Page 5
One variation on the ornament is to add a bottom finial. Here I have mounted a 4" long piece of maple stock that has been milled to 5/8" square.
Photo #19: Finial blank mounted
I turned a section at the end down to round and left a shoulder at the end of the round section. This will provide registration against the chuck jaws when I turn the piece end for end.
Photo #20: Tenon cut on end of finial blank
Now I bore a 1/4" hole about an inch deep into the end of the blank. When I assemble the ornament the 1/4" tenon on the centerpiece will seat into this hole. The tenon I have cut on the finial blank at this point is simply a gripping point for the chuck and a 3/8" diameter tenon will be cut next to it once the finial itself has been turned. The hole needs to be deep enough that it reaches to the end of that tenon that I have not cut yet.
Photo #21: 1/4" hole bored into end of finial blank
I turned the piece end for end and gripped the tenon in the chuck jaws, registering the shoulder against the front of the jaws. I have marked the depth of the 1/4" hole on the side of the blank. That mark indicates where the 3/8" tenon that will attach the finial to the ornament body ends. I want the hole to reach the length of the tenon but not extend into the turned portion of the finial.
Photo #22: Finial blank reversed in chuck