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Those tops look happy. Doesn't look like they are a chore for someone that does them every year, hundreds of times!

I added a 360 grit after the 180 grit. Didn't see much of a difference, so it sucks to have sunk that money for little gain.
The much more experienced turners' (Reed and John) experience with the...

That's a really beautiful finish. I can't stop looking at it. Well done.
Is it lacquer over the top or something else?

I also like to use lacquer on spalted woods, especially maple. What do you do to the lacquered piece after it's cured? A plain lacquered piece can look sort of plastic and I know from experience how...

No black palm here. The last one is actually curly maple that I died a "chianti' color, then finished with cyanoacrylate.

I have a love-hate thing with black palm. It is the most difficult 'wood'...

I use mine all the time. Like the previous poster, I use it on every bowl. It makes it so easy to finish the bottom.
I have the OneWay vacuum chuck and the medium size (5 1/2 inch) works for a...

That is a good suggestion John. If nothing else I can learn a bit about the process from tracking where the tight spot is and if I'm making progress with a gentle tapping (if there is any such thing,...

Thank you for the helpful suggestions Brice. I wouldn't have done this correctly.
Scott

You made your point well.
I agree. Its an incredible piece.
Scott

Face shield.
Dust control of some sort. You will be doing some sanding, and it generates a lot of dust. Your health and safety are priority one.
I worked up to a pneumatic sander, but you can sand...

I know the carbide tools have their detractors, but aside from milling chuck jaws I find them helpful. Black palm is just about as bad on a gouge as a chuck jaw. There is something horribly abrasive...

Okay, pictures. Two of the milled chuck and the first top I finished on it.372394372395372396Thanks everyone for your generous time and suggestions.
Scott

A Robust American Beauty. I had a Powermatic 3520. I wrote to Brent English (owner of Robust) and got the following reply:
"All of thread sizes are standardized. Unfortunately, not everyone follows...

Hi John,
Modifying the pin jaws was really simple. I used one of the EasyWood carbide tools I sometimes use for nasty stuff like black palm. It took less than ten minutes and I only used one face of...

This is really thinking out of the box, at least for me. Sounds like you have a machining background. Perspective helps.
I think I'll give this a shot. Worst that can happen is that I spend a couple...

Can anyone recommend a chuck/jaw combination that has a minimum expansion less than one inch? It would need to fit a 1 1/4 X 8 TPI spindle.

When I turn peppermills the top has a hole that is 15/16...