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The Royal Products Duplicator

Review Number One - The Royal Products Duplicator Review Number Two - Proxxon Table Saw

One of the tools I've recently acquired is the Royal Products duplicator attachment for my Sherline Lathe. I really haven't had a lot of experience with turning anything, but have in the past made a few small parts for my models of Diana and Royal Yacht Caroline. I turned things like the spokes for the ships wheel, some pillars and so on, and quickly realized how essential it is in this hobby to be able to make exact copies of the same piece. When I first set up the Royal Duplicator, I was very impressed as to the overall quality, fit and appearance of the unit, and quickly decided that the Cannons for my model of Confederacy would be a great starting point for learning how to use it. The first order of business was to make a template, which was relatively easy. I simply traced the outline from the Hahn plans, glued it onto a small metal scraper that I decided to sacrifice for the cause, and cut away. The photo below shows my template as well as the centre drill on the tailstock. The second step was to shape the cutting and follower tools, and this was a bit more difficult. I formed both into a relatively thick point, using the round portion of my belt sander to get a bit of a concave face on each side. My first attempt was with Ebony, and was a complete and dismal failure. At the time, I figured that it must have been the Ebony's fault and tried with Boxwood, getting more or less the same result. I then tried using brass, which was not much better. With a little advice from my good friend Terence Lynock, I found out that it had a lot to do with the cutting tool being the wrong shape and elevation. I also realized that I needed to leave the deep cuts at the muzzle and cascable to the very end, duh!! After reshaping the cutting tool and dropping its point of contact to just below the centreline, I finally started to make some headway. The first line of the Duplicator's instruction sheet says to disconnect the carriage lead screw. I initially followed this instruction, but during one of my subsequent attempts I decided to reconnect it, and found that by using the crank to move the cross slide, the turning process was far easier to control. I was still not getting all of the detail I wanted, and figured out that by sharpening the follower tool I'd be able to better pick up the detail on the template. The two cannons in the photo below illustrate my first real successes, even though they're not exactly the same, and that their reinforcing rings and astragals are not quite right. I am now confident that with a bit more tweaking of the set-up and care during the turning process, I'll get the level of detail and accuracy that I was hoping for in my cannons, and anything else that I need to make exact copies of. The Royal Duplicator is truly a gem, very well engineered and it should last a lifetime. Check it out at www.royal-products.com Happy Modelling Morey Benton