Preparing the Brass

The core of a Big Daddy tamper is a brass tube that is attached to a brass foot.  The tube is threaded to accept the cap of the tamper.

The first step is to cut the tube.  If I'm cutting several tubes at once I use a cutoff saw.  Otherwise, I use a hacksaw.  To ensure that tubes are the proper length, I use this high-tech, computer-designed, cutting jig made from a carefully-selected 2x4:

Once I've cut the tube to length, I use the lathe to square up the ends.  Then I'll  use a tap wrench to cut the threads in one end of the tube (If I'm preparing several tubes at once, I'll use the lathe for the tapping operation):

The foot is cut from a 1/2" brass rod, using the same jig that I use for the tubes.  I use the lathe to square up both ends of the foot:

The next step is to drill a 5/16" hole in the foot to accept the tube.  Once again, I do this on the lathe, first by drilling a smaller hole (shown), then by using a 5/16" bit to enlarge the hole to its proper size.  Note, by the way, that I use a 3/4" drill chuck mounted directly to the lathe headstock, as opposed to the more conventional 3- or 4-jaw lathe chuck.  In my opinion, the headstock chuck provides greater gripping power and turns more concentrically to the lathe spindle:

The finished tube and foot look like this.  Notice that I have rough-sanded the tube to prepare it to accept epoxy:

I use high-shear-strength epoxy to assemble the tube and foot.  I then apply the lower trim ring, which is cut from a Delrin rod.  I trim the Delrin ring to approximately 1/4" thickness, and use the lathe to square all edges.  The finished assembly looks like this:

Next: Preparing the Wood

Copyright © 2002 JAGWAL, all rights reserved

Last modified: 12/08/02