Project to long for a chuck?

[Mike Jory]

I'll set up my question;
I started to rough turn one of many very nice Blank Walnut spindle blanks, about 12-13" long. I had intended on making a tall vase, about 3" in diameter.
I mounted the blank between centers and started working on the shape. Then, I just stopped in my tracks when I thought, "Humm, how do I mount this in a chuck to hollow out the end grain, and not have it flip right out due to the length?" I keep thinking that this length will be a problem.

This will be the tallest item I've attempted.
Must I use a spindle steady? How do you work on the end grain in something this tall?

Thanks, Mike

[Quinn McCarthy]

Mike

Yes you will need to use a spindle stead. Turn a spigot on the base of the blank that your chuck can grab. Then take the piece off and place it in the chuck and use the tailstock to make sure it is centered on the lathe. Then adjust your spindle steady and you can remove the tailstock to work on the other end.

Quinn

[Peter Dougenik]

I made a hollow form steady for just such occasions. I can't take credit for the design, it's a combination of a few different ones I've seen on TV and the Intrawebnet. It's made of shop scraps and some rollerblade wheels, plus a few bolts and wing nuts from the Home Depot.

http://65.61.16.56/images/woodwork/Hollow_steady_angle.jpg

In use, not really needed for a form this size but I wanted to test it out and this is what I was working on at the time...
http://65.61.16.56/images/woodwork/Hollow_steady_use1.jpg


all in all it came out fairly nice for something I didn't spend a lot of time laying out...one of those weekend days where I didn't feel like working on anything else and just started building instead ;)