# What wood needed for pulley project?



## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Hello to all! I'm a newbie here with a bit of a delema. I've been tasked with a project I'm very unfamiliar with but still need to accomplish. I do work for a gentleman who now requires me to make a block and tackle type system but need the pillows to be roughly 5" or 6" diameter and made of wood. They need to look good and be functional. I picked up a used lathe yesterday (as I'll try anything once!) and was curious what wood be be the best to use. I figure it needs to be very hard but workable on the lathe. I appreciate any help as this is beyond my present scope of knowledge and possibly even my skill set. Thanks again.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hi, Doug; welcome!
Is it the sheave that you want to turn?

A wooden sheave » She Sails
Rope sheaves at Toplicht
Rope sheaves at Toplicht


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Doug, Welcome to the Router Forums! We hope you find your membership helpful and we all look forward to helpful exchanges of information with you. It is quite difficult and dangerous to try to cut some pieces of lumber on a lathe - for part of the operation, the grain is running ideally, but the other parts are going to try to split-off, unless great care and techniques are practiced. I build a lot of weird stuff for my prototype business. Some of it sounds silly before it is made - but if that's what the customer wants and needs, then that's what they get (a picture is worth a thousand words & a model is worth a thousand pictures = a model is worth a million words). 

*Holes saws* have mandrels & pilot bits - have you considered one of these? Hole saws are commonly available up to 6" diameter. You'll need to run it on a drill press, but then you will still need a groove.

*Routers* - when coupled with a circle jig, one can easily make the cut and machine the groove. If you do this (I would consider this the preferred method), make certain your workpiece surface is free of "speedbumps" - and don't get tangled in the power cord.

Species: Individual boards vary considerably, in my experience purple heart seems very resistant to splitting, but is expensive and can cause some people allergic reactions. If you can find elm or sweetgum - those are also often very resistant to splitting. I see wooden block and tackles pretty often in antiques stores that sell tools, etc.

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Hi Doug, really pleased to see you join the community, welcome to Router Forums!
I think white oak would work, hard,tight grain,good for outside.


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## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Thanks gentleman. Theres a lot of information there. I like the idea of the hole saw and router but I did just buy a lathe so the funds for the holesaw kinda aren't available. Could the proper wood be used to make pullies (not pillows as previously stated) on a lathe? Or is that something that takes many years of experience? What I lack in skill I make up for in persistance. Thanks again.


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## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Sorry, yes DaninVan, I believe it's refered to as the sheave. The part the ropes go on and roll about kinda like a pulley. If that makes sense.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Absolutely, Doug. I was just clarifying which component you meant.
I always think of this...

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.


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## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Hey Dan I've never heard that one before but its stuck in my head now! Does anyone think that if I were to make the sheaves with the hole saw could I turn e the grooves for the rope on the lathe?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Stuck in your head, Doug? I'll show you an earworm! heheh...
Chuck Wagon Gang - Bringing in the sheaves - YouTube


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

unsafeatanyspeed said:


> Thanks gentleman. Theres a lot of information there. I like the idea of the hole saw and router but I did just buy a lathe so the funds for the holesaw kinda aren't available. Could the proper wood be used to make pullies (not pillows as previously stated) on a lathe? Or is that something that takes many years of experience? What I lack in skill I make up for in persistance. Thanks again.


If all the movies I've ever seen about old sailing ships is true then they all used wooden tackle blocks and the pulleys would have been turned on a lathe.


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## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Good point.


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## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Your right Dan, it is an ear worm. I had to start singing " The Ants go marching" to get it out of my head.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Doug;
I think the point that Otis was making
Chuck Wagon Gang - Bringing in the sheaves - YouTube
was that normally the grain on a piece that is being turned on a lathe runs parallel to the lathe bed. If you bought say a piece of 8/4 x6" x 2', and cut off a 6" length, mounted with the 6x6 face flat on the faceplate, you would in fact have the grain perpendicular to the bed, and constantly changing direction as it spins. I believe Otis was saying that is especially dangerous and challenging for a turner. I'm not one so I may be mistaken(?).


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Oops, sorry, wrong comment. Try this...
http://www.routerforums.com/woodturning-lathes/46283-what-wood-needed-pulley-project.html#post381648


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## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

That is correct, Dan - dimensional lumber is where one would start, but you will very likely split the wood at some point.

With the router, one could do the cut and the groove. With the hole saw, one could not do the groove - only the circular cut. With the lathe - it will take two people: 1 to use the lathe, the other one to drive him or her to the nearest hospital.

A "hole saw" is simply a cutter that chucks into a drill press. It has a circular row of teeth with a pilot hole. Think of a Merry-Go-Round with each child dragging a foot. Most people using hole saws are going for the "hole" - but they are also handy when one needs the "drop".

