Centring

I just had my first experience with hot glue and it worked rather well. My only concern was centring. As it was only a small dish it was OK, but how do you centre a larger bowl. Hot glue dries pretty quick doesn't it. Thanks Mick Lehmann

Reply to
Michael Lehmann
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Mick On a good day I just center a glue block by eye. Considering it is going onto a warped bowl, I am usually close enough. When the day is "one of those days" and since I am no longer allowed caffeine, I find center by using an acetate sheet with concentric circles drawn on it and achieving "best fit," then using a compass I draw a circle the size of the glue block. This is quicker to do than to write.

Reply to
Darrell Feltmate

You do some preparation. Assuming you're talking about reversing, you take advantage of tapers in your faceplate and a blunt nose or premade cone on your tailstock to get centering right, quickly pencil the glue line, and then proceed. Of course the ultimate in preparation is something like

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Reply to
George

I've needed to use a glue block and center accurately at the same time. Here's my solution. Drill a small hole into the center of the glue block. Cut off a nail so that it is slightly longer than the depth of the hole. Glue it in with the point sticking out. To the drill the hole, I just put the nail into the chuck on the tailstock, and feed it in. Find your center on the wood you want to mount and mark it by tapping the same size nail in. I use this method with yellow glue, I haven't tried hot glue. Martin Long Island NY

Reply to
Martin Rost

Hello Michael,

I don't normally use glue blocks, because I have plenty of chucks, however here is how I did it when I was using glue blocks. Mount the glue block on a faceplate and turn the block round. Using a compass, find the center of the turning block by making swings across the center from several positions around the block. Set the compass to the radius of the glue block and draw a circle. Glue on the block.

If you have mounted the wood and turned the outside of the bowl and pretty much final turned the foot of the bowl, mount your glue block onto a faceplate (or in a chuck) and turn it flat and then a small recess about 1/16 inch to 1/8" deep to fit the foot of the bowl. Now, you have an automatic centering device. Apply glue to the foot and press into the recess on the glue block.

There are more ways of doing this depending upon the circumstances; however, both of these methods will work well for you.

Fred Holder

Reply to
Fred Holder

Hi Michael

First of, what are we talking about up here, you want to glue on a: blank, half turned bowl blank, or a rough turned bowl to be finish turned ??

If a blank, then find the center, draw a circle just a hair bigger than your mounting block, and glue together.

If a half turned bowl blank, and done the outside, just mark the center when it is still on the lathe and turning, easy done with a pencil or ice pick, scratch awl, etc. and then draw the circle afterward and glue.

If a rough turned bowl to be finished, if it has a tenon or a recess, turn a tenon or recess on your glue block to fit your rough out and glue.

If you don't have any kind of foot then you will have to find the center on the biggest surface and draw the circle to center your bowl to block as best as you can.

Yes hot glue dries quickly, but if you heat up the block just before you put on the glue it give you a little more time and also spreads out your glue better, if and when I use hot glue that's what I do, with a propane torch, works well.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Michael Lehmann wrote:

Reply to
Leo Van Der Loo

Actually, hot glue.............cools..............instead of drying...............Barry

Reply to
Barry N. Turner

True, but one could also say that a substance going from liquid to solid was freezing. Mick

Reply to
Michael Lehmann

aluminum rod with a point on one end. The rod is set with the point on the center and the block is slid down the rod. I might say that I use double face tape instead of glue. Also all my glue blocks have a spigot on the back as I use them in a chuck. But the principle should be the same.

Reply to
Gerald Ross

As an alternative to a glue gun you might like to consider an old electric frying pan from the thrift store, heat up the glue sticks dip in the block and ready to go. I find it hold better than the glue out of the gun. I drill a hole in the centre and use a nail to marry the two pieces together.

Reply to
Bill Gooch

I went to Darrel's site and tried his wooden faceplate. Use a tap to tap some hardwood the size of your spindle. The glue block I mounted on the one with "wooden nut" After faceing off the front I scored several lines while it was spinning. They don't have to be precise as you are useing them as a guide. Works great and I now have piles of faceplates.

Reply to
Bruce Ferguson

I waas keen to make one of those blocks, but the only tap that came with the lathe makes a thread 3 or 4 mill bigger. I can't figure out what it is for. Maybe the old fella I got it from used to have another lathe. And a new tap is $40. I saw a thread somewhere about getting a bolt and grinding 2 or 3 or 4 grooves and using that to tap holes in wood. Cheers Mick

Reply to
Michael Lehmann

Mick, If you want to make some glue blocks to mount onto your lathe, there are two other approaches. One is to drill a hole slightly smaller than the spindle thread and screw the wood right onto the spindle. I did this with one glue block and it is worked okay. Another method is to buy nuts the same as your spindle thread and glue them into a counterbored hole in the glue block. Martin Long Island NY

Reply to
Martin Rost

picky, picky, picky... but when you're right, you're right.. *g*

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Bill, the problem I found with using the hot glue out of a gun was that the glue starts to set especialy in cold weather, before I would get a chance to spread enough and bring the pieces together. A 'fix' that I now use is to apply the glue then reheat it using a hot air gun and only then apply the pieces together. Holds so well I now have another problem, getting them appart afterwards :-(

Another even better approach I have found is to apply the glue to a metal (alluminium is better) face plate. This makes it easy to apply, just heat the plate until the glue is soft enough and stick it to the work. To remove it later just place the faceplate-work on an electric iron, (have my own in the garage just like an electric jug, frypan and microoven, helps to keep the peace with SWMBO ), warm it up until the faceplate starts to move and all is well.

I have found that this works so well, I can even use it on a finished surface without damaging it or have the glue bond to the wood fibers. Cheers, Peter Stacey

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Reply to
L. Peter Stacey

Using an electric pan is in theory better. With my old 160 watts Bostik glue gun I do have the problems that you have mentioned. It does take time to get to full power about 1 minute or so. The only concern I have is that the glue gun does not have an automatic shut off switch. Lately I read something on the internet that Stanley is introducing a new generation of industrial glue gun with auto shut off. Its priced at about $40.00 - $48.00 USD.

Reply to
Denis Marier

I deal mainly with small pieces so I use brads with the same method. It gives me confidence to use CA glue with an accelerator.

Ricky Nashville, Tn.

Reply to
Ricky Dietsch

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