home made chuck for finishing the bowl base?

Hi, Somewhere in this group I remember seeing a bit on holding the "lip" of a bowl to finish turning the tenon etc. of the base. I"m using a Talon 4 jaw chuck on a base tenon, but hate cutting/sanding off the tenon after I've completed the inside/outside part of the bowl. If I remember correctly it was a wooden addition/jaws set up to be used with the 4 jaw chuck. It may have been a face plate/wood jaw device also? I've tried searching this group but can"t find it. Any help would be appreciated. MinnJim

Reply to
MinnJim
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Imagine you're looking for the Longworth Chuck.

Fred's reprint from Woodturning is a good place to start.

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Reply to
George

Two choices, really. Look up Longworth Chuck or Cole Jaws. Both will, within limits, do the job. Consider, also, a vacuum chuck. In that case, Bill Noble is the guy you want to search for. EVen if you don't ultimately buy from him (though many on this list have) he's got some excellent explanations of vacuum chucking on his web site (and some VERY inexpensive spare face plates).

Bill

Reply to
Bill in Detroit

George has already given a link to the Longworth Chuck on my website. I just put up a new review on the Rim Chuck being produced by Richard Benham in Oregon. The link to this review is:

I've just tried this chuck and find it better than Cole Jaws or the Longworth Chuck. It may be a bit pricey for many of you, but it is a good solid chuck that is easy to use to turn the foot of a bowl.

Fred Holder

Reply to
Fred Holder

Is this for which you are looking?

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BillR

Reply to
BillR

Thank You: BillR,Bill Detroit,George and Fred. Those are the ones I was looking for. MinnJim

Reply to
MinnJim

It is pretty simple to make a aet of pseudo-Cole jaws out of plywood. A friend of mine who has been turning for about 15 years, and has his work for sale in at least two galleries, made a set. He has both A One-way and a Stubby, so obviously, money is not an issue with him.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Hi Jim, After seeing the prices of these chucks, I make my own out of hardwood plywood.

About the hardest thing to find to make it is rubber stoppers with a hole thru the center. A medical supply house will have these. Cant remember what they are called but the sides are tapered.

You align your bowl on this jaw using the live center in your tailstock with the center of the bottom of your bowl and use the tailstock to apply pressure to the bowl and hold it in place. Then you slide the rubber bumpers snugly next to the side of the bowl and lock them down.

Once all the rubber bumpers are locked down you remove the tailstock out of the way and finish the bottom of your bowl.

I think I may have drawings I made to make mine with, but, right now I dont have a way to make a pdf of those drawings. The best I would be able to give you is a .jpg of the drawing.

cad

Reply to
cad

Here is a homemade version of what Fred has described. I haven't made this one yet because i can't for the life of me figure out how you center the bowl into the clamps before turning the dang thing on (I prefer to understand how something works prior to spending time building it). Good luck. JD

Reply to
JD

Alternatives exist. For instance:

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Then to the 75mm jaws for working the front. Result is not too bad.
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After all, to see the bottom you would have to dump the contents. Front Features a Formica burn for accent.

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Reply to
George

Actually that looks like it is the standard 4 pin Longworth, you will note that the PDF Fred posted is 6 pins. There is a home-brew design for a 6 pin, but I don't think it's been put on the Web

Reply to
Ralph E Lindberg

It's self centering, because the spirals on the back plate are a mirror image of the spirals on the front plate. It HAS to be centered when you tighten it. Just print two copies of this

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, cut out the spiral slots with razor, flip one of them face down and put a pin through the center of both together. Rotate one page relative to the other and you will see how it works.

Reply to
Mark Fitzsimmons

Hey, Jim - I have the Cole jaws - and only have used them once.

When I first cut the tendon (or indent) on the bottom of a bowl, I make a mark about the same diameter as the livecenter on the tailstock. This can be done in many ways dependng on how the piece is chucked. After I've re-chucked it on the tendon and completed turning on both the outside and inside, I usually give it a coat of shellac or sealer while its still on the lathe. Then I turn the bowl around and use a jam chuck on the headstock side and bring up the livecenter to match the aforementioned ring on the tendon as good as possible. If I did not leave a ring, I do trial-and- error until I get it centered pretty well.Then I finish off the bottom except for the wee bit under the livecenter - I undercut that to about 1/4 inch with a parting tool. When I take it off the lathe I carve off that 1/4 in diameter bit and sand. The jam chuck can be most anything. The chuck with a piece of 1/4 in foam over the jaws. A piece of wood turned to a diameter smaller than the bowl edges but larger than the bottom. A vacuum chuck without the vacuum. Don't bring up much pressure with the tailstock and take very light cuts, This is the fastest way for me - - and I can handle bowls up to 20in in diameter (my lathe is a 2036). Most of my bowls are not completely dry - so they move after turning and are somewhat elliptical before i get to the bottoms. If I relied on Cole chucks or equivalent edge holders, I could not work these. This method also works just as well with natural edge bowls!

Reply to
hwahl

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I watched all the videos. I can't see what is holding the bowl. A faceplate?

Reply to
Gerald Ross

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Pin chuck.

Reply to
George

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Could be. Could also be that he has a chuck expanded into a center hole drilled with a larger Forstner bit or, if somewhat adventurous (I'm guessing here) even on a pin chuck. Come to think of it, it could even be on a screw chuck. If he's putting this sort of a bottom recess in, my guess would be that there is a four jaw chuck on the other side of that blank.

Drill recess, insert chuck, screw chuck on to lathe, bring tailstock up to secure, turn bottom and O.D., pull tailstock back and cut recess for holding bottom while hollowing out the inside. Chuck up one more time and clean up the bottom. It's that last chucking that gets a little funky.

Bill

Reply to
Bill in Detroit

Process actually goes drill existing oval hole on drillpress round for pin chuck, mount and turn. Make bottom as simple or elaborate as desired, reverse to a 4-jaw, turn interior.

Since I plan for my bottoms to suit the stable of jaws I have for my chucks, I can do innies/outies, wide or narrow as I choose and get a true runner.

Reply to
George

They're called "rubber stoppers with hole". Really.

Google PDF995. Free, sets up as printer, and produces PDF from CAD file.

Reply to
CW

Man, how on Earth did I miss this gem the first time through???

That is awfully slick.

I think I'm going to make a set out of stainless steel or aluminum at work on the laser cutter (probably stainless- aluminum is a PITA to cut on the thing, and expensive to boot)...

If anyone is interested in aquiring a set of metal plates to make one of these, contact me off list at prometheus charter.net, and I'll see what I can do. I won't be making a lot of them, but I might be able to help out a few guys if there is some interest.

Reply to
Prometheus

when you use one of these chucks, understand that the grip on the bowl is not very strong, so you must use very light cuts. also understand that you must have a uniform rim, you can't use it on a natural edged piece. I made one per instructions using a router and plywood, got rid of it when I got vacuum and a larger lathe.

Reply to
Bill N

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