Klaus, that is a Oneway live center.......I have had it for over a year, and could have easily used the live center that came with the lathe. As far a the swing of the piece of wood......well, it would not clear the banjo, so I had to position the banjo away from those corners, and adjust the tool rest accordingly, so my guess is at least 19+ inches. That is a SuperNova2 chuck with spigot jaw set.....they have a heavy cross section.
The turning gouges are a must.....no turning without them and a sharpening system. I recommend a slow speed 8" grinder and the Oneway Wolverine sharpening system......you will get the fastest and most repeatable grinds that way, and is pretty much standard as far as sharpening.
Jim, your comment about removing the bark where the live center goes to the bark is a good one........the bark on this piece of ash was tight, and I had a good hold. Pics do not always tell the whole story, but your suggestion certainly has a lot of merit to it.
As far as the edge heights........I wanted the pronounced difference in the heights of the ends from one another.......I wanted to highlight that feature of this bowl, more than I wanted balance.
The whole piece was selected for the test of the lathes ability to handle the load and imbalance, and believe me, being somewhat experienced, I did not just throw something on the lathe and go full bore.......I stopped frequently and checked everything, like the hold, how the cut was going and filled cracks as they were revealed, after already putting CA glue in the cracks that were visible before ever turning the lathe on. I also slowly moved up in rpm's as it was warranted.
Perhaps I did not explain all that I did, and my reasons very well in the original post, but safety is first, and I knew I could do this safely!
Last edited by Roger Chandler; 07-24-2015 at 11:12 AM.
Reason: addional
Remember, in a moments time, everything can change!
Vision - not just seeing what is, but seeing what can be!