A NEW TOOL "PLUG & PLAY BOWL TURNER"

[Bill Stevener]

Hello to all,

Some time ago I came across something similar on another channel. I looked it over and said this will work, I came up with my design for an old idea. The tool is used for turning bowls. It uses a rollpin principle; not a new concept, as they are used in clutches and transmissions.

I have added some photos, but some wording may help. First off, the tool requires a set of dovetail jaws on your chuck. On the inboard side of your bowl blank, drill a 1" dim. hole. Insert the Plug & Play Bowl Turner in the hole, (with the rollpin) and mount it on your chuck. Bring up the tail stock and lock it in position, and you are ready to go. When the bowl is roughed out on the outboard side, prep the base to receive the dovetail jaws, reverse the bowl, place it on the chuck, and bring the tail stock up and insert the live center into the countersunk portion of the Plug & Play Bowl Turner. Lock it off and you are ready to begin on the inboard end.

I have given this tool thorough, and some what very aggressive testing.
Several advantages are noted over the standard ways of mounting a bowl blank. No glue-ups, NO faceplates, No screws, No tape, and the bigest advantage of all is the fact that is SAFE and you will never loose a bowl. It works in wet wood, as well as, dry. You can leave the pillar in the bowl when rough turned, place it back on the lathe when dry, and centering it up is a snap. When you want the bowl blank to turn and not just the lathe, the Plug & Play Bowl Turner will turn it. I did find that when a serious catch occurs the roll pin will declutch and thus eliminating any broken tool rests or bent tools.

Now for the disadvantage. I am not selling the tool, however I did regester, and have a copywright on the design. I thought about placeing it on the market, but the complexity of the tool is just to cost prohibitive to place it in production. If you wish to make one, or have someone make one for your use, great, give it a go. I am sure you will love it.

Shopping around with some of the better machine shops the best price I received on an order of 10, was $157.00 each. Not very much room for any profit at this time.


If you make one, let us know what you think, I know you will think it is the best thing since American apple pie.

Open for any comments, thoughts, and I will do my best to answer any questions.:confused:

Thanks for lQQking. Bill.>>>>>>>>>>:)

[Bill Stevener]

more photos:

Had another photo, however to large:eek:

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)

Got the photo in:) .

[John Hart]

Well Bill, that's pretty nifty. $150 is a little out of my range, so I sat here trying to think of different materials so I could make it myself, but I really don't think plastics or composites will withstand the stresses. Boy, if you had tooling money, you could get a CNC shop to spit those out for under $50 I bet. 'Course then, you'd have to anticipate quantities in the thousands I suppose.

I have a question on one possible scenario: Let's say you have a blank that has some "less than sturdy" pith in the center and you bore out the 1" hole...You get it all mounted up and start turning, and then the pith gives way against the rollpin. Since you basically have a stripped bore, do you abandon the plug-n-play method in favor of more traditional methods, or do you have a recovery in mind?

[Ed Snyder]

You might want to talk to Rob Lee. He might be interested

Ed

[Tim Leo]

that type of chuck is typically used when turning stone. Woodturners don't usually use it because the turning can get slightly off-center as you go. If the wood around the pin starts to compress slightly, the bowl will rotate on the stub. The roll pin can cause uneven distortion of the mounting hole.


I imagine for very hard woods it will work OK. Also, the larger the stub diameter, the more stability. Have you tried a 2 or 3 inch diameter stub with a short piece of dowel in a flat to fix the bowl?

[Gary Max]

I have been using something like that for years---of course mine is made out of a hunk of Black Locust. Kinda the same thought as yours just a whole lot cheaper.

[Chris Barton]

Hey Gary,

Leave it to you to be inventive and cheap ;) How does your version lock into the pilot hole?

Chris:D

[W.C. Turner]

Looks like a version of a Pin Chuck.

[Jim Becker]

Bill, looks like nice tooling product, although the large screw attachment that OneWay has for their chucks and similar items from other manufacturers would likely be less expensive and just as functional. This device may also be constraining on a short-bed lathe for large objects since you still need to be able to use the tailstock for safety for as long as possible.

One observation...I would not be comfortable with a dovetail recess in the bottom of a tenon like they show, particularly for larger objects. There is not enough wood to support any kind of real pressure. A tenon inside the jaws is a better and safer choice. Dovetail recesses are best kept for platters and other wide/flatter objects where you have a lot of wood on the outside of the recess.

[Gary Max]

I agree with Jim---I made mine for small stuff only---of course it's only wood but it is a couple years old. Mine is just a Jam jig that supports one end of stock---I never tried to reverse it to a chuck.

Thanks Chris---poor folks have to figure out cheap ways to get through life or just sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by---hehehehe

[Bill Stevener]

Hello again,

First off I would like to thank everyone for lQQking, and especially thank those of you that have noted queations, pointed out observations, have concerns, and openly expressed your comments and thougths. That is one of the reasons I posted the new tool. Again thank you.

I did note that I would try and answer any queations:eek: , one or two were quite good.

Before I get to my best attempt, I would like to note: A great amount of thought in the design was devoted to Safety. I have read and heard a great many stories about bowl blanks exiting the confines of the lathe and taking an unguided tour of the shop and at times venting the roof. I really doubt one could send a blank flying, using such a tool, unless gorilla tactics were employed.

Another high point in the design was directed twards the need to eliminate multiple change outs in tooling. Once placed in the bowl blank, one only makes one move. Reverse the bowl blank, no other tooling is required. All of two minutes, and you'r ready to go again. The tool will handle very heavy bowl blanks with out any problem

Lets start with??? Hi John. I did look into a number of CNC shops in the area, several are quite large. The material priced, starts at $25.00 a blank. 4" diam. is a must. I would not consider any other materil than steel. Something else would only make any safety point mute. One could have them made in China, however, I consider anything made in China, like a foam paint brush. Use it once and throw it away. Or just like there chop-sticks. Good question on punky??? wood. I can honestly say I have never had the desire to turn the same, however, if I was to find a piece I must have, to answer your question, I would drill a larger hole, 2"? and epoxy in a plug of hard wood, then drill the 1" hole and incert the tool.

Tim, thanks for your point. As of this date I have not experienced the situation you noted. However, if this were to occur during a rough-out stage, any minimal ovality??? could be corrected in the reverse mounting state. If the wood is of a soft nature, plug the same with a piece of hard wood, as noted above.

Gary, thank you for your input, but I don't think you are on the same wave lenght for maximum capacity. May work well for light stuff. Good idea.

W.C., Works like a pin chuck, however, eliminates the need for tooling change outs.

Hi Jim, thank you for your input. Other products are available yes, but as noted, many stories and complaints about tooling that just spins in the blank, rather than turning the same. This tool WILL turn your blank, with-out a grunt. Safely as well. Good point on the bowl lathes, with short beds. No answer other than stay with what you have and or use. But I do belive 99% of turners have a lathe with sufficient bed leingth to employ a tail stock, which does generate a greater confidence level and provides a safer turnig environment. The dovetail as shown is only turned that way as to illustrate the same. I agree, however, a dovetail recessed in the base of the bowl, not in a tenon, is equally as strong as a single tenon. Each having there own good and bad points, just depends on who is turning the bowl.

Thanks again for all of the input. If you can, make one and try it. I belive you will really like it. Hope I covered everything so far. Any more questions?? I will do my best to answer them. Sure would like someone else to try one, to see what your thoughts are.

Have a Safe and COOL day,
Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)