*I'm not saying this cannot be done with a lathe, but I am saying I would never do it; and if someone in my shop ever did it - we would have a "sit-down lunch" for a serious discussion. I wouldn't FIRE someone for this, but they would learn their lesson and then NEVER again make that mistake again!*

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


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## KTBarnett (Jan 18, 2009)

Hi Doug,
Years ago I bought an older (1954) Delta drill press. It had the option of a high and low speed pulley set up. Needless to say mine had the high speed pulley. I looked high and low for the low speed pulley but to no avail and was not willing to pay the price to have one machined. So I decided to make mine own. I used 1/2" Baltic Birch. Laminated several pieces together and turned it down on my lathe. Stepped it and grooved it accordingly. I was also able to make it larger than the original and slow my speed of the drill press even more than the factory one. I typically use my drill press at this slowest speed but have used the faster speeds as well. It has worked great for me for years.


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## andysden (Aug 9, 2011)

to turn it on the lathe I would turn it to the correct size using a jawed chuck with a live centre to hold the block in place after turning drill the shaft to size using the tailstock as the drill press . as for wood I would use maple ash elm solid or laminate
To laminate use pieces 2".
Drill and place .25" bolts countersunk to hide nuts gluing the laminates at cross grain then turn to required size on lathe as above 
Only my idea from seeing lots on old farm machinery 
Andy


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## david_de (Jun 3, 2013)

KTBarnett said:


> Hi Doug,
> Years ago I bought an older (1954) Delta drill press. It had the option of a high and low speed pulley set up. Needless to say mine had the high speed pulley. I looked high and low for the low speed pulley but to no avail and was not willing to pay the price to have one machined. So I decided to make mine own. I used 1/2" Baltic Birch. Laminated several pieces together and turned it down on my lathe. Stepped it and grooved it accordingly. I was also able to make it larger than the original and slow my speed of the drill press even more than the factory one. I typically use my drill press at this slowest speed but have used the faster speeds as well. It has worked great for me for years.


I picked up a 1939 Delta floor drill press for $25 (craigslist) that only had a single groove pulley on the motor. Not sure why perhaps because the motor was new. The quill had a 4 groove pulley. I thought about making one but found I could buy one so cheap I gave up on making one. Works perfect.

Just thought I would add that in case anyone else is needing one. I have not seen any good wood sheaves yet, still looking for those. ;-)


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## ETinker (Jun 29, 2010)

*Wooden block & tackle pulleys*

Hi Doug,
Wooden pulleys used to be common, especially in farm supply stores. Pulleys were used in barns to route rope for raising hay via a carrier and track system into the barn for storage. As I recall, they were made of a light colored wood - maple, I would guess, and they were of solid stock with a metal bushing located (press fit) in the center axis of the wooden pulley for bearing against an axle bolt which was housed in a cast iron framework with a swivel ring for fastening the pulley to the barn. With today's materials I would use baltic birch plywood re-enforced with cross dowels epoxied in place with the face surfaces coated with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. With care you probably could also wind a turn of bi-directional fiberglass cloth in the bottom of the rope groove to re-enforce the business part of the pulley. You would need to remount the pulley on the lathe to sand the surfaces smooth after the epoxy cured. That's just my suggestion, but have you tried searching the internet for retro pulleys? Try vintage farm and ship suppliers. Maybe "Living History" farm & shipping equipment sources. Also Northern Tool.


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## unsafeatanyspeed (May 6, 2014)

Thanks again gentleman. I think I need to 're think this plan. I believe that me making these sheaves is going to much more difficult and require a skill set I've yet to obtain. Your saying it wouldn't work to make the circular pieces of wood with a hole saw then turn them on a lathe while using a file or sand paper to notch the rope grooves? That seems to be something I could do but a lot of what has been explained to me is beyond my knowledge. Thanks again for all the information guys. I truely appreciate it.


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## KTBarnett (Jan 18, 2009)

KTBarnett said:


> Hi Doug,
> Years ago I bought an older (1954) Delta drill press. It had the option of a high and low speed pulley set up. Needless to say mine had the high speed pulley. I looked high and low for the low speed pulley but to no avail and was not willing to pay the price to have one machined. So I decided to make mine own. I used 1/2" Baltic Birch. Laminated several pieces together and turned it down on my lathe. Stepped it and grooved it accordingly. I was also able to make it larger than the original and slow my speed of the drill press even more than the factory one. I typically use my drill press at this slowest speed but have used the faster speeds as well. It has worked great for me for years.


I guess that I should have added that the 4 step pulley that I made was for the quill. The quill shaft diameter, from what I recall, was 25mm. At least that's what I used to drill the center out. I had it attached to a face plate when doing it. The motor pulley would have been much easier to obtain.


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

There hasn't been any discussion of how much force will be put on these sheaves and that might be a factor. At any rate, here's another solution that works well for some of the smaller projects I make. Make the sheave out of three layers with the inner layer (disk) a slightly smaller diameter than the two outer layers (disks). The larger diameter outer layers form the groove when all are sandwiched and glued together. The disks can be cut with the router using a circle jig.


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## heretohelp2014 (Dec 10, 2014)

check out all the videos on youtube for help


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Heretohelp2014, if you check just above the user names on posts you will see the date when they were posted. It is a common oversight by new members and occasionally older members. 

When you get a chance why don't you edit your profile and give us a name or nickname to call you by? Referring to you by your username isn't very personal and we are a very friendly bunch here.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Why not contact a Maritime Museum. They would make them all the time....


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