Question about Reverse Chucking

[George Tokarev]

Similar to Paul, I finish the recess in advance, fancy it a tad if I think I want it that way, and let it alone. Few beyond other turners will care if the bottom's jazzed, because to see it their guests would have to spill the beer nuts.

Only weak spot in this method is wet and warp stuff, where you will have to sand the bottom to sit flat as a minimum, and leave it a bit oval after drying. I can live with it, but if it's not your thing, be sure to leave a witness mark for center and use it to snug the disk or vacuum chuck you're using to hold it to refinish. When I use it, I do a tapered disk and hot glue. Then I have to decide if I want to blend the new bottom with sandpaper or not. Makes leaving it oval my favorite method.

[Mark Pruitt]

Mark.....You'd leave the bowl on the chuck...Unscrew the chuck....screw this adapter into the chuck....Place outer ring of your donut chuck over the bowl......put the entire assembly in the tailstock...mount the base of the donut chuck (on you faceplate) on the headstock.....bolt the outer ring of the donut chuck to the base and you have your bowl centered and captured..

In short it would center your bowl on the donut chuck by leaving the bowl attached to your chuck until captured by the donut chuck....I hope this makes sense.

Ken, thanks.
OK, then basically what you're looking to accomplish with this is to center the bowl "perfectly" in your donut chuck. I've found a much easier way, at least it seems easier to me. At the time I glue a sacrificial block to the base, when I go to true it up before reversing, I will take a point-nose scraper and turn a v-shaped indentation in the very center. Then, when I'm finished hollowing and ready to reverse it for turning off the sacrificial block, I use my live center in my tailstock to center the bowl in my donut chuck, using the previously turned "v" for reference.

Come to think of it, this method would also work for centering on a vacuum chuck. Hey, wait a minute. That's one less thing to buy! That can't be right!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mark...I used the mark made by the point of my live center to align it but still getting the bowl centered at the other end (the top of the bowl) presents the problem. By using the chuck as with the tool Dario showed, it's held in proper positioin the whole length of the bowl.

[John Hart]

I do Jim Becker's blob/jam method every time. I'm pretty comfortable with it.

[Dario Octaviano]

I do Jim Becker's blob/jam method every time. I'm pretty comfortable with it.

I do too...actually I use the chuck itself (padded) as much as possible.

[John Hart]

I do too...actually I use the chuck itself (padded) as much as possible.

Yep...me too. I've found that the most critical thing is having uniform thickness in the padding. This is where the mousepad comes in handy. Plus I open the jaws just a bit on the chuck....for "bite" into the mousepad

[Travis Stinson]

Travis are you spoofing me???????? Don't be messing with me. How did you do that with a vaccum chuck.

Now I wouldn't do that Bernie.
As long as the seal around the mouth of the chuck is good, just cover any opening, voids, etc. with the blue painter's tape. It's nice and strong and doesn't leave any residue on the turning. You do have to keep an eye on the amount of vacuum you're pulling, so you don't implode the tape. Usually around 10hg. is enough to hold something like this good enough to finish off the bottom and sand.

[Andy Hoyt]

I've found that stretch wrap film works pretty good too. And it's cheaper than that blue stuff.

So there, Trav. Ninner ninners.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Hoyt....ninner...ninner must be a Hoytism.....everybody knows it Neener..Neener....