mounting bowls on a "standard" chuck

[sark]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, also to woodturning hence maybe a silly question:

is there a way to safely mount a bowl on a standard 4 jaw chuck?
unfortunately i cannot paste links/images, but by standard I mean the ones used by metal lathes as well, not the "quarter circle" dovetail type

after I shape the outside of a bowl mounted on a faceplate, I would turn a dovetail shaped tenon to hold it from the other side, but the contact surface of the standard jaws would be too small to hold it securely

can anyone suggest a solution? I was thinking maybe a circular washer type thing which would basically be a springy metal ring I would cut in one place and sort of handcuff it on the bowl tenon -> acting as a washer for the hard jaws and the softer wood


thanks

 

[Phil Pascoe]

They are not designed for and shouldn't be used for wood. Sorry.

 

[finneyb]

Some alternatives if you haven't got a chuck http://www.ptwoodturners.org/Tips%20and ... 0Bowls.pdf

 

[CHJ]

There are two examples of bowls without a chuck in the New to Turning, Help and Safety sticky at the top of the turning section.

A metal lathe chuck is not safe to use to hold wood as wood readily compresses, wood chucks rely on a larger area of contact to reduce compression loads and a dovetail shape to prevent the wood coming off if any slight wood compression takes place.

 

[hawkeyefxr]

Why not spoil yourself and get a wood turning lathe as well . I had a Myford 7 ? and sold it as i did not use it much. A few years later on bough a woof turning lathe, i then wished i still had the Myford for all manner of little things for jigs and the like.

 

[J-G]

is there a way to safely mount a bowl on a standard 4 jaw chuck?
by standard I mean the ones used by metal lathes

after I shape the outside of a bowl mounted on a faceplate, I would turn a dovetail shaped tenon to hold it from the other side, but the contact surface of the standard jaws would be too small to hold it securely

can anyone suggest a solution? I was thinking maybe a circular washer type thing which would basically be a springy metal ring I would cut in one place and sort of handcuff it on the bowl tenon -> acting as a washer for the hard jaws and the softer wood

4 jaw metal working chucks are generally 'Independent' rather than scroll so setting them up is an 'art' !

Using a dove-tailed metal ring could work but I still wouldn't use an independent type chuck and I would split the ring into two parts rather than just cutting it once since it is doubtful that it would 'spring' as much as the difference between the top and bottom diameters of the dovetail.

You are still on to a hiding though and a proper 4 jaw wood-turning scroll chuck is definitely the way to go.

I use a Myford Super 7 for all my work and do use metal-working 3 Jaw Scroll chucks to hold wood. I also make my own Wooden jaws to fit soft jaws but also have a 4 Jaw Wood-turning chuck.

Knowing your equipment and its limitations is key!

 

[sark]

thanks all for the feedback!