Pedestal "Chuck"

[David DeCristoforo]

OK... no laughing now. I mentioned this "chuck" I came up with for finishing the bottoms of pedestals (AKA "sticks"). This cost all of three bucks and change. The double sided tape holds things in place just fine and is easily replaced. The tailstock center helps to position the stick but then can be moved clear so you can clean up the entire bottom on the lathe. I have a vacuum adaptor on the way and will make a more sophisticated version once that is up and running. Remember... no laughing...

160829

[James Roberts]

Nothing to laugh at there, David, especially if it gets the job done. Very ingenious and it should work even better once your vacuum system is figured in the mix.

[John Keeton]

David, that is actually quite brilliant! I was working with my Holdfast tonite, and was just thinking about how one might do something very similar to this!!

Really, with PVC fittings, the options are wide open. One could do a base, and have 2 or 3 reducers down to 1.5", etc.

Great idea - thanks for posting!!

[Brian Brown]

OK... no laughing now.
160829

Who's laughing, that's brilliant!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Anything in there to keep the thin end of the "stick" centered ?

A leaning "Tower of Pizza" stick doesn't make the looks I think, oh, just thinking out loud here David ;-))

[Jon McElwain]

Hmm, does it hold well enough to make cuts, or do you just sand? I've been toying with placing small round stones, contrasting wood inlays, etc. in the bottom of tall finials and narrow lids. Will it hold to make the necessary cuts for that? Clever trick you've thunk up here!

[David DeCristoforo]

"Anything in there to keep the thin end of the "stick" centered..."

"...does it hold well enough to make cuts, or do you just sand?"

The end being centered does not seem to be an issue. But I was running at fairly slow speed ((+/-) 600 RPM). I had thought about that and figured I could wrap the thin end with some "soft" foam to keep it from rattling around.

The double sided tape holds well enough to allow tooling as well as sanding. I'm sure that once I get this set up as a vacuum chuck, it will have much more holding power and it will be able to run at a higher RPM.

[John Keeton]

Anything in there to keep the thin end of the "stick" centered ?

A leaning "Tower of Pizza" stick doesn't make the looks I think, oh, just thinking out loud here David ;-))Leo, I assume you are talking about the possibility of turning the bottom "off center" such that the pedestal would not sit plumb? That would be a real concern, but seems the way to deal with that is in the process of parting off the stem bottom, one would have a perpendicular plane established. When the bottom is 'finished', one would not have to disturb the outside rim edge so the pedestal would still sit plumb - even if the 'finishing' of the bottom was slightly off center, but not otherwise noticeable.

[David DeCristoforo]

"When the bottom is 'finished', one would not have to disturb the outside rim edge..."

Bingo.

[Joe Shinall]

David, that's a great idea. No laughing here, just crying that I didn't think about that a long time ago and patent it.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

John, what I was seeing is that with the tape to hold it the top of the finial could be off center in the "holder/chuck" and you wouldn't be able to see that while turning the base, so then the finial would fit just fine but be leaning, this would not be so much a concern with a vacuum chuck IMO as you would not need the sticky tape and the finial base's topside would keep it an equal distance from all sides I'd think.
OK a real quick scribble here that shows (I hope) what I meant by the tip being not centered in the chuck, and how would you make sure it was.

The orange would be the chuck and that black scribble the finial, showing that the tip could be easily off center and if you do turn the foot to fit the HF it would sit off center, not a problem of course if you only have to remove a tenon.

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[John Keeton]

Leo, I thought that was probably what you were talking about and I agree. I think David was referring to finishing the bottom of the pedestal stem for appearance, so as you say, it shouldn't be an issue.

Good points and explanatory sketch!!

Wish I had the years of experience that you do Leo!!:) Having 'been there before' sure makes the trip a little smoother. And, I am glad you freely share your experiences!

