What would you suggest next

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
See more from cowchaser

C

cowchaser

Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
927
Location
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA.
I have been pen turning and having a great time at it. I want to add something to it though. Bottle stoppers or bowls or something, but not sure what.

Would like to try bottle stoppers, but will have to buy the chucks, mandrels, taps and everything else.

Would also like to try bowls, but would have to buy a chuck and whatever else I need.

As you can see I am up in the air here. I probably like to do bottle stoppers more even though I don't know what I would do with them when I am done. Really I am confused as to which direction to go. Bowls would probably be a problem without learning by seeing someone else do them first.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Also equipment needed to do whatever one would help out as well.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
ed4copies

ed4copies

Local Chapter Manager
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
24,532
Location
Racine, WI, USA.
Pens are spindle turning (a real fact flash there!)

Bottlestoppers, peppermills, kaleidoscopes, "magic" wands, backscratchers and a few I missed are also spindle turning.

Bowls are not. It is a completely new technique - with NEW challenges.

If you have a scroll chuck, Peppermills are fun and useful. Bottlestoppers can be made easily with "home-made" mandrels, if you are trying to keep expense down.

See, wasn't that helpful???:(:(:(:(
 
winpooh498

winpooh498

Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
808
Location
Junction City, Oregon, USA.
I think the cheapest thing to try would be cork bottle stoppers.
Do you have a collet chuck or a drill chuck?
3/8 drill bit
I buy my cork and dowels from CS.
For the droplet or cone stoppers:
you need a collet or drill chuck
The mandrel for what ever style BS you choose.
you don't have to use a tap, but it makes things easier (in my opinion)
and a few different drill bits.
For a bowl
I use the same tools as pens, you can use a face plate instead of a chuck.
I think the best way to learn how to make one is to put some scrap on the lathe and practice. We went down to a local cabinet show and got some wood out of the free pile, glued it up and practiced on it.
Hope this helps.
 
ed4copies

ed4copies

Local Chapter Manager
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
24,532
Location
Racine, WI, USA.
Dustin,

The small kaleidoscope kits can be made with a standard mandrel - do you have any other "attachments"? Drill chuck? Faceplate(s)?

Is cost a big issue? Do you want to buy $100 accessories to get started, or use what you have? What HAVE you?

This is not meant to be wisea$$ for a change, I have been the recipient of gifts for the lathe for a decade - it ain't easy to go back in time and remember how to do things the "primitive" way, but I DID it, so CAN you, if money is tight. (We all been there!!!)
 
C

cowchaser

Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
927
Location
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA.
The only things I have for the lathe is the faceplate that came with it (jet mini) and the dead and live centers I bought. Should receive my beall this week so I can polishh away. I have around 200 bucks to spend on stuff if need be. The more I think about bowls the less it appeals to me right now in my short turning life. Still enjoying pens to much.

I realize I am probably leaving more questions than answers.
 
J

jtate

Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
781
Location
Brentwood, TN, USA.
Hey, you can do bowls and bottlestoppers with what you have. You need to lear how to make "jam" chucks. They're exactly what they sound like - you cut a piece a scrap wood to the diameter of the thing you want to have held steady and then you jam the thing in to the hole you just cut or onto the tenon you just cut in the scrap wood. I did this for a long time before buying a chuck. In fact, I think it's a valuable way to learn because you have to get more precise, learn the tool methods to get precise on what you're doing. Search the web and your local library for resources on turning - read, read, read. You can do a lot with what you have.

One hint I've just learned - buy a hot glue gun - less than $5.00 at WalMart - the hot glue will hold your pieces in or on the jam chucks even if the fit you cut is a little loose. Another hint - heat your face plate and jam chuck along with the piece you're going to glue to it in the oven at 165 degrees for about five minutes before applying the glue. This promotes the glue sticking things together really well. If you can't get the piece to pop right out of (or off of) the jam chuck afterward, you can always stick it back in the oven and the glue will melt. Rub off any excess after the piece cools.

Hot Glue Guns RULE!
 
ed4copies

ed4copies

Local Chapter Manager
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
24,532
Location
Racine, WI, USA.
Computer crashed, second attempt!

A drill chuck (Jacob's chuck) will allow you to do SOME things (including bottlestoppers), and you will use it for the rest of your turning career - available for $30ish - PSI pg. 55 #TM32 on internet - buy it from a reseller, you can probably get it a little cheaper)

A scroll chuck is far more versatile. Again, PSI has a full line lately - Frank -Rifleman- has been a pretty strong proponent, so it is worth a try. Mine is a little off center, so you may have to return one before you get a good one - but they ARE inexpensive!!!

If you get a scroll chuck, go out and buy some poplar-a board and a 4x4 square - so you can make jigs. Suddenly, you can hold most anything!!! (In a seminar with Dick Sing a few months ago, he showed that the same thing CAN be accomplished with a faceplate and poplar - but it DID take longer and Dick is pretty talented at using wood to hold wood - not sure I would recommend his methods if I were just starting on projects).

Your Beall system will help in ANY project - it can make bare wood look great, just remember the finish is only WAX, so longevity will be an issue.

I agree with Dawn - cork bottlestoppers can be great fun and inexpensive. You will also learn beads and coves and become more comfortable with a 3/8" gouge and lathe speed. Try to keep something holding the "tailstock" end to avoid vibration and save yourself from the dozens of flying objects I encountered when I started (without tailstock).

As you decide what you want to do, feel free to e-mail me, I make most everything (equally poorly), but I have a jig for every occasion!!

HAVE FUN!!!:D:D:D
 
ed4copies

ed4copies

Local Chapter Manager
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
24,532
Location
Racine, WI, USA.
Julia posted while I was fiddling with my computer, but she IS correct.

Hot glue or CA both work. CA'ed block (scrap) will break apart if hit with a chisel.
 
C

cowchaser

Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
927
Location
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA.
Thanks everyone. I think I have talked myself into bottle stoppers. They look and sound like fun. Also Ed expect an email from me on some more blanks. Made some of Dawn's pr pens for Christmas and they look great. My sister in law finally stole my snow leopard from me, but I do still have the other half for me.

Great information here.
 
its_virgil

its_virgil

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
8,136
Location
Wichita Falls, TX, USA.
Excellent links. Searching will dig up all the info you will ever want to read. Bowls can be turned without using a scroll chuck. Faceplates, waste blocks, glue blocks, double sided turners tape, and homemade jamb chucks can be used to successfully turn bowls. Good luck and be sure to show us what some turnings once you decide what you will try next.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by jtate

Here's a link to an article about jam chucks, and cup chucks and what not. These are much more complicated than the little baby jam chucks I made bvut you'll get the idea of the diversity of possibilities

http://www.cumberlandwoodturners.com/tips/Methods and Jigs for Reverse Turning Bowls.pdf

And another useful piece on chucks -
http://www.peterchild.co.uk/chucks/chucks2.htm
Click to expand...
 
M

MarkHix

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
982
Location
Carrollton, Texas, USA.
There are alot of videos on the internet on turning bowls. A face plate and a bowl gouge are all you need to get started. Maybe not after watching that video. My first bowl (like my first pen) was a sight to see (or not). I turned it with just the face plate. Turning pens has helped my bowl turning. It will give you some new challenges and give the neighbors a place to send their tree trimmings in the spring.

Whatever you choose, post some photos, we all want to see them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Previous Next
Top Bottom