Turning banjo pots

[dan mosheim]

Hi ... My son and I want to turn some 11" banjo pots ... I've got a Powermatic 45 lathe but no four jaw chuck ... We're looking at the One Way Talon CHuck with the Jumbo Jaws from Canada. We're looking for feedback: good, bad, or altenrnative chucks to consider ... The rings we want to turn are about 11.25" in diameter, 2 3/4 high by 7/8" thick and we want to turn them down to 11", inside, and out and both faces ... I've got a banjo post on my dorset custom furniture blog if you want to see pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated .... Thanks ...dan

[Angie Orfanedes]

Hi Dan,

I recently made a block rim as a segmented turning. Pictures are posted here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=113554

Here are the steps I followed.

1. Made a glueup of 24 pieces of maple in three layers using Titebond 3. I rough trimmed this on my bandsaw - you could do it all on the lathe - it would just take a bit more time.
2. Glued that assembly to a 11.75 inch piece of 1/2 inch plywood.
3. Attached plywood to face plate.
4. Turned ID and OD. Turned rabbet for tone ring on face sticking out. Sanded OD and ID up through 600 grit.
5. Used parting tool to separate assembly from plywood.
6. Held assembly, back side out in Longworth chuck which I had previously made of 1/2 inch plywood.
7. Sanded back side up through 600 grit.
8. I drilled the holes in the rim (this banjo uses brackets and shoes).
9. Hung the rim from an eyebolt and finished it with mutiple coats of TruOil.

[alex carey]

If your question is whether the talon will do the job than that would be a yes. If you plan on doing a lot of turning I'd go for the talon because it is the best of the best. But if it won't be used that often I'd go for something like the Nova Precision Midi Chuck.

Consider ordering from woodcraft.com People always rave about their service.

[dan mosheim]

Thanks Angie and Alex ... Both replies were very helpful .... I think we'll start with the first idea and glue one to a ply circle on my face plate. Parting it off was the part we were missing.... duh .... We'll see if anything else turns up here today. but in the meantime, thank you both for your responses ...dan