sphere cutting jig

[jeff oldham]

I have been wanting a sphere cutting jig to turn round balls,,i have checked different ones and needless to say none of them are made for the weekend woodturner,,,,price wise,,but I have thought about trying to build one,,does anyone have any info on building one,,,thank you

[Don Orr]

There was a plan for a home built 1 in a magazine some time back. Sadly I don't remember when or which mag. Not much help-sorry. I may have saved it in the shop so can look when I get home. There should be versions available through Google searching or Youtube. I don't think they are terribly complicated-the pivot point location is important though.

[Jed Richardson]

I've been thinking of building one, too. Just like you, I can't justify spending a lot of money buying one as I'm a weekend woodturner, too. There are several Youtube videos that show home made jigs, some made from wood and some from metal, and all in various levels of complexity. We should be able to make a simple wood jig.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I thought about making one. Can't be too difficult. a pivot point in the center of the bed with a retractable cutter on bar that swings left and right.

[Marvin Hasenak]

I made one like this. https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/wood-turning/techniques/beginners-guides/woodturners-guide-series/sphere-turning-jig/
Just follow the picture tutorial.

[Dick Mahany]

I made this one after watching a video or seeing pictures of a ball ornament being glued up to be turned. I can't find the specific one at this time however it may have been from David Reed Smith? Anyway, this was someone else's idea and it was pretty easy to build. I didn't use any plans but scaled it to fit my lathe. It works quite well and I was surprised how rigid it is being constructed only from Baltic Birch ply.

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Getting a good sliding fit (not loose) on the dado grooves in the sides is important for stability and minimizing chatter.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Jean Michael (RIP several years ago) had plans on the web for several jigs, very nicely done, when he passed away his turners club kept his site up, so no need to copy anything, but then they stopped keeping it up :(.

Anyway I do have two pictures of his jig, probably enough to make one for your lathe, the main thing is to have the rotating center and tool set exactly at center, hope this helps.

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[Don Orr]

I made one like this. https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/wood-turning/techniques/beginners-guides/woodturners-guide-series/sphere-turning-jig/
Just follow the picture tutorial.

Thanks Marvin-that is the exact one I was trying to remember. I did manage to find it in my shop. I've been wanting to build one as well. In all my spare time.

[jeff oldham]

Leo that is one that I like...lol..simple jig for a simple mind..going to start work on it tomorrow

[Don Orr]

That's a very nice piece of work Dick. The ball is great as well.

[JohnC Lucas]

You don't need a jig. Just use this method. I have used several of the top jigs when testing them but I still use this method because I just can't justify the money and it's so easy to turn one.
http://montgomerycountywoodturners.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1606-YMMV-sphere.pdf

[John K Jordan]

Jeff,

I have the Vermec sphere jig but it is in fact not cheap, about $300US. (I had it in my hands a couple of days after it was shipped.) Here is a picture that shows some design features you might consider. Their design uses ball bearings for rotation, and the screw adjustment makes it very easy to make tiny, precise changes. It is also massively heavy for its size which eliminates vibration.

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The cutter on it is much like those on the Hunter tools - gives a clean cut, never needs sharpening. If making one, I'd consider use a Hunter, perhaps the Viceroy. The cutter on that one (and some others) is angled down a little. Square shank, it would be easy to hold in a jig.

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JKJ

[Peter Blair]

I agree with John I built one of aluminum but eventually bought the Vermec. One thing you might consider is the ability to rotate the cutter head to allow you to get closer to both ends.

[JohnC Lucas]

If you make your own buy one of Mike Hunters smaller cutter tips. The #1 is what most of the sphere jigs are using. The better sphere jigs let you rotate the cutter left and right for a more bevel rubbing cut and really clean spheres that need little sanding.

[Clint Bach]

Just curious... Why are almost all the sphere cutting jigs made to cut such small spheres? It seem like an awful waste of lathe capacity. A 20 inch lathe should be able to cut about a 16 inch sphere...

why think so small?

clint

[Richard Coers]

Just curious... Why are almost all the sphere cutting jigs made to cut such small spheres? It seem like an awful waste of lathe capacity. A 20 inch lathe should be able to cut about a 16 inch sphere...

why think so small?

clint

How many people want wood bowling balls sitting around the house? On the other hand, six or seven 2" balls sitting in a bowl can be very attractive.

[Dwight Rutherford]

How many people want wood bowling balls sitting around the house? On the other hand, six or seven 2" balls sitting in a bowl can be very attractive.

To quote from an old Dell Computer add “That’s what I was thinking”.

