Hole for a candle

[bobscarle]

A little while back I asked about a starter lathe. I Thank all of you that responded. I have now bought one . The Perform CCSL from Axminster. It was on special so it had to be done!

What kind of a new slope is this! I have always wanted to have a go at turning but never got around to it. Now, I can't turn the thing off. And as for the bits and pieces that I didn't know I wanted, well now I can't live without them.

I do have a question to ask. I started turning a piece of green oak, first into a cylinder then into a sort of goblet shape. I know, I will make a candle holder! When I had done enough, I removed it from the lathe, trimmed the ends and then tried to drill a hole for the candle. I do not know if my drill bit is blunt or whether green oak is difficult to drill, but I could not get through it. I am trying to drill a 45mm hole with a sawtooth forstner bit using a hand held power drill.

Then a thought struck me. There must be a way to do this on the lathe. The hole for the candle is quite wide and does not need to be too deep, I am sure I could do that. The problem is how to hold it on to the other end. I used a 4 point drive centre but this would not provide enough support, I need another way. The lathe comes with an 80mm face plate which I could screw it to. Is this the best way? Do I need to buy a screw mount for the lathe? And if so which would be the best bet?

Sorry. I know this is rather long and has a lot of questions, but I have a lot to learn. Thank you.

Bob

 

[Russell]

You need a chuck to hold work at one end prices from about £75.00 upwards for one worth having. I would recommend the new Nova G£ at £99.00 for the lathe you have but I am sure others will have plenty of ideas. The important thing is you get one that allows different jaws to be fitted and you avoid the collet type chucks get a 4 jaw self centring scroll chuck.

 

[CHJ]

Bob, as Russell says, method of holding and sequence of operations are the key to boring the end, which by the way is easily done with a parting tool for what you need, and normally would be the First Operation not the last.

How tall(long) is the piece now.
How wide (diameter) is the 'base' (looking to estimate surface area)

Given this info, may be able to give you a work-around for this piece but it will be tricky for you as a new starter.

Sorry about the Slope, but we all fell for it so why shouldn't you. :lol:

 

[Russell]

Its a long and very slippery slope the further you go the more speed you pick up. I haven't hit the bottom yet in 8 years :lol:

 

[bobscarle]

Chas, Russell, thanks for your responses.

The piece that I was trying does not matter anymore, it was, after all only my first test. I would, however, like to turn another, the top of which will be about 60mm in diameter and the base may be slightly larger. The overall height will be no more than about 250mm. I have another couple of pieces of the green oak so I would like to use one of them.

If it turns out that I need to go and buy a chuck, is it best to talk to the tech support at Axminster (as they make the lathe) or is it best to look second hand? I would at some time in the future like to try turning some small bowls, so ideally any chuck that I buy now should be capable of taking a bowl. Is this realistic or am I dreaming? What about glue blocks that I hear about. I have used them in furniture making but I have no idea how they could be used in turning :? .

As far as the slope is concerned, lathes ought to come with some sort of a warning, to say that turning lumps of wood can become addictive!

Thanks

Bob

 

[Russell]

I am not familiar with the Axminster chucks but lots of the members have them. The Nova G3 or the Supernova 2 will do all you want and have fittings that can be changed to suit different lathes that would be something to consider as its your first lathe you may well buy a bigger one or another one as an upgrade it may well have different head a stock thread size. I always suggest people buy a chuck that allows you to change the fitting to avoid having to buy a complete new chuck

 

[TEP]

Hi Bob.

Welcome to the dark and scary world of spinning wood :twisted:

As has already been said, buy a chuck which can be adapted to fit different lathes, (future proofing) and for which you can buy different jaw sizes, which means buying a well known make. For the beginner a scroll chuck has got to be a must, it is by far the easiest to use.

PS; Russell what's wrong with collet chucks :-k . I've got 2 Multistar Duplex and they are fantastic for reverse chucking and keeping the piece concentric. Mind you I also work with Supernova's although I find that if you reverse chuck and tighten these too hard you can crush the spigot a little and the wood can go off center, not very good if your doing a very thin bowl.

 

[Russell]

Nothing wrong with Multistar Duplex system one of the best around, but the cheap collet chucks RP3000 and the copies are nearly useless. I don't recommend collet systems for beginners but I do recognise there use for some turning but you do need experience to get the best out of them IMO

 

[Paul.J]

TEP wrote
what's wrong with collet chucks
What are these chucks.How are they different from the SN2 :?:
Paul.J.

 

[Russell]

The supernova2 is a 4 jaw self centering scroll chuck you turn a key to close all 4 jaws at the same time, the jaws move about 20mm so lots of options.

A collet chuck usually has 3 jaws that fit into a chuck body these jaws are compressed when the outer ring of the chuck is tighten thus holding the work. In variably they have about 5mm of jaw movement they require greater accuracy and are not as flexible with spigot / chucking point size. Some are good - Multistar Duplex some IMO are horrid RP3000 They can be fiddly to set up and often don't hold too well if you are near the limits of the jaw movement. However the Multistar Duplex when used correctly is a fantastic collet chuck but requires a lot of learning to get the best out of it.