[David DeCristoforo]

Your point is well taken. But, as JK has pointed out, if the rim of the pedestal is established while it is still between centers, a slight "off center" condition as you show in your sketch would not be an issue. Also, simply wrapping the top end of the pedestal with a bit of foam to "take up the slack" and keep the end centered in the "chuck" would solve the problem. I did not intend for this to be any kind of precision device but more of a way to clean up the last little bit of the bottom without having to do it "by hand" and it works quite well for that. As you mention, with a vacuum setup, the centering will (should) be much easier to establish.

[Gary Conklin]

A piece of foam pipe wrap or a pool noodle slit lengthwise sure would be a good stabilizing candidate so long as it fits inside the chuck.

[Nate Davey]

If you are concerned about having a reasonably close centering of your finial and this isn't a vacuum chuck, why not drill some holes midway down the tube to act as "windows". You wouldn't loose any structural strength and if you did two 180 degrees out big enough, you could see the finial why it's running and adjust as needed????????????

[David DeCristoforo]

I was thinking... what the !@#$ is a "pool noodle"??? So I "googled" it. Colorful foam tube. You could even color code your inserts...

[Allen Neighbors]

That is an awesome idea, David!! Thanks for posting it. I'm ready to make one for myself, and out of respect for the inventor, I'll call it the "Double-Dee Finial Finisher", or "DeDeFiFi" for short! :D

[James Roberts]

Perhaps something like this to center the pedestal or finial:

Turn a hardwood insert just big enough to fit inside PVC tube then hollow out a cone shape. Drill and tap for 1/4 x 20 thumb screw.

Use a router to cut a groove into PVC tube so insert w/thumbscrew will slide up and down to allow for pedestal/finial length. Tape over groove for vac chucking. Foam padding on end of tube to protect project piece and provide seal during vac chucking.

Hope this helps.

[David DeCristoforo]

"Turn a hardwood insert... etc..."

That's not a bad idea... not bad at all. But it's getting into some pretty "high tech" stuff. I was really leaning toward the "pool noodles". Now I'm going to have to think about this...

[John Hart]

This thing is the coolest thing I've seen all year. I'm stopping at home depot tonight and I'm going to buy a pile of pvc toys to play with.

What a great idea. :)

[David DeCristoforo]

This thing is the coolest thing I've seen all year. I'm stopping at home depot tonight and I'm going to buy a pile of pvc toys to play with.

What a great idea. :)

You can't spend more than five bucks;)

[John Hart]

You sound like my mother

[David Epperson]

Perhaps something like this to center the pedestal or finial:

Turn a hardwood insert just big enough to fit inside PVC tube then hollow out a cone shape. Drill and tap for 1/4 x 20 thumb screw.

Use a router to cut a groove into PVC tube so insert w/thumbscrew will slide up and down to allow for pedestal/finial length. Tape over groove for vac chucking. Foam padding on end of tube to protect project piece and provide seal during vac chucking.

Hope this helps.
This "improvement" is starting to sound awfully close to what gunsmiths call a "spider" - which is used to keep the muzzle of a barrel centered on the back side of the lathe spindle, while the chamber is being cut on the chuck side. It's like having a chuck on both ends of long slender work - while leaving the ends free for working on them.

[David DeCristoforo]

This "improvement" is starting to sound awfully close to what gunsmiths call a "spider" - which is used to keep the muzzle of a barrel centered on the back side of the lathe spindle, while the chamber is being cut on the chuck side. It's like having a chuck on both ends of long slender work - while leaving the ends free for working on them.

I told ya this was getting too "high tech"...

[David DeCristoforo]

You sound like my mother

I'm not ya motha... Just hate to see you overspend...

[John Hart]

Ok!! Well, I spent $3.69 and got everything I need.

Now I just need to buy some time.


I wonder how much that is? :confused:

[David DeCristoforo]

"Now I just need to buy some time. I wonder how much that is?"

OK... ya done good. Three bucks and change. Like I said. Now don't go and ruin it by figuring in your time! Actually, it took me more time to go to the hardware store than it did to cobble this thing up once I had the stuff.