first time at hollowing

[jeff oldham]

im trying to hollow out my first vase,,the piece is about 8 inches long,,i drill the center hole,,,but for the life of me I cant get the wobble to stop on the end when I remove the tail stock,,its hard rock maple and I cant seem to make a dent in it,,help,,,,,lol

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Wobble? The vase moves without you cutting? What tools are you using to cut? Vase in the chuck solidly?

[Dwight Rutherford]

363008363009Two things come to mind regarding yout question.
1. Are you making your tenon to properly fit your chuck? Check out the attached article.
2. Whenever I hollow anything over 5" long, I use a steady to help the blank run true.

[Rich Colvin]

I also use a steady for stuff projecting more than 4 or 5 inches from the chuck. Made my work loads easier.

[William C Rogers]

Yes, steady rest is needed for over 4".

[Edward Weingarden]

A few suggestions:
Mount your blank on a face plate. That will remove the possibility of the blank moving, which can happen if not chucked well.
If you are just starting to do hollow forms, I would use a softer wood, and hollow to a depth of perhaps 4", until you get more comfortable with the technique.

[John K Jordan]

Also, when using the tailstock make sure the live center point is not following the grain as it is tightened and putting a side force on the blank. I make a tiny hole at the center (using a gimlet), mount the blank loosely in the chuck, bring up the tailstock snugly, THEN tighten the chuck jaws on the tenon. Then I back off the tailstock and rotate by hand to make sure I didn't introduce side forces when distorting the tenon with the chuck jaws. If so, I might start over with the jaws rotated to a new spot on the tenon, or redo the tiny center hole with a center drill held in a Jacobs chuck. (Then tighten the live center and true up the blank with the tailstock in place before drilling, of course!)

If, however, you are seeing this wobble on the just-drilled HOLE rather than on the just rounded wood, your drill bit may be following the grain or flexing, making the hole off axis. In this case it helps to use a machinists Center drill in a Jacobs chuck to start the hole before drilling with the long drill bit. In addition, if I have the right size I always use taper shank bits instead of standard drill bits held in a Jacobs chuck - they have a morse taper shank and minimize the amount of slop and flexing in the operation.

That's all I can think of without seeing it. If you are seeing something else entirely, perhaps explain.

Oh, just thought of something: when initially rounding the blank between centers and cutting a tenon for a chuck I am always careful to cut a clean shoulder to bear against the face of the chuck jaws. This will help align and secure the piece.

JKJ

[Thomas Canfield]

I was waiting to see if anyone would comment about the mount, but for me the size and fit of the tenon to hold a piece for hollowing is critical. I like to use larger jaws (#3 or #4) instead of the normal #2 to get a bigger grab and also make the tenon closer to max length making sure it does not bottom out, and also a good shoulder fit to jaw face. A piece hanging out 8" off jaws puts a pretty big moment arm force on the holding of the jaws. Sharp tool and light cuts reduces the force and that helps.