Ringmaster tool for bowls

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Hi All, I went to a craft fair in Cary N.C. and saw a woodturner who did segmented bowls. Unlike a normal segmented design these bowls were segmented in the horizontal plane or rings glued together. I talked to him and he said he used a "Ringmaster" tool to make the rings which were then glued together. Anybody ever use one of these? I do some segmented work which is probably more flexible but uses more wood than the Ringmaster method. But it was an interesting concept. Here's a link:

http://www.ringmastertool.com/PAGES/RINGMAST.HTM

[Steve Mawson]

I have one that will fit my ShopSmith. Have not had much experience with it since I have been finding enough wood to turn. However think I would like to use it with some lumber I have.

[Chris Colman]

Mmmmmmmm!

My jig making juices are flowing. I am sure I can rig up something similar on the lathe.

I wonder what kind of cutters they use, and if they sell replacement cutters. I can build the rest.

I have a machinist's drill press travelling vise that ought to be able to be modified to work....

Any ideas guys?

[Gary Conklin]

Alan, his bowls looked good, except for the hole in the center "ring." You can do this with same tecnique with a parting tool.

http://www.fwcwt.org/images/bowl_from_board/Bowl_from_board_tutorial.htm
.
.
.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Yeah Gary, I noticed the plugs on the bowl bottoms and wondered at the time why. Now I know but it doesn't detract much from the bowls. It does seem like you could almost do this with a thin parting tool. But I'm not really sold on this technique. You don't even need a lathe for it! You only sand in the end with no bowl gouge needed. Now that's so wrong for a a turner! :)

[Wes Henson]

You can do something similar to this on the band saw too.
You have to cut your main circle in half - along the diameter.
You have to angle the bandsaw table 40-50 degress I think
Then cut the half rings out of the half circles and glue them back together to make rings.
Then stack the rings on each other to make the bowl and you can true it up on the lathe.
Hopefully that makes sense

Tage Frid has it in his books

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

As Gary said, angle cut rings can be cut on the lathe using a parting tool. It's a little tricky because as you cut deeper into the board, the straight blade wants to bind in the curved cut. The simple solution is to constantly wiggle the parting tool in order to slightly enlarge the kerf so that the balde does not bind. I've cut many rings this way up to about 1" in depth.

[neil mackay]

here is another one for mounting on a lathe. A lot simpler and a lot less $$. They are not that difficult to make. I have made some time back as yet its not seen any use.


http://members.ozemail.com.au/~kjeeves/leady/ringcutter/ringcutter.html

[Frank Van Atta]

I have a RingMaster mounted on a ShopSmith lathe that I have used a number of times, so I'll try to answer some questions, address some misconceptions, and offer some other info:

· The system uses two cutters of 3/16" HSS stock 2 1/2" long, and milled to 1/16" for an inch or so at the cutter end. They are held in a slot by set screws so can easily be replaced by HSS bar stock readily available on the web. You can use 1/8" HSS bar stock and simply end up with a slightly larger kerf.

· There are two advantages to the Ringmaster over cutting with a parting tool: 1) It cuts brom both sides of the blank so the tearout is in the middle; 2) The angle of the cut can be cut precisely and locked down.

· There is no need to cut a hole in the middle of the blank - it can be attached to the lathe with a faceplate or waste block. The hole is used on RingMaster systems which are independent of a lathe.

· Once the rings are cut and glued, the assembly is mounted back on the lathe and turned just like any other piece. I use a bowl gouge to create the final form and thickness, and to get away from the "funnel" look these bowls can have.

· The advantage over using the bandsaw is that you don't have to glue the rings back together and the surfaces are cut smoother than on the bandsaw. If you want to get away from gluing the rings together, use a scroll saw, threading the blade through a small hole to start and end the cut.

Here's a "provenance" photo array of a redwood burl bowl made by cutting the rings with a RingMaster. You can see the "tearout" in the middle of each ring in the fourth photo. This piece was turned by mounting the board on a waste block. The piece is "slightly" ogee shaped, but not as much as I would like. If the rings are made thicker, then you have more design flexibility.

http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/OutofThinAir.jpg

[Steve Mawson]

Frank,
You took my suggest of using a faceplate or waste block. Much easier to keep all the same angles with the ringmaster but as many said, lots of ways to cut the rings. I guess use what ever works for you.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

I would be interested in finding a used Ringmaster, either stand alone or for ShipSmith if you know of one.

