Questions about turning a flower vase

[cl1237]

I would like to turn a small flower vase for a gift. I plan on drilling a hole in the vase for a glass tube so it can be used for live flowers.

My question pertains to securing my blank on the lathe so I can drill the hole and finish the opening and refine the hole I drill.
I don't have a scroll chuck but I have a face plate. Since this is a spindle turning, would it be safe to attach the faceplate to end grain?
I figure I could turn the blank between centers to get my desired shape, leaving some waste at one end, then mount the face plate to the waste end to drill out the vase and refine the opening

 

[jttheclockman]

Why not drill on the drill press? Here is a video that may help.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...E52639715F1CC3306674E52&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

[1080Wayne]

I drill the hole first on the drill press , then turn between centers , with the cone of the live center in the hole . Only works of course if the hole diameter is less than that of the live center cone . The other caveat is that the wood be sound enough to stand the pressure , not too punky .

I prefer using stainless steel inserts rather than glass , for obvious reasons .

 

[cl1237]

I drill the hole first on the drill press , then turn between centers , with the cone of the live center in the hole . Only works of course if the hole diameter is less than that of the live center cone . The other caveat is that the wood be sound enough to stand the pressure , not too punky .

I prefer using stainless steel inserts rather than glass , for obvious reasons .

Thanks John and Wayne,
For some reason the thought of using a drill press never occurred to me.

I would like to make something a little bit larger than a bud vase. Do you have a good source for glass or stainless inserts? I'm looking for something 2-3 inches. Most of the stuff I have found is only 1 inch

 

[howsitwork]

Have a look for some shot glasses and see it they will do as an insert , or cheap wine glasses. Use a diamond file to cut a notch then holding the stem in a cloth snap it cleanly. Insert the glass into the hole and secure with silicon at the base so the cut end is safely retained out of reach.

Ive seen wooden stem goblets with glass tops made that way. You make the wooden base with a hole to fit part of the stem . Not as yet made one though but the theory works well in practice.

 

[RGABEL]

Have a look for some shot glasses and see it they will do as an insert , or cheap wine glasses. Use a diamond file to cut a notch then holding the stem in a cloth snap it cleanly. Insert the glass into the hole and secure with silicon at the base so the cut end is safely retained out of reach.

Ive seen wooden stem goblets with glass tops made that way. You make the wooden base with a hole to fit part of the stem . Not as yet made one though but the theory works well in practice.

Depending on the size of the vase you want Dollar Tree has some great options.

 

[cl1237]

I ended up finding several sizes of glass rain gages on Amazon that fit my needs. Thanks to everyone for the tips. You can see the finished project here https://www.penturners.org/threads/flower-vase.178944/

 

[jrista]

For my small vases like that, I just put on a tenon and hold it in a chuck. I can then turn and drill without ever removing it... Then I flip it around, between a live center and a little holder on the other end made out of a scrap piece of wood, turned to any kind of curvature I have on the top of the vase, with a dowel of an appropriate size inserted into a centered hole in that. A bit of pressure from the live center keeps everything in place, and I turn off the tenon like any other.