A Couple Questions About Lathe Work

Zeeborn · Post by **Zeeborn** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:23 am

So now that I have spent all my money on getting my lathe, briar and stems I’m looking for a cheep way to attach my briar blocks to my lathe. Eventually I will get a proper chuck for this but for now I need an inexpensive way to do it. One way I was thinking of doing this would be to epoxy another block of hard wood to the briar then screw my 3” faceplate to that and then cut it away from the briar when im done with the lathe work. Have any of you ever tried doing that? Do you think it would work? The other option I have ben thinking of is to making my own chuck. If anyone has pictures or plans for a homemade chuck I’d really like to see them. Any other inexpensive options for mounting briar to the lathe?
My next question is, what is the best kind of lathe tool for shaping the bowl?
Thanks for the help,
Nate

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:13 pm

Hey Nate,

If you have access to the materials and the metalworking skill to do it, an inexpensive and very basic chuck can be made with a few inches of 5/16" C-channel, a length of 1 1/2" steel rod, some 5/16" bolts and a tap and die set. If someone can give me a brief tutorial on posting photos to the forum, I can put up a little diagram of the chuck.

Todd

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:17 pm

I think that every option you might explore trying to avoid the expense of buying a chuck, is going to frustrate you to no end. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't try, but when you buy a lathe, the *FIRST* thing on your list of crap to buy next should always be a chuck.

Gluing a block of briar to a waste block is going to mean gluing it to the waste block at least twice - once for the mortis and airway, and once for the tobacco chamber. If it's a bent pipe, you're going to be gluing it to the waste block upwards of three times - mortis, airway, and tobacco chamber. I'm not saying it can't be done, but man - that's going to be about the most difficult way possible to accomplish the result. Never mind that you're going to need to make sure that the face that's being glued to the waste block is flat and mostly sacrificial.

I've done that with bowls before, and even though that's a "normal" method for turning bowls, it's still significantly more difficult and time intensive than just turning a spigot on the bottom and chucking it up.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:02 pm

AH!! I got it, Todd! I'll send you an email.....

Zeeborn · Post by **Zeeborn** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:40 pm

Todd,
I do have access to the materials and the metalworking skill and would really like to see how that goes together. Thanks

Kurt,
A good lathe chuck is definitely at the top of my list of things to get next. I just can’t afford it right now. I work in landscape maintenance and the winter is always a very tight time for me (short days, nothing is growing, bad weather keeps us from working...). Plus ill be starting school soon too. I’m just looking for a way that will work until I can save up for a chuck.

Thanks for the help guys!
-Nate

wdteipen · Post by **wdteipen** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:17 am

Kurt posted a link to a relatively inexpensive chuck in this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=3601

Zeeborn · Post by **Zeeborn** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:41 am

wdteipen wrote:Kurt posted a link to a relatively inexpensive chuck in this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=3601

Yea tha tlooks like just the thing I need and will get when I have the money... When ever that is. Thanks for the link.

SimeonTurner · Post by **SimeonTurner** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:10 am

I have not taken the plunge and bought a custom pipe turning chuck yet....but I hope to soon!

In the meantime, I have had relatively good success with turning the bowl on my lathe using a simple jam chuck. Jam chucks are basically just scrap wood turned down to the necessary diameter to create a friction hold on the inside of a concave area (usually it is used for turning bowls).

Here's a really bad picture of a jam chuck being used for a bowl:

The same concept used for making a bowl like in the picture can be applied to the interior of a tobacco chamber. The scrap wood is turned down to just barely exceed the inner diameter of the tobacco chamber, and then the pipe is "jammed" onto that wood as tightly as possible. It is secured on the other end by a live center tailstock. It works, for the most part, though when doing heavy shaping sometimes the friction isn't quite enough and the pipe will "slip" in the chuck, which is only annoying as long as the piece is secured with the tailstock, and would be dangerous if you were not to use the tailstock.

This is a relatively cheap option, as all it takes is investing in a scroll chuck to grip the scrap wood you are using to create the jam chuck.