[Clint Bach]

I want bowling ball size spheres or bigger. Being able to make smaller size balls should not be a problem for a jig that can make bigger balls.

i guarantee I'm not the only one who would rather have the capacity to make really big spheres. I'm sure there are people who want only very small globes. Many people don't want miniature globes. Basket ball size capacity or larger is more like it for me.

The real question is why limit yourself for no good reason? Maybe larger jigs cost much more but that is kind of a lame excuse. DIY jigs wouldn't cost much more in a larger size. I for one would never buy a jig that would only cut 6" balls for use on my 22" swing lathe. No way!

Clint

[Richard Coers]

Not that it will make any difference between someone purchasing DIY vs purchased, but I'll share my thinking. I make a LOT of my own tools. But they don't need fine adjustment features on them. The reason I purchased the now Carter jig has many reasons. The pivot feels stiff until you use it. In use the resistance makes for a very steady feed rate. You can easily remove the cutter and holder and bring up the tool rest if you want to knock off extra stock. You can tilt the tool holder in either direction to produce a shear cut in the direction of feed. But most importantly is the smooth fine adjustment bolt. So easy to adjust and remove another .005" for making duplicate work. Loosing a bolt and sliding a wood holder forward that amount with a DIY fixture would take trial and error. Mostly error.

[Richard Madden]

I made a sphere jig from aluminum that will turn a 12"-14" sphere (just guessing, have not done one more than 8"). It will also hollow the interior. I read a lot of articles, watched you tube videos, and finally settled on one. I used these drawingshttps://www.piazza-studios.com/downloads (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?stzid=UgxOg9bWHXj7B3NX1T54AaABAg.8eZ9F5ej CrJ8f6O1p4t-Ja&event=comments&redir_token=CuvRL2GIuT50hRxzAKYbt9DlQjB8MTU0NTUwNz U2MkAxNTQ1NDIxMTYy&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.piazza-studios.com%2Fdownloads) , and made a few changes trying to incorporate some things on the Vermec and Carter jigs. The total cost for materials and machining was $110.71. It works good and I'm happy with it.

[Brice Rogers]

John Jordan, For the cutter that you show, is it presented to the wood at an angle - - perhaps tipped forward a bit like the Hercules or rotated axially (like an Osprey?) ??

[Brice Rogers]

I made a sphere jig for my metal lathe. I made it out of aluminum with some of the pieces from aluminum plate and for some of the parts made from my own aluminum castings. I made it to make small metal ball to go onto tool handles.

While it's purpose is to turn metal (aluminum, brass and steel), the basic concept would or could apply to wood as well. Many of the metal-turning jigs look like nested "C" shapes, I chose to do a somewhat different variation. Also, it could easily be scaled up to a larger size. For my purpose, I wanted to make small metal balls to go on the end of a shaft (like for a drill press).
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[John K Jordan]

Just curious... Why are almost all the sphere cutting jigs made to cut such small spheres? It seem like an awful waste of lathe capacity. A 20 inch lathe should be able to cut about a 16 inch sphere...
why think so small?


With a design like the Vermec one constraint on size is the height of the base and the thickness of the rotating arm that supports the cutter. Make this shorter and the sphere could be larger. There would be tradeoffs between the height of the post that supports the tool and the sturdiness. I can imagine some vibration with a long post unless it was very sturdy.

But really, turning a large perfect spheres without a jig is not a big problem, other than dealing with the mass. David Marks turned one from redwood that started out at 400 lbs, about 40 lbs after hollowing. There are lots of techniques and some simple aids for freehand turning.

JKJ

[Robert Hayward]

The Vermec which I own and the Carter will both turn a sphere somewhere around 12" in diameter if I am remembering the specs correctly.

[John K Jordan]

The Vermec which I own and the Carter will both turn a sphere somewhere around 12" in diameter if I am remembering the specs correctly.

The page from Vermec's catalog:

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Looks like this guy's jig will do 300mm diameter: https://www.paulhowardwoodturner.co.uk/jigs-and-things/

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

John Jordan, For the cutter that you show, is it presented to the wood at an angle - - perhaps tipped forward a bit like the Hercules or rotated axially (like an Osprey?) ??

Brice, I just looked at it. The cutter is angled downward a little, not as much as the angled Hunter tools (they are around 30-deg I think). It looks like perhaps 10-deg - I can measure the angle if you need it.

The entire cutter shaft can also be rotated and locked at any angle with an allen wrench.

JKJ

[Bill Blasic]

I have the Vermec and it will cut a 12" sphere.

