Recess chuck question

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

Never mind: The archives had my answer. I need to learn to look there first :)


I usually use a tenon on my bowl bottoms, but this time I'm trying a recess. Question: The jaws are about 1/2 inch deep. How deep should the recess be? Should the bowl be flush against the base of the chuck -- in other words, should the recess be the full 1/2 inch?

Thanks,

Larry

[Thom Sturgill]

No. You only need about 1/8" in most cases, I rarely go as much as 1/4". The INSIDE of the recess needs to be flat to sit against the jaw face, and of course you need dovetail jaws and recess. If you close the jaws *nearly* closed, you should see that the jaws form a perfect circle, that is the diameter you want the recess at the bottom. Make it larger and you only grip on a small portion of each jaw.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I use usually a recess rather than a tenon, the dept is not always the same, depends a bit on the type of wood (hard verses soft) and the shape of the blank, (I often use a half log) and shape of the turning.

I go from 1/8" to maybe 1/2", but most often a 1/4" to 3/8".

The bottom and corner of the recess has to be true, flat and clean, as I do use Oneway chucks, the recess has to be square, that makes the right fit for the standard Oneway chuck jaws.

I will add a few picture that show rough turnings with the recess that was used to turn the piece, also 2 pictures that show the piece with the recess finish turned, HTH

280255 280256 280257 280259 280258 280260 280261

[robert baccus]

All good words yeah. Especially the remark about the wood type. Wood is not just wood. One complication is severe warping of the recess on some green woods after drying. Not fatal but not for beginers either.

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

Thanks, Leo. Completed my bowl using a recess for the first time. Had a bit of a challenge in that the piece was in good balance when I had it mounted with my face plate, but was out of balance when I flipped it to the chuck.


I use usually a recess rather than a tenon, the dept is not always the same, depends a bit on the type of wood (hard verses soft) and the shape of the blank, (I often use a half log) and shape of the turning.

I go from 1/8" to maybe 1/2", but most often a 1/4" to 3/8".

The bottom and corner of the recess has to be true, flat and clean, as I do use Oneway chucks, the recess has to be square, that makes the right fit for the standard Oneway chuck jaws.

I will add a few picture that show rough turnings with the recess that was used to turn the piece, also 2 pictures that show the piece with the recess finish turned, HTH

280255 280256 280257 280259 280258 280260 280261