[David Campbell]

I would be interested in finding a used Ringmaster, either stand alone or for ShipSmith if you know of one.


I have a Ringmaster for sale, I purchased it to fit on my Shopsmith, but have used it very, very little.

[David Campbell]

Mmmmmmmm!

My jig making juices are flowing. I am sure I can rig up something similar on the lathe.

I wonder what kind of cutters they use, and if they sell replacement cutters. I can build the rest.

I have a machinist's drill press travelling vise that ought to be able to be modified to work....

Any ideas guys?


Jig juices, LMAOFF!

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Check your PMs please.

[jim wikel]

This may be a bit late for the thread but the bowls or vases can have curved sides and not just the funnel look. see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8_RQGcxQZw for an example. I think the fellow in NC was Jim Staley who has done quite a few very nice pieces with the Ring Master. I think a big advantage to the Ring Master is you use flat boards to start and the waste is minimal. After you cut the rings, you can turn them or sand them to get a smooth finish. There is an informative and entertaining video for using a Ring Master on a Shopsmith at http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Archives/SS117/SS117_Ringmaster_3.htm. I have this attachment and I have used the stand-alone Ring Master.

[Robert Newton]

Check ebay for a used ringmaster

[Dave Lehnert]

Here is a book that may be of interest.

http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Bowls-Scroll-Easy---Make/dp/1565234332/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312337826&sr=8-1

203970

[Greg Just]

recently published article on woodturningdesign.com

http://www.ghwg.ca/techniques/Bowl_from_a_board_20100909.pdf

[Kevin Beitz]

I made my own attachment using a X Y drill press attachment.

[Barry McFadden]

I don't like the method of using a bandsaw to cut the rings because then you have to glue all the half rings back together. I use my scroll saw tilted to 35 degrees so I'm dealing with full rings which are much less trouble to glue together...

384864 384865 384866 384867

[Mick Fagan]

Barry, that is a very interesting way of obtaining the segmented layers.

As it so happens, yesterday I watched a live demonstration from a long retired pattern maker and his version of segmenting bowls and/or vases. His method only uses material he can cut on his bandsaw using a jig of his own design to calculate and set angles. His method uses individual segments individually glued for each ring. He uses a face plate sander, combining it with his angle jig on his lathe to obtain accurate angles and smoothness for his individual pieces. Not as elegant as your method and I would suggest nowhere near as quick; but one can, with a minimum of equipment and diligence, end up with some interesting and elegant stuff using his method.

In March this year, I was in attendance at my own wood turning guild when one of our members demonstrated his own self built ring cutter. Being a retired machining shop owner and still owning some machinery, he built his own ring cutting device. His device was a great thing, but I like the simplicity of your method better.

I note you appear to be using a single sided steady, is this to allow for the pressure from internal cutting?

I am not a super fan of segmented turning, but I can see that I'll have to do at least one in the future to get them out of my system.

Mick.

[Barry McFadden]

Barry, that is a very interesting way of obtaining the segmented layers.

As it so happens, yesterday I watched a live demonstration from a long retired pattern maker and his version of segmenting bowls and/or vases. His method only uses material he can cut on his bandsaw using a jig of his own design to calculate and set angles. His method uses individual segments individually glued for each ring. He uses a face plate sander, combining it with his angle jig on his lathe to obtain accurate angles and smoothness for his individual pieces. Not as elegant as your method and I would suggest nowhere near as quick; but one can, with a minimum of equipment and diligence, end up with some interesting and elegant stuff using his method.

In March this year, I was in attendance at my own wood turning guild when one of our members demonstrated his own self built ring cutter. Being a retired machining shop owner and still owning some machinery, he built his own ring cutting device. His device was a great thing, but I like the simplicity of your method better.

I note you appear to be using a single sided steady, is this to allow for the pressure from internal cutting?

I am not a super fan of segmented turning, but I can see that I'll have to do at least one in the future to get them out of my system.

Mick.

Hey Mick....yes.. I use the bowl steady on large thin bowls to prevent chatter when turning the inside. I don't do much spindle turning so I don't have a steady rest which supports the work piece from 3 sides... I find the bowl steady isn't really needed on a thicker bowl but find it very useful on the thinner ones.. To prevent chatter when I turn the outside of the bowl I put a scrap piece of wood across the open end of the bowl and hold it in place with the tailstock...

384910

[Mick Fagan]

Barry, thanks for your explanation. Your scrap piece of timber across the top of the bowl to eliminate chatter, is neat.

Mick.