 

[Paul.J]

Right.Thanks for that Russel
I'll stick with me SN2 then
Paul.J.

 

[TEP]

Russell I agree with your assessment with the Multistar v RP3000. The Multistar has 4 jaws, RP3000 may have three, I can't remember. I have used the RP chuck in a club and getting the dovetail to fit is a art in itself. As you say not the ideal chuck for a beginner.

Paul just for reference a pic. of one of my Multistar's fitted with 40mm jaws.

 

[bobscarle]

Er.....Excuse me.....Anybody got a babblefish I can borrow??????? :?

 

[TEP]

Sorry about all that Bob . Forgetting you are a newcomer to the hobby.

 

[greybeard]

Hi Bob

Isn't it a steep slope?! - wheee!!

What was said at the start is all you need - a scroll chuck. But they are not cheap! Upwards of a £100 (slope!) And they v v seldom appear in the second hand market, not least because they are still relatively new to the turning market (only really begun to become readily available within the last 10 years or so).
Hence all the emphasis on deliberately picking one that can be changed (via some kind of insert thingy) when you upgrade your lathe (slope, slope!!).

And the logic behind all that is that not all lathes have the same diameter or threads per inch (TPI) for the headstock shaft, which is what the chuck screws on to. Apologies if this's a grandmother sucking eggs thing, but just in case....now you know!

What they didn't tell you is that you will quickly realise that one scroll chuck will not be enough (slope, slope, slope!!!).

 

[Russell]

Hi Bob



What they didn't tell you is that you will quickly realise that one scroll chuck will not be enough (slope, slope, slope!!!).

:lol: :lol: :lol: I have 4 now :shock: thats one every 2 years I want 1 more as well

 

[bobscarle]

Thanks all (I think)

Looking through the Axminster catalogue it appears that there are several sizes of headstock thread, mine is 1" x 8tpi according to the bumph. So I need to get a chuck that fits this thread. OK. That much I understand. I got quite excited seeing a new Charnwood set for £58 on ebay until I realised that the thread was wrong. Also on ebay is a Maxi grip 2000, but again the thread is wrong.

Its a bit of a bummer really. The new chuck could well cost more than the lathe and I could well need (want) more than one. OK if I need one then I will have to buy one. I would like to try to get to the "Turning Bash" next month and have a look at all the strange things you have been telling me about. No purchase until after that (wallet heave a hugh sigh of relief).

If I may be so bold as to ask another question (somewhat off topic), how do you stop green wood from splitting after it has been turned?

Thanks again

Bob (Confused of Redditch)

 

[mrs. sliver]

Oh BOB! I hope you have your ice shoes on! the slope gets even more slippy here!!! I can't 'do' green wood yet, but as a fellow newby I can only say I got the supernova chuck to fit our lathe and it is fine. enjoy the site!! there a lot of experienced brains to pick on here!
If you have a pillar drill I use that to put holes in for candles befre I start turning.

 

[CHJ]

The new chuck could well cost more than the lathe :

That is a fact, especially if you add one or two extra sets of jaws.

My advice is beware of oddball items on e-bay unless you really know the animal, as additional jaws etc. may be difficult to obtain or even non existent.

SN2 would be my pointer to you.

( and I could well need (want) more than one.

Depends on your method of working and how you plan ahead for tasks.

I for instance have turned in excess of 450 items to date and never needed an extra chuck as such, I have various different jaws and alternate mounting devices such as faceplate, dovetail ring (faceplate alternate) & cole jaws for the chuck.

The cost of an additional chuck is far better spent on additional turning tools, sharpening equipment etc. IMO for a new starter.

If I may be so bold as to ask another question (somewhat off topic), how do you stop green wood from splitting after it has been turned?

Live a very clean life and hope someone is watching over you. :lol:

Seriously, try to keep the wall thickness even, tend to leave the base area thinner than walls rather than thicker,

Wrap the outer of the bowl with two or three layers of newspaper, this encourages the core to dry slightly quicker than the outer and is beneficial.

See this article which shows the wrapping method.

There is a lot of debate as to whether soaking in meths, or boiling the rough turned item has any beneficial effects, all I can say by doing either I get far more usable pieces at the end of the day than just leaving them to their own devices and an apparent increase in the speed of drying.

 

[Bodrighy]

The new chuck could well cost more than the lathe :

Shock to the system innit 8-[ I was getting really frustrated not having a chuck and then, when I got one found that I was spending more and more time spindle turning. My advice would be the same as others. If you do get a chuck, make sure that it can be adapted for any lathe and het a self-centring one. s far as getting more than one, I suppose it can be a pain having to change the jaws but it's a lot cheaper than having multiple chucks. Depends how far you go, Some of the guys on here who are earning a living having different lathes for different jobs so I guess it depends where the slopw takes you. Google 'Bodgers' and see what can be achieved with no chuck, no proper headstock or tailstock even......

Pete