More miniature turning.....

rivett608 · Sep 19, 2007

Here is what I'm working on today..... making some miniature 18th century English or Dutch ink stands in 1/12th scale..... about a inch or less long each.... all parts turned from brass..... lids tapered fit..... screwed to the base with a period spanner type header screw (1.0 mm or 00-90).......

I am preparing to teach a class on these in Europe hence the reason they're sitting on a Euro note........ a question.... if you had convert a drawing or object from decimal inches to metric how do you do it? Which is your favorite method, do you use a calculator or the inch/metric button on a pair of digital calipers?

Mud · Sep 19, 2007

Neat stuff once again, Rivett.

I use a calculator. 25.4 mm per inch is burned into ROM in my head. I don't use digital calipers, don't seem to trust them for several reasons.

Old Bill · Sep 19, 2007

Mr. Rivett,
I work at the level of a craftsman, You are at the level of artist. The more I see of your work I think you are part magician. Your work is beyond description. You have been blessed with a gift and you have made the most of
it.
Old Bill

kenh · Sep 19, 2007

An example:

0.0820" = 2.08 mm per Mitutoyo caliper

= 2.0828 mm per calculator.

Another example of perfection, your work is amazing!!

ohgood · Sep 19, 2007

I hate to be the one nitpicker, but --

oh I'm only joking man. Those are awesome work. Thank you for sharing a small bit of your talent with us.

TurningHead · Sep 19, 2007

Neat stuff once again, Rivett.

I use a calculator. 25.4 mm per inch is burned into ROM in my head. I don't use digital calipers, don't seem to trust them for several reasons.

Double Ditto
John

smallshop · Sep 19, 2007

I'm looking at the wee tiny feet under these things and thinking..."how.... :confused:

"

Thanks for sharing these beauties...

25.4 most accurate...

chrisfournier · Sep 19, 2007

I know that we North Ameriacans are getting pretty large but I had no idea that the Dutch were so puny!

Oh, 1/12 scale - forget it...

That is some mind boggling work!

3t3d · Sep 19, 2007

I'm confused. I thought the Dutch were some of the largest peaople on earth... ? Maybe that is a Dutch Euro.

Truly amazing work.
The tiny little feet, the oval tray... Just amazing.

jkilroy · Sep 19, 2007

Upside to small work, think of how long a bar of material goes? I make chips the size of those pieces.

You have got to share some info on the oval tray? Did you turn it with an attachment or is it a build up from flat stock, possibly soldered? Do you use a lot of form tools? If so I want to praise your grinding technique.

David Utidjian · Sep 19, 2007

Who made the candles? They look smaller than standard birthday cake candles.

Very nice work Rivett.

-DU-

oz9ny · Sep 19, 2007

We don't use euro's! See you.

rivett608 · Sep 19, 2007

Thanks on the metric conversion.... I was using my calipers which I kind of figured was the hard way.... some days math just isn't my thing...... and I'm more comfortable with a tool than an electronic thing with a bunch of buttons in my hand.

jK..... Some days it does seem like you can about a million parts out of one bar.... and I think you all make chips bigger than my finished work....... the tray is made up from flat stock, rim soldered to it with gold solder so no seam..... feet soldered on with lower temperature solder....... no form tools on this..... just use a cut-off tool about 1.0 mm to work out the main areas and key corners..... then go after the curves with a graver.... speed about 5,000 rpm.....

David... the candles are made from nylon with steel wicks..... they don't melt this way...

rivett608 · Sep 19, 2007

oz.... I know that!.... but I spent all my Kroner

See ya....

SouthBendModel34 · Sep 19, 2007

I do believe that "Mr. and Mrs. Doll" will be delighted with their new desk accessories !!!

That's an awesome level of detail.

Do you hold the tool in your hand, woodturner's style, or do you have a machine rest? Do you use a "form tool"?

What lathe? Watchmaker's? Toolmaker's bench lathe like a P&W #2? Something more modern?

Doesn't matter what tools you use, the skill level is still nearly beyond comprehension.

John Ruth

magicmaker · Sep 19, 2007

Rivett608;
Nice work! I have spun (not turned) some similar sized pitchers, trays, etc. for doll house makers who wanted special sets for their creations. For handles and embellishment I used patterned rollers to spiffy up brass wire for such trim. The tiny items were spun or soldered together where required then the fancy brass wire trim added appropriately (soldered). I posted a few links to one of these patterened rollers in your "fancy knurls" thread. The one shown is larger than would be desired for your scale of work; but smaller designs are available. You will get the idea.

I just thought you might be interested in incorporating such patterned wires into your work - whenever it would remain "period".

Again, impressive work on the minis.
Jim

John in MA · Sep 19, 2007

I'm waiting for you to do a 1/12 fully functional Monarch EE1000. I'm sure you could.

rivett608 · Sep 19, 2007

John..... the gravers I hold by hand and use a tee-rest..... I even do this on my Rivett 608 on bigger things....... anyway for this I use a Taig lathe modified with a longer spindle nose for 8 mm collets.... this gives me more room for my fat fingers...... as I have said before... I have a shop full of fancy lathes and the Taig is the one I use most....

Magic I am familiar with pattern wire and have used it over the years on a few things.... I once did a little black-wood box trimmed with some nice gold patten wire from some antique glasses...... I would be very interested to know who you did some miniatures for? I suspect I know them... you can send me a private email by clicking above...... Thanks

-TJ · Sep 19, 2007

There is a nice (& freeware) unit converter I use which converts just about anything to anything else. You decide how many decimal places to go out.

google "ESB Unit Conversion Utility"

I've got v4.1 which seems to be free forever. The newer version(s) are only free for a limited time, but have even more conversion capability.

Of course, if you use AutoCad or Solidworks, you can set up the dimensioning to call out both metric & inch at the same time.

Jim Williams · Sep 19, 2007

One millimeter equals a tad less than 0.040 inch works well for me. Like your turnings!

Jim

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