vee’s at eachend down to about 1/8 inch, justenough to still hold everything together.I prefer to separate the rattlefrom the rest of the spindle with aknife or saw. I use a knife to pareoff the excess and then hand sandto smooth each end.Add a coat of non-toxic oiland you have a completed rattle. Iused the Mahoney Walnut Oil finish,which works very well. The finishedbaby rattle is not too large, but itmeets the minimum size requirementfor baby toys.This completes the making ofthe rattle, but perhaps you would likea few specifications on the Sorbytools used to make this little item. Ipurchased my tools from Woodcraft,but I believe several other suppliersalso carry these tools. The beadingtools are available in five sizes fromWoodcraft: 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/ 16, and3/8 inch diameter beads. The bladelength is 4-1/2 inches and the ashhandles measure 6-1/2 inches inlength, giving an overall tool lengthof about 11 inches. These tools allowthe making of excellent beadswith much less skill and experiencerequired. I like them because they’refaster and repeatable. A bead madewith the Sorby beading tool will alwaysbe near perfect if care is usedin the cutting process. The pricesvary on these tools depending onsize, but the set of five tools sold for$97.50 in Woodcraft’s 1996 catalog.If you have problems cutting consistentquality beads, these tools shouldhelp solve your problem.The ring cutting tools comein sets of right and left tool. Formaking baby rattles, I recommendthe 1/4” tools. The blades are fiveinches long and the ash handle is8-3/4 inches in length, making a respectablylong tool. The tools comewith full instructions for use. Evenif you’re an expert turner, I believethese ring cutting tools are a worthwhileaddition to your turning tools,if for no other reason than speed. Ican complete a loose ring with thesetools while I’m thinking about it usingonly a skew chisel.Note: In its original form, this articlewas published in the October1996 issue of More Woodturning. Ithas been updated here.More Woodturning February 2010 Page 27
Page 1 and 2: Volume XV, Number 02 February 2010
Page 3 and 4: ContentsRobust Lathe Review........
Page 5 and 6: turning on it for almost 2 years no
Page 7 and 8: Introducing: by Robust ToolsStanda
Page 9 and 10: the depth to which they can be used
Page 11 and 12: Mini-O-Bar and Maxi-O-BarNewsE-mail
Page 13 and 14: Pen Turner’s Corner Continuedfrom
Page 15 and 16: was about $25.00. Figure 2 showsthe
Page 17 and 18: chuck and had to wait what seemedli
Page 19 and 20: sculpture and a Southeastern Artist
Page 21 and 22: that I would say that it would bea
Page 23 and 24: Figure 3. The pen has been complete
Page 25: MAKING A BABY RATTLE — 18th Centu
Page 29 and 30: Testing andCertification of LeadCon
Page 31 and 32: with a Forstner drill to begin thed
Page 33 and 34: Editor’s Books for SaleBooks Writ
Page 35 and 36: Tormek AnnouncesT-7 UpgradesThe thr
Page 37 and 38: as on a fulcrum, and gives to the t
Page 39 and 40: Tilt-A-Matic installs in minutes-ju

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