Re chucking Bowls

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UKTony

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Im getting extremely irritated with finishing a lovely bowl and then after completing the inside finding nasty chuck marks on the tenon, i am thinking of investing in a set of Cole Jaws but having just spent another £100 on additional jaws will have to wait a while, are these easy to attach or will i be fiddling for an hour?

In the meantime i have a spare self centering chuck with 50 mm jaws attached, has anyone considered making a homemade version of the cole jaws. i also read somewhere you can make a jam chuck the same size as your bowl on scrap and then bring you centre in leaving only a small hole to contend with, does this work?

I don't know about you guys but the minute i present a finished piece to anyone the first thing they do is turn the dam thing over :twisted:
 
Tony,

That is the reason that I chuck most of my bowls on a recess instead of a tenon.

Turn a suitable recess in the bottom of the bowl instead of a tenon (make sure the taper matches that on the jaws of your chuck. You can grip it buy expanding the chuck instead of contracting. Be a bit careful, as if you apply too much force you will split the wood.

I have a set of Cole jaws for my Record chuck - I don't use them that often as it takes about 10 minutes to swap jaws, and then 10 mins to swap back again. Having said that, they are handy if I am making a bowl and I particularly want to remove all evidence of the chucking operation.

I have read of people making their own Cole jaws - I saw a set made from MDF once.

You can use a piece of scrap wood to make a jam chuck (ply or MDF work well for this). Turn a recess in the scrap so that the bowl is a tight fit (make sure that the bowl is being compresed, if it is expanded it will split). Bring up the tailstock for support, and turn away as much of the tenon as you can. Remove the bowl from the lathe and remove the stub that is left either with a chisel or even a plane. Finish off with a quick sanding and away you go.

Regards

Gary
 
cd, great link; thank you.
smile.gif


Cheers, Alf
 
Excellent link, cd - thanks.

Tony,

Exactly wot Gary said.

I often leave the recess, sanded and polished same as the rest of the piece. Sometimes I adorn it with a couple of decorative circles. Sometimes I use a pyrography machine to inscribe the species of wood and my logo.

Where can I get a Santa-plane?? :roll:

Cheers,

Trev.
 
Well Duncan was there first.
Personally I am not too keen on the longworth chuck. Nice idea, but it needs a jig building specialist to make a smooth operating chuck of this type.

The only addition I would suggest is the combination of home made cole jaws with the bus chuck that was described by Kai Kothe in Woodturning february 1995, reprinted in 'useful techniques for woodturners' ISBN 1 86108 078 6.

I am building (at least part of) these jaws. I will use 'trespa ' a hard synthetic material, in which you can cut a decent thread.

Success,

Hans
 
Had some time over Christmas so I decided to have a go at building the donut chuck, and used today for the first time.

rechuck1.jpg


not much to it really some 9mm ply disks and 4 long bolts (I actually used some m6 threaded bar because I had it). The kitchen paper is there just to stop me from marking the bowl thats in it.
And the bowl bottom

bowlbottom.jpg



cd
 
Sometimes the simple ideas are best! That is excellent cd. Although I have a set of cole jaws they certainly are a bit fiddly. I shall certainly make one of these. Thanks, too, for your excellent pics. :wink: I can see that it would also be very simple to make a variety of different 'tail' plates to suit the finishing of other items when the tail centre cannot be used.

UK Tony: a smaller version if you are going to make lots of spinning tops? The ones you made before Christmas looked super!

Cheers,

Trev.
 
CD,

Thanks for posting the pictures, I am not a turner, but show a Tony like interest in jigs and that is a well made and useful jig in my book. 8)
 
:idea:
cd
great pics... worth everyone of a thousand words each!!

I recently called in at a local furniture retailer and asked if they had any redundant leather samples... took two of us to carry them out!!!!

They'd be ideal for covering all of the jig surfaces that come into contact with the bowl... saves pfaffing about with paper...
 
oldsoke":xsf3rbvj said:
I recently called in at a local furniture retailer and asked if they had any redundant leather samples... took two of us to carry them out!!!!
Ooo, now there's an idea. Nice one, OldSoke, and welcome to the forum.

Cheers, Alf
 
CD

Wonderful, since digital images never show scale correctly whats the diameter of the discs and cut out....Im working on one at the moment but have opted for the design where you move the bungs to accomadate different sizes of bowl.

PS Will be informing Air Traffic Control before i test it :p
 
:D thanks for the welcome!

The leather pieces may also be glued on a disc of mdf together with a polishing compound, to hone skews etc., easiest way is to mount the mdf disc on a screw chuck on the lathe... unless u have a spare face plate...

I also use the leather glued to a flat piece of ply (or whatever's handy)

Bowls etc. may also be protected by small discs (hole punch) glied to the base... beats covering up all that luvly wood with stick on baize!!

Any other sensible ideas for using umptynine pieces of leather? (I did think about pyjamas but...)
 
UKTony":1f5g46ck said:
CD

Wonderful, since digital images never show scale correctly whats the diameter of the discs and cut out....Im working on one at the moment but

Without going back out in the cold to measure exactly about 8" for the discs and 3 1/2" for the hole. This suited me as my max diameter is 9" over the bed the 3 1/2" cut out is tapered to help centre the bowl and as my comon method of holding a bowl is a 2" spigott this hole gives me enough room to get around it to tidy it up.

Oldsoke: Welcome to the forums and thanks for the idea about the leather I shall be visiting the local furniture outlets soon.
Need to keep quiet about it though SWMBO is after a new sofa and I'm trying not to encourage her :D

cd
 
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