Tampers

[thekiltedchaplain]

Here is a pic of some tampers I recently made and sold to my local B&M. They're made of Cherry and Whitetail Deer Antler, with the bottoms being either .45 or 30-30 shells that I ground down and added a beveled edge to. Comments are welcome, and I'll post new ones soon.

 

[riptide]

Very Cool I love the one in the middle.

 

[grouchy]

middle one antler?

possible bore tusk?

they all look super!
a piece of petrified wood should make a pretty nice one.

 

[ace57]

Nice work. :worship:

 

[unclearthur]

Very nice indeed!

 

[bootlegbonvivant]

Very nice, Kilt. What kind of wood did you use?

 

[thekiltedchaplain]

Cherry, and Whitetail deer for the antler.

 

[bootlegbonvivant]

Awesome. I've been trying to get my hands on some cherry wood without luck. Everyone I know hoards it to make other things, lol.

 

[unclearthur]

Boot. I'll check my scrap bin. I may have some to send ou.

 

[bootlegbonvivant]

That's awesome guys, thanks! I've been wanting to purchase a lathe from that site, Baskerville.

 

[unclearthur]

My preference is Penn State Industries. http://www.pennstateind.com/store/pen-blanks.html

 

[marmal4de]

Petrified wood is the best sounding tamper idea!

 

[unclearthur]

What kind of lathe are you looking at boot?

 

[marmal4de]

I imagine so, being stone and all, but it would be very attractive on the eyes, and impossible to burn, tho possibly brittle.

 

[unclearthur]

I have used that same chuck for several years, EXCELLENT and economical.

 

[smokindawg]

Nice looking tampes. I'll second Chucks suggestion. You should join us in the tamper swap.
I purchased a Delta Midi about 5 years ago and till just recently used it to make tampers and pipes. These are as close to a metal lathe as you can get without spending the money for one. You can actually work aluminum with a file and make your own ends for tampers with this lath, if you take your time. And they sell some wonderful attachments for the lathe too, such as chucks and drill chucks.

 

[unclearthur]

Another good source is Grizzly Industrial. Most of the equipment they sell is made in the same factories as Jet and Delta. The main difference is price and paint color. My main lathe is from Harbor Freight and has proved excellent.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-x-33-3-8-eighth-inch-wood-lathe-with-reversible-head-34706.html

I haven't used on but have heard good reports on this model from them as well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-speed-bench-top-wood-lathe-65345.html

 

[smokindawg]

You mean Bob's suggestion?!

Yep, sorry!

 

[bootlegbonvivant]

I was actually looking at the $600 variable speed midi lathe by Delta on woodcraft.com. I'll probably try my hand at carving a few pipes by hand before I go for a lathe to get the feel for the wood. It's been a long time since I've done any actual woodworking.

 

[unclearthur]

Don't go less that a ten inch swing on the lathe. Smaller ones are too limiting.