1st blow out!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I was turning an entry for the goblet contest. I had the cup portion done...the little detail below the cup and was taking a majority of the scrap away from the stem. I had a small area of the stem just below the cup sized down to approximately 1/4". As I started at the base and worked down grain to the already sized area , the first inkling I got was a black spot moving around as the stem spun...........next came the "buzzing" sound..........then the cup and about 1" of the stem took off into space. Luckily for me it went away from me. (Yes Mom....I was wearing my face shield.) When I stopped the lathe.....there was what looked like a rotted knot in the center of the blank! It was interesting.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ken I did the same thing the other night turning a spindle for a chair of a friend that I am fixing. The knot in the middle gave way about 2/3's of the way down from the headstock. I have a bruise on my hand from the larger piece and the other piece went straight up. I looked at that knot several times and thought shoot that thing isn't going any place. Yea right. So when I turn any spindle or anything that has some spindle to it, it had better not have any knots or it ain't getting turned. Can't miss that sound.

[Keith Burns]

Thats what I love about this "sport". Ya just never know whats going to happen next. If you can chuck the bowl, turn off the bottom, turn your stem as a seperate piece and glue the two together. My disqaulified entry into the contest was done that way, two pieces.

[Andy Hoyt]

Ken - Been there and ducked, too.

This is where some variant of a jamb chuck or a cone in the tailstock would help.

Is your live center threaded to accept accesories? Go look at a Oneway Live Center (http://www.oneway.on.ca/spindle/live_center.htm) to see what I'm referring to. While there, glance to the right and look at the cone centers. It's use should be self-evident.

Another option is to acquire a chuck for your tailstock such as this from Packard (http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=lathes-acc-spec-arbkey). In use, mount this in your tailstock, mount a dowel with a rounded end in it, and run it into the bottom of the vessel with something like an old mouse pad or tee shirt fragment as a buffer to prevent damage or marring to the vessel.

I have both, and both get used frequently, although the cones from Oneway are more versatile.

You need something, because the mass of the vessel rotating at a million inches per second was far stronger than your 1/4" stem.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bernie........what's funny though, I looked that piece of wood over. I didn't see any sign of a knot and this knot ran in the same plane as the grain not at angle to the grain. Anyway.....my first launching!

[John Hart]

That's what's known as Rock-n-Roll!:)

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Surprize........surprize..............surprize. That happenes in a lot of wood that has been around for a while. Clean off the broken stem and you'll still have "something".

Bruce

[Curt Fuller]

Done that many times too Ken. I've learned that with skinny stemmed goblets you have to 1st turn the cup part and sand it. Then you can stuff some wadded up paper towel in the bowl pretty tight and bring the live center in your tailstock up and stick it into the wad of towel. That will support it pretty well. Then turn the outside of the cup and sand it. From there you have to turn the stem down to size starting from the top down and finish it as you go. If you try to work the entire stem they seem to always let go and break your heart. Also, if you get real skinny even starting the lathe can twist them off. The torque of starting the lathe combined with a little resistence at the live center will twist them off. Either keep it turning from start to finish or give the piece a little help turning as you start it up.

[Steve Clardy]

Yep. I was doin a thin platter some time ago. Was attempting a 10"x1/8" thick one. Had a light behind it, watching it glow. Had my left hand holding the rim, turning with my right.
Was going great till it got to thin there where the face plate was.:eek:
Helicoptor time!!!
Broke out a bulb on a 4-bulb light above me, send scrapnel all over the shop:mad: :mad: :mad: :rolleyes: :)