Eccentricity

[Raymond Overman]

Here's something new for me. I had been meaning to put together a set of jaws for my chuck that I could use for eccentric turning and finally got one of those round tuits tonight. Here's the result from a few minutes playing around. This is going to be very interesting once I get some sleep and get back in my shop.

[David Fried]

Ray,

That's a cool looking piece. Can you show what you did with your chuck to do it? Thanks.

Dave Fried

[John Hart]

Looks like you're about to have a bunch of fun Raymond! I'm a long way from eccentric pieces. Looking forward to your discoveries! :)

[Michael Stafford]

I thought we were going to have a discussion about peculiar people. :p Now I see you are talking about some kind of off center fancy turning. I have just discovered how to make things round on the lathe and you are doing things like this. Raymond, move a little slower for us old guys. I am eager to learn how you did this. Did you buy one of those fancy Escoulen chucks? Or did you make the jaws yourself? We need pics and lessons, please.

[Andy Hoyt]

Everybody Loves Raymond's eccentricities.

[Raymond Overman]

Mike, you must think I'm made of money. Those chucks your talking about are mucho dinero. I'm just a poor woodturner trying to get by with what's laying around. I just used a piece of scrap 2x4 to make two jaws that fit my Oneway Talon chuck. I semi-followed the instructions here:

http://www.davidreedsmith.com/Articles/TwoJawChuck/TwoJawChuck.htm

but I didn't worry as much about the stepped jaws and the tolerances that he did. I just used the old jaws and approximated the center of the two screws per jaw. I then used a 1/4" drill bit for the hole all the way through and countersunk it with a 1/2" bit leaving a shoulder at the bottom of the hole. I'll probably remake them out of some hard maple or possibly some hickory I have laying around. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow if I have a chance.

Thanks for the laugh Andy. The Everybody Loves Raymond jokes never get old. At least you didn't call me Ray. I don't like it when people call me Ray. Someone called me Ray once.... once. :cool:

[Gary DeWitt]

I had stumbled on this site a little while back and made the jaws from hard maple, pretty close to the plan. They worked well for what they were designed for. I think I broke one of them with a careless catch of one of the jaws with a gouge, they are a bit weak where the screws go through. If you have some longer screws that will fit your talon, you might consider them, so you won't have to countersink so deep.
I have also seen round wooden jaws designed for gripping the inside of bracelets without marring them, I think in "woodturning design" mag.
There are nearly endless possibilities for jigs, chuck jaws, etc, and it's lots of fun coming up with new ones to solve some particular problem.

[Michael Stafford]

What do think of making the jaws from HDPE or some other dense yet machinable plastic? Would it be too slick? Could you possibly attach sandpaper to the gripping faces to improve its holding power? I have seen HDPE blocks sold in some of the woodworking catalogs and have used the 3/8" X 3/4" strips for guides for various jigs on the table saw and other tools. It machines nicely. Just a thought. Thanks for the article and link Raymond.:D

[Raymond Overman]

I don't see why the plastic wouldn't be a problem or for that matter, a set of custom aluminum jaws if you have access to some metal working machines. You could even knurl the inside of the jaws for better gripping.

[Ernie Nyvall]

That's pretty cool Raymond.

Ernie

[Travis Stinson]

Now that is neat! Thanks for the link Raymond.

[Jim Becker]

Raymond, one of the things I really like about this piece is the way you arranged the blank so that the cuts start/stop visibly during the arc. It's a wonderful effect that makes it even more interesting! Bravo!

[John Hart]

Crop Circles!!!! It just hit me. I've been trying to figure out what this piece reminded me of. Jim's post got me thinking the right way.:)