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Hi, Alan Stratton from As Wood Turns dot com. My brother just came back from Sedona, Arizona.
He got enamored by kaleidoscopes that he saw there.
Now, I've had a couple of kaleidoscope kits on hand, for a long time but I haven't gotten
around to it. Here they are -- I finally got around to it. These are mini kaleidoscopes.
I'd love to have you see inside but the aperture is a little bit small. Hold them up and you
twist them, and see the colors change -- beautiful patterns -- fascinating to watch.
Let's make a mini kaleidoscope. The instructions for this mini kaleidoscope
kit specify a 2" square blank that is 2 3/8" long. Actually, anything over about 1" would
do. I'm comfortable with my kaleidoscopes finishing out at about 1 ½" in diameter.
I glued up some walnut and padauk for these blanks.
With the blank ready the first step is to drill the center hole with a 13/16" forstner
bit. Why 13/16? Maybe to sell more bits. I drilled mine on the lathe. I put a small scrap
of wood behind the blank to avoid drilling into my chuck when the bit broke thru the
other end. Then trim the blank to 2 ¼" in length and
mount to a pen mandrel with "special" mini kaleidoscope bushings. I have a set of bushings
but if I had to do it over again, I'd turn mine from scrap wood -- no need for these
unless you're making a lot of mini kaleidoscopes. The mini kaleidoscope is shorter than a standard
pen; so a spacer is required to fill in the slack space on the mandrel. Please make your
own wood spacer -- best while you make your bushings.
With such a short piece of wood, there's not a lot of room for decoration. On this walnut,
I'll put a bead on each end. It's time for a little bead practice anyway. The padauk
will be plain to let the wood speak for itself. This project is probably an excellent candidate
for a multi-wood glue up. Other than the beads, I'm aiming for an egg shape with the large
end being opposite the eye piece. My personal preference.
Then I'll sand up thru 400 grit and finish with beeswax and mineral oil. I chose this
finish over shellac because it will be handled a lot and I can easily renew the finish.
The challenge is in the assembly. The instructions are fairly detailed -- so I tried my best
to actually read and follow them. First are the mirrors. These are front surface
mirrors. They are small and hard to hold. I did better with my second set so that's
the one I'm showing. I'm using the tube as a holder to assemble the mirrors. Then, sliding
them out a little to wrap a little bit of tape. The idea is to not let them rattle inside
the metal tube. Next I blackened the cut ends of the glass per the instructions..
Next the eyepiece. The convex side of the lens goes into the eyepiece. But on such a
small piece, which is the convex side? Then a retaining ring to hold the lens in place.
On my two kits, the retaining ring was too small. I had to stretch it open for it to
function properly. Then the little gems into the other end. The
instructions say to not overfill. My first kaleidoscope is a bit too full, the gems do
not move as much. Finally, insert the end pieces into the turning
and screw it all together. Not too difficult, actually. But here's my biggest tip. Don't
do the assembly in the shop -- it's impossible to eliminate all the dust. I'll be taking
mine apart again to give them a good cleaning. Maybe I can find a class 10 clean room.
Voila, now I have a couple of mini kaleidoscopes. They really are a simple and easy project.
It takes more time to get the kits and wood than to actually turn the body. The 2" blank
is overkill unless you really want a fat kaleidoscope. Please click the like button on this video
and subscribe to my website and YouTube channel. Always wear your face shield. Until next time,
this is Alan Stratton from As Wood Turns dot com.