Ring/Chatter Eliminator

I wonder if a section of inner tube would work?

a thick rubber band also works well. And, if you turn your bowl in segments of about 1/2 inch this problem is much diminished

Probably couldn't hurt, but a large rubber band didn't help. The mass was insufficient to make much difference. And being an "instant gratification" solution, didn't have an inner tube on hand - who the heck uses those things anymore - bicycles? ;-)

Greg G.

Tried a rubber band, but it wasn't very thick and wasn't much help.

As for 1/2" increments, LOL. I have to go over and touch up/blend the curves 5 or 10 times, so I can't see that working for me. I do work from the rim to the base, but there always seems to be some touch up to perform afterwards. With only 1/8" or so of error margin, I can't seem to get smooth curves in one pass on segmented vessels.

And that coarse Ash is a real beech to turn without funky grain mishaps.

Thanks.

Greg G.

Real answer lies in refining the cut so the wood doesn't squirm. I got impatient about the rate at which my skill was increasing and got a steady.

I thought about using duck tape but being far more difficult to apply and remove, I tried this instead. Takes all of 7 seconds to apply, and is reusable.

But out of curiosity, I tried some kitchen plastic wrap. Not much help, and certainly not easily reusable. I wrapped grey fabric duck tape over the plastic wrap. (Didn't want to spend all day cleaning goo from the horrific open pores of the ash.) Better, but it mostly seemed to lower the resonant frequency somewhat.

Just as dampening mass was important when turning those old brake drums, I believe that the mass of the belt was more influential than the compressive value of anything wrapped around the rim. Which is probably why those old brake drum lathes used lead shot filled bands. This was confirmed by loosening the belt till it barely stayed on, and it still worked - no compressive force, pure dampening. Actually, detuning is probably a more accurate term. The belt used was an old, used 98" multi-v-ribbed belt - complete with numerous rubber cracks.

Now that I can empathize with! While certainly no expert, I've not had much problem before this particular piece. Usually, altering cut depth and/or angle would eliminate the resonance. Worst case, the application of a firming finger behind the cut. This thing rang like a wooden bell, but only when cut below a wall thickness of 5/16".

It was so bad (Audience: How bad was it?) that the _slightest_ application of a cutting edge would cause numerous gouges around the periphery as the darned thing distorted - it was scary bad. Even altering the speed didn't help much, but I never exceeded 900 RPM. Wasn't trying to hog material as much as simply clean up previous cuts and gently smooth the lines - that is, until chatter marks appeared.

I must have hit upon its natural resonant frequency. It was so inclined to vibrate that any application of a scraper, gouge, or even a nitrile gloved finger would cause it to sing - kind of like rubbing the rim of a wine glass.

Personally, thus far, I find the combination of ease/speed of application, no cost, reusability, and final results well worth filing this idea in the keeper folder. It would probably be far less effective on an interrupted turning, as it does little to stabilize the wood, but purely as a detuning mechanism, it works for me.

But George, I really don't understand how a steady girlfriend would help with this aspect of woodturning, however. Ba-dum-dum. (I'm working on constructing a steady rest out of old skate wheels.)

FWIW

Greg G.

Yep, it usually helps. Which is why I wrote: (amidst the rest of the blathering)

This thing was rather immune from such tactics, but it's all over now.

Thanks,

Greg G.