securing work to block

**mapleman** · 04-11-2002, 09:18 PM

Hey all,
thanks to Bill (volleyheads) for the instruction on turning green wood. i made two 6" bowls- one from the soft maple and one from a hunk of cherry from the woodpile. the cherry cam e out beautiful, if is say so myself. i was going to leave them to dry slowly but my wife saw them and employed them in the living room. so i will get to see how they dry- cracking and checking or just right....
but on both i screwed the blank to my face plate (for jet 1236 lathe). but when i am done- i have four screw holes- just plain ugly. the double stick tape only works with perfectly flat, dry stock. what kind of unobstructive thing can i use to attach my blank to the plate?
thanks,
john the mapleman

Sonny Edmonds · 04-12-2002, 12:09 AM

John,
I'm a real greenhorn at this stuff with less than a week of experiance, but it has been said to me to use 5 minute epoxy and brown paper to glue on a turning block to your stock, then part it with a chisel when your done. (Lou I think)
I don't have a clue if it will work with green wood, but it is an option.
Otherwise something I have been furvantly looking at is chucks. And there is a type that I'm leaning towards.
The talon chuck or the super nova and an accessory called a Cole chuck jaws.
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/fr...et_chucks.html

I am interested in bowls myself, these accessories sound like they make sense to me.
The Talon chucks appear to have a cole type chuck that will fit my lathe's maximum of 10 inches. :)

:D

Sonny Edmonds
"Precision Firewood Specialist"
http://home.earthlink.net/~sonnypie/
God Bless America !

**mapleman** · 04-12-2002, 12:22 AM

sonny,
thanks for the idea. will look into it.

those chucks are pretty interesting, and expensive. the one that appeals to me the most is the "mini jumbo" (oxymoron, eh?) oneway talon jaw. it says it will grip from 3" to 8"- my range of bowl sizes. and it has soft rubber grips- so it shouldnt mar the bowl. but it is $80. so lets hope the idea works with green wood because i have to buy a bowl gouge more than anything else (probably $50), i think.
BTW, i have been turning for a whole 6 months- mostly half-arsed, which pales in comparison to my extensive 1 year in the shop! :P
but thanks for the input,
john the mapleman

Sonny Edmonds · 04-12-2002, 12:55 AM

That 80 bucks is for the jaws. The chuck it goes on is another 209. :(
But, it appears to be an option. Pricy as hell, I know.
But for us hobby types it seems the main tool is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Talon was the one I was concidering with a set of the mini jumbo jaws.
But holy chit that's as much as my whole damn lathe cost. :( But it's nice to dream anyway. Hope I didn't bum you out. I just wanted to share the option with you.

Oh something I forgot to mention, what about a felt bottom on your bowls you made? Or 4 stick on table protector felt pads, one over each hole. :)
I won't tell if you don't tell the holes are there. :) And it would allow air to circulate to all sides of the bowl.

:D

Sonny Edmonds
"Precision Firewood Specialist"
http://home.earthlink.net/~sonnypie/
God Bless America !

**volleyheads** · 04-12-2002, 07:07 AM

Among about 100 options you have would be to use a glue block and have the screws stop in the glue block and not enter the finished piece or to leave the bottom thick enough to turn away the bottom side until the screw holes disappear. I took a class a few weeks ago with a great long time turner in PA called 100 ways to hold a bowl when turning, I think he was a little conservative in his estimate in the title. Let me know if other options are requested/required.

Also, be careful with the large jaw chucks with the rubber holders (Cole jaws, jumbo jaws etc) They are not meant for aggressive turning, but only for fine, light finishing cuts, usually to re-turn the bottom to hide how the piece was held. Once again, lots of options here.

