Turn small bowls w/o a chuck?

[Jerry Ingraham]

I want to turn a few small walnut jewelry dishes but I have no chuck for my lathe. I do have a metal faceplate which came with the lathe although it is 6" in diameter which is about as large as I want the bowls to be. These bowls will have a tile or mirror insert in the bottom of them and be about 6"x1 1/2". I have only a bit of experience on the lathe, primarily spindle turning for furniture projects. I watched a WW'ing At Home DVD which featured this project but used a 4 jaw chuck to hold the bowls from the bottom. I'm trying to find a way around that. Any help? Thanks.

[RL Johnson]

You could use a glue block. Glue a scrap block to the bottom of what you want to turn. Make sure it is sufficient in thickness and screw it to you face plate. When you get through, part the finished piece off of the glue block.

[Harry Pye]

Jerry,

It won't be possible for all of the turning but you should be able to bring the tailstock up for additional support. It will leave a small dimple in the wood but you will be covering that with the tile or mirror.

If you are making a number of these shallow bowls and they are all going to have the same diameter, consider putting a larger piece of stock on the face plate and then turning a shallow groove in it. This way you can reverse your turning and locate the top in the groove and with support from the tailstock, finish most of the base.

[Jim Becker]

Randy is correct...use a sacrificial glue block mounted on a faceplate to hold your bowl. This is one of the most expedient and inexpensive ways to deal with small turning, such as bowl and vessels as well as small things made from unusual materials (such as tagua nuts) or blanks that will never "be round" (such as knarly roots).

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

If you aren't in a hurry you don't need a chuck. Most young people don't know that chucks are a pretty recent addition to lathes. I always use glue blocks and jam or compression chucks for turning because when I started turning and for most of my turning life there were no chucks. I have turned about forty items including some hollow forms the past few months and all have been turned without a chuck. The library can be a good source for books such as Dale Nish's "Creative Turning" and "Artistic Turning" which will have good information about turning without chucks. Or just ask some of us old timers.(-:

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Jerry

I will echo what has already been written, but I will add a few details as well to help you out a bit.

When you make your waste block, make sure it is thick enough to part down through the wood and not hit whatever screws you are using. If you are turning smaller pieces, you do not need 2" screws holding the waste block on! :eek: The face of the waste block must be as flat as you can make it. If it is slightly concave, that will not be a problem, and in fact I usually aim for just a hair concave - i.e. a very shallow cone shape with the center being the lowest point. If the face of the waste block is even slightly convex, you are going to have problems with the work piece rolling around while you try to glue it fast, and when you try to turn it, it will have no support other than glue at the edge.

Use thick CA glue or hot melt if you are in a hurry. I should note that if you are going to use yellow or white carpenter's glue, and there is nothing wrong with that except that you need more patience, the above advice about a slightly concave wasteblock is no longer "operative". The waste block will need to be dead flat, as will the mating surface of your work piece. If you elect to use hot melt, and I use it on bowls that are fairly large at times, you would be better served by buying a second hand electric frying pan and melting your glue in that. Most glue guns will not produce the volume of glue you need to fasten a bowl blank securely, unless it is a very large glue gun and a very small bowl.

Use the tailstock for support for as long as possible. This is a good idea no matter how you hold the work on the headstock, and tailstock support has saved many a bad word from being uttered. Once you have the thing shaped, hollowed and sanded, you can use the same waste block turned to fit the inside of your bowl as a friction chuck to finish off the bottom.

Good luck with it.

Bill

[Jerry Ingraham]

I knew I could get a sound way to get this done from this group! Thank you all for your input. It sounds like attaching a scrap block is the way to go. You guys are great!

[Harry Goodwin]

Years ago pattern makers glued a piece of paper on wood faceplate mounted on metal one. A chisel will seperate with no excitement. Othes may have tried this. Harry

[Jim Becker]

Years ago pattern makers glued a piece of paper on wood faceplate mounted on metal one. A chisel will seperate with no excitement. Othes may have tried this. Harry

No paper necessary, especially since you'll turn away most of the wood where the paper would be. When you finish the bottom, either in a "no reverse" technique or by reversing with a jam chuck. The parting tool makes the paper unnecessary for bowls and vessels. It's still required for split spindle turnings, however, as you need a clean break on them