hollowing end of a small piece

I have a piece that is about 1 3/8 inches in diameter and I want to hollow it out about 1/4inch deep on the end. I began spindle turning the piece, but now i need to hollow out the end and don't know how to mount it so I can do so.

I can't mount it to a face plate. I don't have enough base wood for a tenon.

I think my only option is to mount it on scrap wood that is screwed to the faceplate.

1) I have some tuner's tape. Will that hold it or do I need to get some CA glue? 2) Also, how do I get it centered on the scrap wood? 3) Is there another option?

One other option could be just to drill press the end, which I may do, but I want to make 3 other pieces like this (these are chess rooks) and want to do it right from the beginning so I don't have to remount it. I also want to be prepared for turning pawns.

I appreciate your help.

Thanks, Matt

Reply to
Matt
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All you need is a straight hole? Use a drillpress and make yourself a simple jig to hold your turned piece perfectly verticle. Mark the center point and I'd probably use a center-point bit so it'll hit that mark and drill fairly straight.

You don't want to do this on the lathe. It's not worth the effort if this is, indeed, what you are trying to accomplish.

If, however, you are wanting to hollow it out, for example, then using a waste block and gluing it on there is the best method. I make a lot of miniature & micro hollowforms and use this method.

1) Either use a scrollchuck, faceplate or whatever method you want and attach a piece of waste wood. I use scrap maple.

2) Once it's held on the lathe by whatever choice, flatten the face of it with an ever so slight dip nearing the center of it. This is to give a little extra glue a place to be under the center of the turning.

3) With a pencil, hold it against this wasteblock face as it's spinning and mark circles. These will help with centering.

4) Use CA glue on the bottom of the turned piece. If you want to speed things up, use CA accelerator on the wasteblock.

5) Center the piece on the wasteblock and push them together. Hold this a little while until the glue sets up.

6) If you're concerned that it's not going to hold, use some CA around the outside of the joint between the turned piece and the wasteblock. Make sure the CA is hard because, if not, it'll shoot out and spray you as you turn the lathe on.

- Andrew

Reply to
AHilton

Make a modestly tapered depression in your scrap on the faceplate to receive your piece. The piece will automatically center, though you will have to make sure the face is perpendicular to the axis of rotation if the piece itself doesn't provide a flat spot for mounting.

I like hot glue for stuff like this.

Option "B" is to mount an end-grain piece of scrap on your faceplate, leaving it square on the edges and proud of the plate. This can be a lamination of 2x timber. Turn a well in the scrap of the proper size for your pieces, then, minding _carefully_ where the screws are, kerf it at 90 degrees nearly to the faceplate with your thickest kerf saw.

Go back to the lathe and turn the exterior round, with a bit of a lip on the outer edge. Use a hose clamp of suitable size to compress your new chuck and hold the pieces.

Be sure and trim any real excess off the end of the clamp, or you can get a nasty cut. DAMHIKT.

Reply to
George

Matt wrote: I have a piece that is about 1 3/8 inches in diameter and I want to hollow it out about 1/4inch deep on the end(clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^ Holding it in a chuck would work, but would most likely leave jaw-marks on the piece. To overcome that, I would turn a wooden sleeve that is a close fit to the outside of the rook, and hold the sleeve in the chuck. The pressure of the jaws will transmit through the sloeeve, and hold the rook centered.

If you don't have a chuck, you could mount a piece of scrapwood on your faceplate, and turn a projecting sleeve on it, pointing toward the tailstock. Insert the rook, and use a hose clamp hold it.

I don't know whether I would trust double-faced tape to hold such a small area. But, if you turn a recess in a piece of wood on your faceplate, that just fits the bottom of the rook, you could use hot glue to hold it in. Hot glue holds pretty well, and yet, can be cleaned off with a fingernail afterwards.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Hi Matt If you have a chuck, turn a scrap piece and drill and or hollow to your

1 3/8", then take it out of your chuck and saw from the outside to the centre, now > I have a piece that is about 1 3/8 inches in diameter and I want to hollow
Reply to
Leo Van Der Loo

Drill it!

I was just messing around with something similar this weekend trying to get thin rings for inlay. I wanted side grain not end grain. I turned a scrap of walnut sideways to 1-1/8 then drilled it with a 1" forstner bit 3 inches deep on the drill press. The lathe center left a nice mark to drill from and I was amazed at how well it turned out.

Reply to
markm

You didn't say which end you needed to hollow out. Are you adding weight to the bottom or forming the top? If the latter, then I wouldn't use a drill. It won't leave a nice flat bottom.

Reply to
ed french

I think what you want is called a "jam chuck." It's like a collet specifically made to fit a certain size. Check out a lathe book, I like Ernie Conover's

Reply to
Lawrence Wasserman

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