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View Full Version : Shop Made 3 Inch Lathe Face Plates



Ted Reischl
05-31-2017, 3:10 PM
Made these up from some scrap aluminum and maple I had on hand.

361187

The idea is to capture the 1-8 nut in the wood. I used to make these using the standard epoxy method. Turns out that can be a problem after a while. I have had two of them fail. The epoxy lost grip. No harm done, but as I was turning I suddenly noticed a bit of a vibration and sure enough, the epoxy had failed. Yes, I mixed it properly. I have used those chucks for several years.

With the back aluminum plate in place, there is no way the nut can back out.

Oh yea, almost forgot! The maple is laminated so that a crack cannot carry through the entire block. Think of it as plywood with 1/4 inch laminations.

Brice Rogers
05-31-2017, 6:55 PM
Nice looking.

Lee Schierer
06-01-2017, 8:23 AM
Nice work. Do the three screws that show on the face and the back only go part way into the wood? I would think you could get a stronger assembly if the back plate had threaded holes and you ran screws through the wood from the face and into threaded holes in the back piece. That would sandwich the wood and lessen the chance of a problem of glue separation during use.

Ted Reischl
06-01-2017, 4:30 PM
Nice work. Do the three screws that show on the face and the back only go part way into the wood? I would think you could get a stronger assembly if the back plate had threaded holes and you ran screws through the wood from the face and into threaded holes in the back piece. That would sandwich the wood and lessen the chance of a problem of glue separation during use.

What a timely post!

Just an hour or so ago I was hollowing out the inside of a bowl, a small one, about 4 inches in diameter. The glue joints did not fail, but one of the maple laminations split. I was sitting here wondering how to prevent it and voila! You answered my question.

I pretty much caused it actually. Hollowing in end grain with a duller carbide tool. And to top it off, the piece was hanging off the faceplate by about 7 inches. Yup, I did it on purpose. I was standing way to the side while I was making these cuts. I am one of those guys who does not trust anything until it has been abused a bit.

Like your solution!

I am going to run them through as you suggested, but I am going to use nuts/washers on the back side so I am not trusting threads in soft aluminum. A little loctite will keep the nuts in place.

Ted Reischl
06-02-2017, 11:36 AM
Thanks again Lee!

I made the mods this morning using stainless steel machine screws with lock nuts and flat washers.

The more I thought about it, the more it was obvious that the leverage would crack that wood without some other support in place.