What size square stock wood will turn down to what size insert? I'm begining to look around, and before I order wood I'd like to know what size I should get before I end up with wood for pens or wood to make a baseball bat (which I eventually will). What is the minumun length I should get. 5 inches?


5/8" x 5/8" = ?? what size insert
3/4 x 3/4" = ??
1 x 1" = ??

OR...

What OD do I have to turn the wood down to for a size 16, 17, 18 and 20 reel seat?

Thanks, Billy

Billy,

A 5/8 inch width piece of turning stock will yield a 5/8 inch diameter insert. But just barely. Remember that the width when going from square to round needn't change as you can remove the corners and go to round without removing any width. Or at least very little.

But, I generally figure that I need about 1/16 inch more width in my stock that I will get in the round. One reason for this is that most turning squares are not perfectly sized and even if they were you need a tad more to allow for sanding, etc.

Take a set of calipers and measure the outside of the barrel to figure what size you need to turn your wood to. For instance, on the size 16 seat, you'll find you need an insert about 18.5mm. I like to take my inserts just a hair under the full barrel size to keep the reel foot from imprinting the wood. The foot will sit in the forward hood and on the threaded barrel to the rear and does not need to actually sit on the insert.

You will do better to deal with a wood supplier who is not a specialty pen supplier. The wood is better and you end up paying less for what you get. Get boards in 1" thickness and rip them yourself. Or at least buy 1" squares in longer lengths and cut them to whatever length you desire.

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Billy, I have found that almost any piece of native black walnut that is found at a farm sale, or the like, will be nearly a full 1" thick,,and this a dimension that I like. Reason being that I make my own skeleton seats from 16mm alum seats that I get from Jann's Netcraft. I simply use a hack saw to remove the middle of the tube, then file the parts smooth. A favorite wood is native walnut that has been sawed "across" the grain 1"x1"x5". This is then turned in my lathe to just round then "sanded" to dimension (3/4"). This is necessary because the cross grain cut on the walnut chips out badly on the cross grain sides. Most of the sanding is done with 60 grit and then 200, 400, 600 grit. The results are worth the effort IMHO. The 3/4" OD matches the OD of the skeleton very well. I don't like to start an insert from any wood that is less than 1/16" oversize from the finish dimension. Try some,, you will like it.