Maple for motor mounts that didn't make it

[Bill Sawyer]

I recently bought some hard maple to use for making motor mounts. The 5/4" X10" X 12 foot board had too much warp to use so I found a use for some of it. I added some tulipwood from South America for a contrast color and got something to fill a shelf. It is 11 3/4 " diameter and 8 3/4" high. Finished with 4 coats of Minwax poly and sanded to 600 grit I put 3 coats of bowling alley wax on it. The lower wall thickness is 1/4" and at the top it is 3/16" thick.

[Leester]

That looks great Bill, but it also looks like it could be a " Lethal Weapon " in a disgruntled female's hands 

[Clayton Berry]

I don't know what you're planning on using for an engine, but hiding a pipe is gonna be tough.  Probably an upright side exhaust with a silicone angled deflector tube so's you don't spend all day wiping the oil off would be good.  And no landing gear?  I can see the hand-launch part, but that thing is gonna tumble on landing.  Just a thought.

[Randy Ryan]

Gorgeous, I am always blown away by the beauty of wood, what a great way to use the unusable!

[Eric Viglione]

I've got an .30 OS Wankel engine laying around that would be perfect for it! 

All kidding aside, really really nice work you did there!

I did a chess board with white oak and walnut scraps left over from another project once... gave it to my nephew, who probably used it for a skate board jump ramp. Heh heh, oh well.

Amazing what one can do with left overs.

Great job!

EricV

[john e. holliday]

Looks great.  Another side benefit of modeling.  I have build bookcases, microwave carts, baby cradles and a lot of picture frames as well as shadow boxes.

[stunt1]

Bill,

That is a beautiful piece of art work. Be great at a table setting or a gorgeous pot for planting. Best looking motor mounts I've ever seen.
Cheers,

Bob "Champione" Lampione

[Garf]

What makes the best motor mounts? Maple, walnut, mahogany, or some other wood.

[Bill Sawyer]

My choice would be hard maple for motor mounts. I read about a test where a steel ball was dropped on different woods to see the resulting amount of dent produced. The maple had the less denting and that is what we want when we tighten our engines down. Recently finding good straight hard maple locally has been almost impossible. I start with boards that are usually an inch or more thick, 8 to 12 inches wide and 10 to 16 feet long.

I have used mahogany for carving canopy molds and it works well as the close grain does not show when the canopies are made. Mahogany is a good bit softer than maple as is walnut. Red oak is out because it is porous. There are openings in the cells lengthwise that will allow smoke to be blown through a length of it. These spaces can collapse when an engine is tightened down. In a pinch I might consider white oak but I would use metal pads under the engine.

[john e. holliday]

Wonder when someone is going to start marketing/making carbon fiber peices to replace the wood for motor mounts.  I mean there would be no warping and they shoul be light.  Maybe it's the cost.  I know carbon fiber I can get is expensive.   

[Doug Moon]

that is really cool.  I would like to see how you did that.

[Larry Fulwider]

 . . . The lower wall thickness is 1/4" and at the top it is 3/16" thick.

The thin wall constuction adds dramatically to the elegance.  A neat combination of creative design, sophisticated construction, and pretty intimidating in uniformity / accuracy imagining how you must have pieced it all together.

Darned impressive craftsmanship to "pull if off" and make the whole idea come to life. Were you "sweating bullets" in the final turnings? I'd guess it could easily self-destruct with a little too much pressure in the wrong place at the wrong time.

      Larry Fulwider

[Howard Rush]

That is so cool. 

[Howard Rush]

Wonder when someone is going to start marketing/making carbon fiber peices to replace the wood for motor mounts.  I mean there would be no warping and they shoul be light.  Maybe it's the cost.  I know carbon fiber I can get is expensive.   

Like this?

[Bill Sawyer]

Actually the construction was what would seem to be backwards. I made the top first and then added the bottom. Turning that thin was no problem. Once the edges were taken off the chattering disappeared, it went very well. I have no problem turning to 1/8 thickness. What most people can't understand is how one sheet of typewriter paper holds the entire project on the lathe until it is finished. In the next to last picture the typewriter paper is glued between the bowl bottom and the plywood disk. When the project is finished a chisel tapped lightly at the edge of the paper results in the paper splitting into two thin sheets - half on the bowl and half on the plywood. In years of turning this way I never had one fail. In the first picture you can see the paper used to turn that part.

Some more pictures show a little more about how it was done. The last two pictures are one I made for a friend. The rings on the bottom is a piece of plywood and the lathe disk under that.  

[john e. holliday]

Also helps having great tools.  Keeping a hone by your lside for the lathe bits/chisels.  I still have the worrier/frettor someone that a "ShopSmith" guy showed us how to do on the machine.  Still have my "ShopSmith".  Needs new wheels after being in my basement for so long.  Did I say those are great looking peices you have turned.

[Bill Gruby]

 Absolutely amazing work Bill. The craftmanship is over the top.

 "Billy G" 

[Dennis Moritz]

Bill,
A truly lovely piece. Are you familiar with the Wood Turning center in Philadelphia, PA? Wood Turning is an art form, dealt in and valued by those drawn to it. The Wood Turning Center is both a museum and a gallery representing wood turning artists.
Best,
Dennis

[pipemakermike]

The wood of choice here in the UK is beech which does seem to have similar characteristics to hard maple ( aat tleast the maple available here)