Dan's Rotary Jig II

[Russel]

I have been busy carving Dan's Rotary Jig II. I have yet to figure out how it all works, even after I get it assembled. There are a few items that, although are shown in the photos, are not obvious to me. They are:
What material was used for the axle slides? They appear to be wood, but much darker than the rest of it. Are they hardwood?
What are the specs for the spring?
What type of knob was used for tightening the slider?
I can't find the rails in the photos. Where do they fit in?
How does this jig mate with the CW?
What should the workpiece look like?
This jig is awesome and well thought through. I carved it mostly in one day. If anyone has info on projects and general jig operation, I desperately need it!

[bergerud]

You are now the rotary jig research and development team! I will have to try and remember what I did.


The slides were hardwood (wenge was poor choice). I would use something finer grain like maple or even cast acrylic next time. (Actually I was going to redesign this part to be stronger and move the spring to the other side with the lever.)
Any fairly stiff spring that fits! Experimentation may be required. The spring is about two inches long uncompressed.
The knobs are just standard jig female knobs. I used old furniture leg lag screw - 5/16 threads into the slider.
The rail is what drives the dowel, rolls the brass roller, and actuates the roller lifter. It is compressed between the belt and the dowel by the spring. The rail has to be the right height for the dowel. One would have to have a set of them for different size dowels. It is in the picture. It has a sandpaper strip on top.
The jig sits on top of the side plates and and is held down by the rollers as well as the head itself. During the measurement stage, the jig is pushed back to put the dowel under the board sensor. Then it is pulled forward 1.5 inches to put the dowel under the bit.
The workpiece is just a dowel with 1/4 inch holes drilled in the ends for two 1/4 inch, inch long axles. The axles fit in the bearings. (I was going to change this to put the bearings in the dowel and have fixed stubs on the jig.)

I hope this is a start. I was reluctant to post these files because this is only a prototype and it is fairly complicated to make and operate. I do not think anyone else has made it.