In trying to find a good picture on the web, I stumbled upon this:

It's an expandable jam chuck system that allows you to turn small projects without having to make a jam chuck each time. I'm not sure if it would be able to hold up to the pressure and torque of something as irregularlt shaped as a pipe (I imagine it is intended for small, symetrical turning projects), but for 40 bucks, I might just experiment!

It can be found here (among other places). Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

http://www.woodenpost.com/products/wood ... sories.htm

Anyway, I hope this helps a bit. I think a nice pipe turning custom made chuck is probably the ultimate way to go, but a jam chuck is a decent alternative when economics are part of the equation.

FredS · Post by **FredS** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:09 pm

Just to be clear Simeon, it sounds like you drill the tobacco chamber (and possibly the draft & mortise) holes on another machine (probably a drill press) and then go to the lathe to shape the exterior. Correct?

The chucks & fixture Kurt & Todd discussed allow you to drill & shape in one operation.

SimeonTurner · Post by **SimeonTurner** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:52 am

FredS wrote:Just to be clear Simeon, it sounds like you drill the tobacco chamber (and possibly the draft & mortise) holes on another machine (probably a drill press) and then go to the lathe to shape the exterior. Correct?

The chucks & fixture Kurt & Todd discussed allow you to drill & shape in one operation.

Yes, you are correct, Fred. I still do all of my drilling on a press with an adjustable angle drill pres vise. I love the idea of doing the whole process on the lathe, especially because my current jam chuck method makes it impossible to shape the shank and the stem concurrently on the lathe. Instead, I am forced to shape the shank on the lathe (same basic jam chuck procedure applies, only with the shank I use a wooden dowel in a jacobs chuck for the jam chuck instead of somehing larger), and then sand the stem by hand to match up with the shank. Slow going, at best.

But, that said, short of buying a custom chuck, I'm not sure of a better option. I am looking forward to Todd posting a basic diagram/description of that home made C-Channel chuck...*nudge nudge*

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:17 am

SimeonTurner wrote:But, that said, short of buying a custom chuck, I'm not sure of a better option.

If you have good hand-eye coordination, you don't need a lathe for shaping. You can do all the shaping on a sanding disc setup like Kurt sells. Mind you, the jam chuck arrangement allows you to get perfect symmetry at the shank/stem junction as well as the bowl rim.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:59 am

Todd's pipe chuck design is here:
viewtopic.php?t=3615

Keep in mind, in that particular incarnation, you will need to also need a chuck to hold the pipe chuck - but any simple 3-jaw chuck will work. You could also use a steel tube for the back, threaded to match your spindle, instead of the spigot in the design. That way you just screw it right onto your lathe.

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:47 pm

KurtHuhn wrote:Todd's pipe chuck design is here:
viewtopic.php?t=3615

Keep in mind, in that particular incarnation, you will need to also need a chuck to hold the pipe chuck - but any simple 3-jaw chuck will work. You could also use a steel tube for the back, threaded to match your spindle, instead of the spigot in the design. That way you just screw it right onto your lathe.

Yep, that's probably the better way to do it if you've got a smaller lathe. Mine are 14" x 40" and 12" x 36" respectively, so it's quicker just to mount a 2-jaw chuck in the 3-jaw. Honestly, I use a 2 jaw chuck maybe three or four times a year though. You can, of course, scale the design to your own setup and needs.

Todd

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:07 pm

ToddJohnson wrote:Honestly, I use a 2 jaw chuck maybe three or four times a year though. You can, of course, scale the design to your own setup and needs.

Todd

YOU know how to turn a pipe on a lathe?!

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:46 pm

jeff wrote:
ToddJohnson wrote:Honestly, I use a 2 jaw chuck maybe three or four times a year though. You can, of course, scale the design to your own setup and needs.

Todd
YOU know how to turn a pipe on a lathe?!

Well, yes, I mastered the lesser skills of pipemaking during my first five or six years, but you've got to take the training wheels off at some point!

Of the couple thousand pipes I've made during the past ten or so years, it's true that perhaps only about 200 have been turned on a lathe. Several were even turned on a treadle powered bow lathe in an Amish community in Pennsylvania. Frankly, I just don't find it interesting but I can do it in a pinch.

Todd--who doesn't even turn bulldogs on a lathe.