Glue Block or Chuck?

[Burt Alcantara]

Just finished watching "Bowl Basics The Easy Way," by Lyle Jamieson. This is, perhaps, the most comprehensive and thorough instructional DVD on wood turning I've seen to date. However, Lyle uses some techniques that seem to go against convention.

The most strident one was the use of glue blocks over chucks. He makes a convincing argument that the glue block supplies more support then a chuck but this is the only DVD I've watched that uses a glue block.

The problems I've had with chucks were due to my own ineptness. When I make a good properly formed tenon (I've recently switched to dovetails), I do not experience failure.

I'm curious if any members use glue blocks as their main mechanism for holding wood on the lathe. For that matter, do you use none of the above?

Thanks,
Burt

[Alan Trout]

Burt,

Not that I am any kind of expert, but I do use a lot of glue blocks in conjunction with my chuck. I use a 2" hard wood glue block that I will glue to my blank and then use my spigot jaws on my chuck. I have found that this is a very secure method to hold much of my work. I get a deep spigot this way and waste very little of the blank.

Good Luck

Alan

[curtis rosche]

depends on the wood and your turning style. if its a soft wood like spaulted or something, i glue a waste block oon, but find it is a lot quicker to just put a chuck on it instead of trying to screw a face plate on. i have a peice of maple i turned round that is the right size for my chuck jaws. when i need a waste block i just chop a 1 inch peice off, then glue it to the bowl..
ive found that with soft wood a tight chuck digs in unevenly to the wood and can pop off the tenon, and that with some really hard woods they are to hard for some chucks to realy grip well. my chuck doesnt grip well on osage so i put a waste block on it. it goes by what every you feel works for you

[Richard Madison]

Burt,
To make it more confusing, I use glue blocks held in a chuck. When making multiple "bowls" for a ribbon form I make the glue blocks from kiln dried SYP construction lumber (2x4 and 2x6). Cut the blocks square. Then cut a square tenon 3/8" deep on one side (8 cuts on the TS). The eight corners of 4 chuck jaws will make indentions in the tenon and provide a very secure grip. Bandsaw the blocks round, turn and sand the glue surface flat, and mark the #1 jaw position on the tenon so it will go back in the chuck in the same position. Note this procedure is for relatively small, light weight pieces. For roughing larger bowls from logs I start them between centers, turn the outside and a tenon on the bottom, reverse to the chuck. Have not used a faceplate for a long time.

[David Walser]

Burt,

I'm glad you liked Lyle's DVD; it's one of my favorites.

With regard to glue blocks, Lyle's right. Glue blocks in combination w/ a face plate provide a stronger hold than a scroll chuck. However, I think most production turners use chucks for their greater speed. In most cases, chucks provide a "good enough" hold; if you're turning dozens of bowls a day, I suspect the few seconds difference in speed matters. Since most of the popular bowl turning videos -- for example, those by Bill Grumbine and Mike Mahoney -- are made by production turners, many of us learned to use a chuck.

Since watching Lyle's video, I use glue blocks far more often than I did before. They've become my primary chucking method. I still use my chuck, but not as often.

[Mike Minto]

i use both chucks and glue blocks, as well as faceplates. i watched one gentleman make a hollow form at the Richmond symposium - i forget his name, sorry - and he stated he doesn't turn much of anything without using a faceplate - wouldn't trust glue blocks or chucks on anything with any size to speak of. when i use a glue block, it is a hardwood, and usually tapped with my Beall so it is sort of a combo faceplate glue block that is screwed directly onto my spindle.

[Kim Ford]

I'm a big fan of glue blocks. On and off the lathe as many times as you want without losing exact center.

[Wally Dickerman]

I started using glue blocks a long time ago. I had a great source for a lot of very highly figured wood. A small sawmill not far from where I lived sold wood to musical instrument makers. They were very particular about the wood they wanted. No spalting, no redheart, So I got all of that. He cut the wood to 3 inch thickness then kiln dried it. So now it's near 2 3/4 inches thick. There was no wood to waste so a glue block allowed me to use it all. That was so long ago that the 4-jaw chuck that's so popular today hadn't yet been invented. (The first Nova came out around 1990). I used a screw chuck on most pieces. If it was a large piece I used a faceplate (Still the most secure way to fasten a blank to the lathe)

Today, I still use a screw chuck or sometimes a 4-jaw along with a glue block.

