Radius tool

Nice work. looks really good.
, I made one a month ago but still don't like the slight wobble it has when pivoting, so I made another one with a ball bearing in the center thinking it would be smoother /less sloppy, still it's not as tight as I wanted it to be but they both work .
 
Nice work. looks really good.
, I made one a month ago but still don't like the slight wobble it has when pivoting, so I made another one with a ball bearing in the center thinking it would be smoother /less sloppy, still it's not as tight as I wanted it to be but they both work .
Mine is suffering from wobble. I made the pivot stepped, with .020 Z clearance. I just took .018" off. Probably going to invest some serious time honing, again.
Also need to make more clearance for the chuck, take some meat away from where the cutter is, turn down the upper part of the pivot, and remove some meat from the back lower edge of the toolpost.
The pic shows the tool disassembled on the left, and the materials it was made from on the right. Two pieces of the rusty flat steel, and one inch of the round was used, there was enough flat bar left over to make the other radius turner shown on the right, haven't tried it yet still have to make a clamp to hold the cutter and a handle.

radius turner.3_resized.jpg
 
I found my radius tool had less wobble after I drilled a small hole near the end of the pivot bolt and passed a plastic (grass trimmer) string through it, the bolt and the contraption it is fastened to would stay more stiff, it was slightly harder to rotate the tool but the wobble was much less , this wasn't my idea, it was in one of the plans I found online.
 
Weed eater line. That's a great idea, thanks for passing it along!
It's cheap, easy to acquire, has some lubricity, and will form to fit.
I have mine pretty tight right now, without the line. The wobble cant be felt reefing on the pry bar I have clamped into where the tool post goes.
Pretty stiff turning it though. Got it clamped in the vise and give it a couple revolutions every time I walk by.
 
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