Greetings all
Last year when I was making my second video I developed a depth gauge that would work with any kind of bowl, hollow form, vase, whatever, as long as it had a hole in the middle. It was a shop wonder, screwed together plywood and some dowels.
Just this morning I received two prototypes of the same jig, only now in aluminum, and with some refinements to boot. They were made by the same gentleman who makes my vacuum chuck. I mentioned the prototype's impending arrival in a thread last week, and offered to post some pictures once I had it in hand. I apologize for the cluttered background. It might make it hard to see a little, but that is the way my shop is.
Here is the new one. The design is essentially the same, but refined somewhat. The rods are adjustable and can be held steady with a knob. There are a number of holes to accommodate different sized lathes. The second prototype is actually sized for mini lathes.
The depth rod that goes to the bottom of the turning is blunt. The tip of the vertical measuring rod is sharpened like a pencil for accuracy. Below is a shot of it measuring a bowl from a piece of (gasp!) firewood I turned this morning.
Of course, people like fancy, so I asked for some high tech stuff.
It is not easy to see, but there is a hole drilled just behind the one for the rod which will accommodate a laser pointer. By adjusting the depth rod to meet the laser beam, I now have a laser guided depth gauge.
I have circled the laser beam for monitors that may not show it real well (like mine). I hope that the circle shows so you know where to look! As you can see, I need to make the bottom just a little thinner.
Like I wrote, this is a prototype. If anyone has a suggestion to improve it I would be glad to hear it. I have a few of my own, mostly minor stuff, that I discovered while using it this morning. And of course, if anyone has any questions, I will be glad to try and answer them.
Bill
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