Bowl turning

[Larry Mullis]

Hello,
I just joined the forum and and appreciate the opportunity to be a part this community. I have been a casual spindle turner for awhile and want to try bowl turning. I have a 12" Craftsman lathe and need some suggestions as to what faceplate to get for it. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

[charlie knighton]

4" steel faceplate from oneway.....sold by craft supplies

just my opinion

[Dale Gillaspy]

You certainly won't go wrong there, but nothing wrong with the aluminum ones, IMHO. Plenty strong, and a lot lighter. I have the ones from Easy Wood tools, because I like the set screw, but there are others out there. Have you considered a chuck?

[Michelle Rich]

I would buy aluminum too..the oneway is very expensive & you have a craftsman lathe, so you aren't into expensive machinery..have fun

[bernard feinerman]

Bill Noble at www.wbnoble.com makes cheap faceplates using a steel nut and washer welded together.
Bernie

[Larry Mullis]

Thanks for the advice. The Craftsman has met my needs so far, despite being a low-end machine. To me, it's worst drawback is having to move the drive belt to adjust the speed. I would not consider investing in one of the high-end machines unless I get bitten by the bowl turning bug, which, I understand, is likely to happen. I think a chuck would be more practical than a faceplate. I looked at the ones from Easy Wood, but they offer about 15 different ones and I have no idea what to order. I guess I should contact them and see what they suggest.

[Thom Sturgill]

On the lower end, Penn State sells a small chuck that comes with multiple jaws. I prefer the dovetail to their standard jaws though.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I would invest money in a chuck with an insert vice a faceplate. You'll "need" a chuck eventually if you want to turn bowls. If you get one with an insert, when you upgrade, get a new insert for the new lathe and toss the old insert. You can turn bowls with just a faceplate, it's much easier and faster with a chuck.

[Bill White]

Take a look at the small chuck from Grizzly. It is quite good-a "knock off" of the VicMark chuck. Grizz offers adapters and various jaws. Just make sure that you know the spindle size and threads per inch count on your lathe when making your decision.
Bill

[Larry Mullis]

I contacted WoodTurningz and they recommend the Barracuda CSC3000C chuck for my lathe. It comes with 4 sets of jaws and a screw chuck. I think this is the one I'm getting.