Best Regards,

Bill

"If it is worth doing, it's worth overdoing"

**mapleman** · 04-12-2002, 08:55 AM

sonny,
DOH!!!! i knew there had to be a catch there somehwere.
but i like the felt covering idea. and, nah, i wont tell em anything about what they cover up :)

bill,
okay, now when i use a glue block, can you tell me what the process is, and remember, i am an idiot so be as detailed as you want- i wont be offended. :P

thanks,
john the mapleman

**volleyheads** · 04-12-2002, 10:42 AM

A glue block can be really any type of wood (I prefer not to use KD pine) but plywood, MDF, pretty much anything will work. It can be held in a chuck, but it will usually be screwed to a face plate. The use of multiple pieces to make it thicker can also be done to prevent getting screw holes in the finished piece. Using large #14 square drive self tapping sheet metal screws is plenty sufficient, smaller screws can also be used, but some drywall screws are too brittle and can lead to failure problems when you would least like them. Some people support using a brown paper bag at the glue joint (if gluing the blank to the glue block/waste block) to make it easier to part the piece off the block. I personally want the piece to be mounted as securely as possible, so I don't use this method. It really isn't that hard to part the piece off without the paper, but try each way and decide for yourself.

As far as a method, (only one possible method/example):

You could mount a faceplate to two ply's of 3/4 MDF or poplar. If the pieces are round already (by bandsaw etc) skip next step.

Mount the faceplate on the lathe and turn down the block to get a round surface, be careful with the corners and enter the piece slowly. (I usually look for the blur to let me know where the edges really are) (a good practice would be to use clipped corner octagons over true squares)(rounder is better)

Then if needed you can square up the face of the blank, and mount the blank to the face plate block assembly. This is where the brown paper interface could be added to provide an easier line of separation for later.

Then proceed to turn as you wish and part off the piece when desired.

The faceplate assembly can be used repeatedly until the screws start to poke through. It is also very possible to just screw through the faceplate with or without the block into the wood and then design the piece such that the screws are not in the final shape by either having the foot small enough to be within the diameter of the screws or by leaving enough wood at the base to remove the screw holes when finishing the foot and base of the piece.

A common procedure would be to mount the piece, rough turn the outer profile and flatten the base for attachment to either a chuck or a faceplate. After this finish turn the outer profile to the desired shape and contours. This is usually also done with a bowl gouge used with a fine shear cutting process which entails rotating the flute of the gouge to a point where the upper bevel is approximately 1/8-1/16" away from the surface of the piece. Then tip the handle of the tool down until the tool is at a 45 degree angle to the floor resting upon the tool rest. Then proceed to lightly cut into the wood, all the time pressing DOWN into the tool rest (NOT into the wood) while lightly gripping the tool towards the short side end of the handle (or even with the metal in both hands)

After this sand until desired.

Remove the piece and remount it as desired (chuck or faceplate) and then face off the rim of the bowl. Then hollow out the interior with a bowl gouge working from the outside in and top to bottom in sections. Retaining as much wood in the interior of the bowl will allow for shaping the inside of the bowl with as little distortion of the wood as possible. This distortion becomes more of an issue as the wood gets thinner, the diameter gets larger and the lathe speed gets higher. As you thin the edges of the piece, try to keep them uniform in thickness to minimize the drying stresses due to differential drying rates. Then when the surface is where you wish, sand until finished. A useful target for initial turning shouldn't be the 1/16" or less that some do, I have seen some with uniform thickness of 0.010" (crazy stuff), try for whatever is comfortable, maybe it will be 1/4", maybe even thicker. Just try to keep it uniform in thickness.

It usual to then remount the piece by either Cole jaws or a jam chuck or a vacuum chuck (etc) with the rim toward the head stock. The the base can be accessed to (1) remove any remnant of the holding mechanisms, (2) shape the final profile of the base and (3) form the foot of the piece. These cuts are light in nature and are followed by sanding until the desired level is reached.

You can choose to apply the finish (if desired) on the lathe or afterwards. There are lots of options and this is only one example of what is done. For virtually every step above, there are exceptions and people who do it differently. For instance Ron Kent hollows his pieces before he forms the outer profile.... But most of the above represents a good basic approach. I hope this answered some of what was asked and I hope that is clear, it is a lot easier to show how than to write it, especially without pictures.

Best Regards,

Bill

"If it is worth doing, it's worth overdoing"

**volleyheads** · 04-12-2002, 10:50 AM

Just in case. The following pictures are some of Ron Kent's great works. The pictures may or may not show it very well, but the pieces are made of Norfolk pine and are so thin and finished in such a way that they are translucent. His website is www.ronkent.com.

[http://www.ronkent.com/Bowl6.JPG]

[http://www.ronkent.com/7.JPG]

[http://www.ronkent.com/3.JPG]

Best Regards,

Bill

"If it is worth doing, it's worth overdoing"