Gerd’s Shop Notes

This is my first goblet (well, actually the second, the first snapped in two when I tried to remove the remaining wood from the foot after having it of the lathe). It is made from a pretty piece of Maple from my Firewood pile, and approximately 4 inches tall.

The captive ring was made with the help of some smaller pen turning chisels. It did not come of perfectly, so I used a small piece of sandpaper wrapped around the stem to shape it a bit more.

It was originally finished with just some tung oil, but by the time the photo was taken that had all been absorbed by the wood. I have since refinished it with an oil and varnish blend.

Inspired by this thread on BT3Central.com I built a Longworth chuck (see here, here and here). I modified it a bit to have 6 instead of 4 slots to improve holding power. The bolts are from one of Rockler’s T-Track kits, and I used rubber feet and nuts also from Rockler. This was a much cheaper solution than jumbo jaws, and has the advantage of not blocking a chuck or having to swap jaws frequently.

Addendum: I have used it for some time now. It works fairly well, though the holding power could be a bit better, any little catch will cause the work piece to fly right of the chuck. I am contemplating a couple of enhancements:

1. Some kind of grip or handle that would allow me to get a ‘tighter squeeze’. The problem is that it would need to be done in such a way that it does not upset the balance of the chuck, and it also should not have any protruding edges which would increase the risk of injury (the chuck alone is scary enough when it turns at any speed).

2. Use different feet, possibly a little bigger and softer so when they are tightened they would have a larger contact patch with the work piece.

But when being careful to take light cuts, this chuck is easy to use and has vastly improved the quality of my bowls bottoms!

Earlier this year I took a great box turning class at Woodcraft, taught by Alan Lacer. So now was the time to practice my box turning skills, and easter eggs came to mind. They are turned from Maple Firewood, dyed and the finish is a spray-on laquer. While hard to tell from the photo, these eggs are all boxes. I had fun making them, and they were received well.