turning bowls or shanks

jbacon · Post by **jbacon** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 11:02 am

kurt
i was just thinking about the same but i also lack the tools money time etc

what i was thinking about doing was making a model out of wood and the put them on the flat plates(no i don t have a set i will look before buying)and the see what the best route would be. i have always had the same
thought that i wished the jaws were a little longer to mabe 4 inches

jim

geigerpipes · Post by **geigerpipes** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 1:18 pm

Just wanted to dop a line on lathe turning...

I seldom use the lathe for bowl or shank turning but have been doong so more and more resently just to get a basic shape or a guideline if you like..
I dont own a wood lathe yet but my metal lathe is big enough for the job.
and although i have a lamb chuck the screws in it are to long for me to get clouse enough with the "tool rest" or whatever it is you americanos call it and untill i get them shortened no turning that way..

the method I've been using I learnt by Bengt Carlson. I have different ebonite rods that i have turned tennons on in one end maching the mortise for shank turning

and for turning the bowl I have been using broom stick rods that i turned down to fit the tb chamber exatly , i pop these into my chuck make sure they are centered and fasten the stummel on them...
problem with this is if you go on too strong the tender wood of this holder will break so it might be more sutable to make in ebonite or metal..

I dont know if you understand my bad english or if I'm just rambling in a strange language again..

best
Love
www.geigerpipes.com
I'll do anything that improves a pipe exept animal testing...

jbacon · Post by **jbacon** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:23 pm

thanks for the tip love geiger

i just saw in oneways catalog a #2 morse taper live center that you can get an adopter for to fit a chuck on the tailstock. it is a live center so it will turn. but i always wanted someway to mount a chuck in the tail stock to drill- have the drills turning instead of the wood- even thought spinning wood does not brother me- the guideline thing is what all getting to on turning then go for the shaping.

even if you turn a shank round if you leave enough wood- from there you can make any shape you want- round- oval-even make it square again-
octagon- rectangluar- half round w/ a flat bottom- triangle-

same thing w/ the bowl- but as tyler has said there is a learning curve on turning and i encourage everyone to talk classes and practice on cheaper wood- cherrywood is very cheap compared to briar.

jim

jbacon · Post by **jbacon** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:28 pm

also love geiger

i know what you mean by the wood expoxy that you said. at the wood turning class i took the use a glue block method to extend the work piece
to between center. i will look into this method and explore its effect on briar. you glue the wood to another piece of wood that will fit in the chuck
and then the have a glue removal. this is the way alot of woodturners are
turning bowls now. i don t know the effect it has on finishes(STAINING, ETC) but i m looking into it as a possibe method to use as well.

best to all

jim

geigerpipes · Post by **geigerpipes** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 5:05 pm

Jim
hav'nt actually tried it myself but its the way Bo and bengt drill their tobacco chambers
aftern shaping the pipe
And looking at any of their finished work (as we all have) leasves little evidence to where the epoxy was..
Love
www.geigerpipes.com

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 12:34 am

Tyler wrote:Eltang has been doing a little turning... screen shot from today's (7/4/04) webcam:

Tyler

Yep, and all of these pipes were actually turned on a metal lathe using a standard cutting steel mounted in the toolpost. While it seems more "automated" this is decidedly more difficult than using turning tools on the wood lathe. The cutting bit is constantly moving simultaneously on the X and Y axis. It is an extremely difficult process to master, but much more time efficient once you do. Paul Tatum once likened the process of turning a pipe on the metal lathe to drawing a perfect circle on an Etch-a-Sketch on the first try.

Todd

ToddJohnson · Post by **ToddJohnson** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 12:42 am

geigerpipes wrote:Jim
hav'nt actually tried it myself but its the way Bo and bengt drill their tobacco chambers
aftern shaping the pipe
And looking at any of their finished work (as we all have) leasves little evidence to where the epoxy was..
Love
www.geigerpipes.com

Hi Love,

I think what Bo and Bengt do is to shape the pipe, draw center lines all the way around the pipe that will correspond to the draft hole, mortise, and tobacco chamber respectively. Then they drop a dot of epoxy at each intersection. The drill bit is chucked up in the headstock of the lathe and a very sharp pin is chucked up in the tailstock of the lathe. The sharp pen is inserted into the little blob of now dry epoxy at the point where the vertical and horizontal lines intersect. Then, the pipe is held fast against the tailstock and advanced onto the spinning bit. I know a lot of the danes don't bother using the little blob of epoxy, they just sand the gouge out after drilling, but Tom says Bo started doing it because he couldn't get enough leverage to hold the pipe steady against the tailstock from his wheelchair. I do it because I don't want to have to sand the gouge out. Either way, you can sand it right off without any ill effects. It's only at 36 grit at the time of drilling anyway.

Best,

Todd