Wally

[Burt Alcantara]

I'm surprised at the number of people using glue blocks. I guess I should try this out. I've had only bad luck with screw chucks. Each time I use one it doesn't snug up. The piece keeps turning and turning and turning so fearing a face bomb, I take it off the screw.

I've used the Oneway and Vicmarc screws all with the same lack of success.

Learn something new every day!
Burt

[Judy Kingery]

Burt,

Like you, I tried a screw chuck and did not meet with much success. Spose it all depends on what you're doing, but I do both faceplates and glue-up waste blocks all the time. Most often the glue-up waste block with my jawed chuck, that's the ticket. Never had a problem going that route at all. Waste blocks are cheap, reusuable over and over until you finally turn them down to not usuable. Cheap effecient and firm anchor for your turning pieces. Hope you like it!

Best regards,

Jude

[Kim Ford]

I never use a screw chuck with the glue block.

I make up 20 or 30 glue blocks, tap the hole and then have them ready when I need them.

When the roughed out blank is dry enough to go back on the lathe I clean up the foot enough to accept the block by sandwiching it between standard chuck and the tail stock. Then simply glue the block on and thread the assembly on your spindle.

You now have center on and off.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

I probably use every technique out there, but for large segmented work where the piece is constantly being taken off and then returned to the lathe, there's nothing better than a hardwood waste block screwed onto a faceplate.

[Richard Madison]

Agreed. Forgot that one, having not done a large piece for a long time.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

The only time I use glue blocks is when I'm making minatures. Rather than waste a lot of wood, figuratuvely speaking, I have some rounds about 1 to 1-1/2" long that I glue 3/4" and smaller pieces to to make them.

Bruce

[Ryan Baker]

There are a number of places where a glue block is appropriate and effective, some of which have already been mentioned. But as far as security is concerned, no way will I choose a glue block over an appropriately selected chuck mount (and that does not mean using 2" jaws for every job). If the chuck isn't secure enough for the job, you need to screw it right onto a faceplate. For many jobs, any of the above will do just fine.

[Kim Ford]

I would like to take just a moment and clarify something only because it really works for me.

I never used a glue block on a green blank. Green blanks are out of round, unbalanced, and can be generally nasty. Also being green they do not accept glue well. The technique that has served me well, is to mount the green "log" between centers and bring it to round, shape the outside and then turn a strong tennon. Grip the tennon well with the chuck and rough out the inside. I usually snug up the tailstock as well untill I have at least half of the center gone.

After the blank is dry and usually about half the weight is when I square up the foot, cut off the tennon and put on the glue block.

I don't get fancy on the glue blocks either. I use scrap 2x4's and cut them in 3 1/2" lengths. My spindle is 1 7/8" x 8, I drill a 1 3/4" hole and I tap them out. I leave them square and glue directly to the dry blank. They become round when I shape up the outside of the bowl. The waste block comes off when the foot is detailed in the final pass with the vacuum chuck.

A typical bowl size for me is 10 - 17" with a 4 -6" depth. I have never had one release, break or separate. However, I will note that my turning speeds rarely exceed 1400 rpm. I usually tune in at about 1000 rpm. I know some like to "go fast" and when you increase speeds to 2 or 3k I don't know what type of forces you create, but for me and the reason I replyed to this post three times is because this technique really works well, and has changed and improved the way I turn.

Taps are cheap usually less that $30 for a standard size spindle and scrap 2x4 is always around. I only waited so long to do this because a tap for my spindle was very pricey. But once I did it life at the lathe changed.

The picture below shows a group of blanks ready for a final pass and sanding.

Hope this helps.

[Reed Gray]

I am now using glue blocks for boxes (threaded boxes on Bonnie Klein jig). If things have to be taken off and remounted a couple of times, a chuck is not nearly as accurate as a glue block on a nut or face plate for me. You never remove it till you are totally done with it, because it never goes back on the same way. For my bowls, a recess in the top with a forstner bit, expand the chuck into that, then turn the outside, and another recess, then reverse, core, then finish turn the inside, then mount the core, and repeat. The chuck never comes off the lathe, no face plates, no screw chucks, also no tailstock for me.

As a side note, CA glue will stick to wet wood, but if a piece was to dry while on a glue block, the bowl or the waste block would probably fail.

robo hippy

[Brian McInturff]

Reed,
I took your advice awhile back when a similar conversation about chucking had came up(not sure which forum) and have been using a recess more and more. I'm really beginning to like it better than tenons. I'm also finding glue blocks definitely have their place.