How do you finishing bottom of bowls? Vicmarc adjust-a-jaws nightmare.

[Keith Christopher]

I mostly use a jam chuck. Then again I don't like NE bowls/turnings.

[Frank Drew]

This is the reason we end up with several chucks sporting different jaw configurations. But even swapping out jaws isn't particularly time-consuming -- it takes just a few minutes to remove small jaws and replace them with Cole jaws.

[keith zimmerman]

http://www.cumberlandwoodturners.com...ng%20Bowls.pdf

URL does not seem to work.
short to http://www.cumberlandwoodturners.com

still give error message.

?????

Paul

Paul, every link on the page is broken. Seems there is nothing on the server except the index page.

[Wilbur Pan]

Hopefully it's a temporary thing. The link worked this morning right before I posted it.

Here's the PDF in zipped form -- only way I could get it to upload. Why 1.9 MB zipped files are allowed but PDFs are only limited to 160 KB befuddles me.

[jason lambert]

Thanks everyone I have the vicmarc 5 1/2" chuck. But I think I am just going to try a jam chuck and work on a vacuum chuck this winter. I have some other projects anyhow and the turning thing has been a head ake lately. It seems every time I start something there is some tool I don't have and need.

[Barry Elder]

There are many options for removing tenons and finishing the bottoms of pieces but you need to do some planning to eliminate the rush. You have more time than anything else. Why not look at the Straka Chuck article in a recent AAW Journal, Spring 2008. After making the back plate, you can make a holding plate for any piece in short order. With different lengths of carriage bolts, it appears less dangerous with a lot of options. I'm in the process of building a few for club members.

[Curt Fuller]

Jason, I have a couple "domes", that's what I call them anyway, in different sizes for finishing the bottoms of almost anything I turn. They're just basically a friction chuck. I glue a waste block to a block of wood, mount it in a chuck and just shape it like a dome. To finish the bottom of a bowl I use a piece of that non-skid stuff that you put under rugs, lay it in the bottom of the bowl, hold it against the dome, which is held in the jaws of my chuck, and bring up the tailstock live center to hold it snug. If you have a dimple in the center of the tenon on the bowl you can center it with that. Otherwise you might have to move it around a little to get it centered. You can apply quite a bit of pressure but be careful not to apply too much or you could crack the bowl. Then I finish turn the bottom, taking off any tenon and making what ever design you might want on the bottom, leaving about a 1/4" nub where the live center is. Once you take the bowl off the lathe you can use a small chisel and knock off the nub, sand it smooth, and the bottom is finished. I have different diameter domes for different sized bowls but they don't have to fit the bowl exacly. It doesn't take much contact with the non-skid to provide plenty of friction for just turning the base of the piece. I also have some that are pretty tall for finishing deeper natural edged bowls. Other than a vacuum chuck system, which I've never used, I think friction chucking works best for the bottoms of about anything.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Craft Supplies. They're one of the few purely woodturning supply companies out there and they usually try pretty hard to please. But I've learned over time that most of the fancy jaws and other gadgets and gizmos available are too specialized to be worth the price and that home made setups work best for most jobs.

[Jeff Nicol]

Jason, I agree with just about everyone so far, but I do the same as Jim does. A jam chuck or a vacuum chuck that I made myself from an old dehumidifier compressor. I have never used any large adjustable jaws but I did make a longworth chuck that would do bowls from about 4" to 10" it worked great until the MDF I used started to separate. I will make a new one this winter hopefully. Keep trying new things and there are tons of small video clips on youtube that may help also.

Good luck,

Jeff