[Steve Eure]

Not trying to hi-jack this thread, but has anyone have any experience with the ChefWare Kits sphere cutting jig. Seems reasonably priced compared to the other brands.
https://www.chefwarekits.com/woodturning-sphere-ball-jig/ez-sphere-ball-jig-xl-6in-max-ball-size-supports-all-lathes.html

Also looked at one made overseas. Looks similar to the Carter jig.
https://www.paulhowardwoodturner.co.uk/shop/

[kreig mcbride]

Many reasons for making large sphere:

Making spheres for Victorian building restorations.

Making astronomical models such as the Pluto/Charon system or Earth/Moon System or how about a solar system model, or a Jupiter and moons model.

[Brice Rogers]

Brice, I just looked at it. The cutter is angled downward a little, not as much as the angled Hunter tools (they are around 30-deg I think). It looks like perhaps 10-deg - I can measure the angle if you need it.

The entire cutter shaft can also be rotated and locked at any angle with an allen wrench.

JKJ

Thanks John for the info. No need to measure the angle. I was just curious. If I get around to making some spheres, I'll probably tinker with some various angles.

[Peter Blair]

Has anyone made jig utilizing a high speed cutter like a router or other like tool? It would seem to me that if one could work off the end of the object it might be a very fast way to cut spheres?

[Dick Mahany]

Has anyone made jig utilizing a high speed cutter like a router or other like tool? It would seem to me that if one could work off the end of the object it might be a very fast way to cut spheres?

Almost, but not quite...... I had intended to make an auxiliary rotational base for my fluting/incising jig to try and do just that, but it already had so many degrees of freedom, that I decided not to take it further.

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[Marvin Hasenak]

Has anyone made jig utilizing a high speed cutter like a router or other like tool? It would seem to me that if one could work off the end of the object it might be a very fast way to cut spheres?
Here is the "ultimate" version of power cutting a sphere, but for lapidary work. http://www.hplapidary.com/en/highland-park-three-head-high-speed-production-sphere-machine-with-13-hp-110v-motors Not using a router but you should get a plenty of ideas on how to use a router as a cutter.

[Alex Zeller]

I could be wrong but I thought one of the club members said they made half spheres and glued them together. I think he was making a croquet set. I think that seams like a fun project but not enough to justify buying a sphere jig. But making one sounds like fun. What I would really like is a sphere jig that would allow me to drill holes in a repeatable way. The tail stock is fine of you want a centered hole but not so much if you want offset or angled holes.

[Marvin Hasenak]

I could be wrong but I thought one of the club members said they made half spheres and glued them together. I think he was making a croquet set. I think that seams like a fun project but not enough to justify buying a sphere jig. But making one sounds like fun. What I would really like is a sphere jig that would allow me to drill holes in a repeatable way. The tail stock is fine of you want a centered hole but not so much if you want offset or angled holes.

What you want is a jig like this one. http://www.davidreedsmith.com/articles/drillguide/drillguide.htm
Or just sit it in the drill press table and rotate to whatever axis you want. But if you want it indexable, the lathe and the David Reed Smith jig is your best bet.

[Don Bunce]

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/110/1479/Oneway-Drill-Wizard
I could be wrong but I thought one of the club members said they made half spheres and glued them together. I think he was making a croquet set. I think that seams like a fun project but not enough to justify buying a sphere jig. But making one sounds like fun. What I would really like is a sphere jig that would allow me to drill holes in a repeatable way. The tail stock is fine of you want a centered hole but not so much if you want offset or angled holes.

The Oneway Drill Wizard might be what you want.

[Dick Mahany]

Back in post #6 of this thread I described one type of sphere turning jig, but I couldn't find the original maker info. I finally found it. Larry Marley posted a video of building and turning a multi laminated sphere ornament. It can be seen in action here https://larrymarley.com/Video_Slider.php?key=2.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Back in post #6 of this thread I described one type of sphere turning jig, but I couldn't find the original maker info. I finally found it. Larry Marley posted a video of building and turning a multi laminated sphere ornament. It can be seen in action here https://larrymarley.com/Video_Slider.php?key=2.

His ball turning jig is explained here. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?189479-Im-looking-for-Sphere-Ball-jig-plans

[Peter Blair]

Don, I have a Drill Wizard and it won't do what I am looking for. I think it will be easy to create though.
Oh, here are a few photos of the home made sphere Jig I started with. I borrowed the cutter and holder from my Kobra. I did some milling of an alignment slot with a file and it never did work as well as I had hoped and the bearing set-up for the pivot was a continual hassle but I was able to make some wonderfull hollow spheres that are about 1/16" thick so when I had it 'tweaked' it did perform.
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