Advanced Toy Making for Schools

by David M. Mitchell

Sufficient examples are given to enable the student to arrive at a fair understanding of the correct postures.

55. Operating the Lathe.—The lathe is perhaps one of the most important machines used in toy making. It lends itself to unlimited varieties of work and for that reason is really indispensible in the shop.

In Fig. 29 the student is preparing to take the roughing cut in turning a cylinder. This operation consists of removing the corners of the square piece and is done with the tool known as the gouge.

After the roughing cut has been taken, calipers set to the diameter desired will determine the depth of the next cut, sizing cut. The illustration in Fig. 30 shows the student performing this operation with the cut-off tool.

Fig. 31. The paring cut

Fig. 32. Using the cut-off tool

When the correct dimension has been found, the next step in the process of turning a cylinder is the paring cut or finishing cut, Fig. 31. This is done with the skew or bevel chisel. A very thin shaving is removed by this operation.

The ends are then cut by using the cut-off tool as shown in Fig. 32. It is merely taking a slice off the end. If a very thin slice is to be removed, it is usually made by the long point of the skew chisel. If it is more than a quarter of an inch it should be sized and then removed by the skew.