I am after info on sphere turning jig's

[Fred in Tassie]

Advice on the subject title would be kindly appreciated.

. Jig design types and quality of turned item produced.
. Ease of use.
. Purchase or have a go at making one (Plans would help).

Your thoughts and suggestions.

I am not game enough to try this (yet) without a form of guidance.

Thanks for your anticipated time & trouble in advance.


Cheers Fred

[Shedhand]

DB1240 Sphere Turning Jig

Special sphere turning jig allows even the amateur turner to achieve a high quality result. Delivered with sphere center finder and a HSS cutter the Sphere Turning Jig makes this advanced turning technique approachable to the beginner. The DB1240 accommodates spheres up to 190 mm / 7.5 inches in diameter. US$354
http://www.wivamacusa.com/price_list.html

[Gra]

The latest copy of woodturning from the UK has a plan on how to make one of these

[BernieP]

G'Day Fred,

Not sure about jigs but here's one way of doing it
http://www.hockenbery-woodturnings.com/SphereDescription.pdf#search='turning%20a%20sphere'
also http://home.pacbell.net/renrut/project.html
enjoy
Bernie

[Jackson]

Fred

If you can get hod of a book called "Woodturning Wizardry" by David Springett (1993, published in Britain by the Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd)

This book deals with the subject of turning spheres then goes on to discuss in great detail marking oput on spheres and turning them in to amazingly clever pieces. It also has a number of other clever projects.

It's worth looking at if you are able to get hold of it.

Cheers

[rona]

Hi Fred,
Have a look on the web site of Vermec, they have one for sale along with quite a few other items. Only tracked it down my self last night, the office girl there 'Linda' was very helpful.
Cheers,
Ron.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Is there any reason you particularly want a jig?

I use two methods to turn near perfect spheres without a jig, just as quickly too, although to get the speed (and accuracy, of course) you need to practice. Funny that. :rolleyes:

The one and only advantage of a jig is it allows a complete novice to turn an acceptable sphere... but it never teaches them the skills to do one without.

[HoutBok]

Have a look at

http://www.laymar-crafts.co.uk

He has one in his tips section - tip 48.

[har616]

For what its worth there is a Taunton dvd entitled Turning Projects that shows RIchard Raffan turning a sphere.

[baxter]

Fred I agree with Skew ChiDAMN that the best way is without a jig, however, as you asked, there is an article by David Springett with plans and diagrams in the September 2006 issue of the Woodturning magazine (UK). David Springett's book was mentioned by Jackson and the article by Gra.

There is also an article, by John Swinkels, with plans and diagrams in the October 2006 issue of the Australian Woodworker Magazine.

Both jigs are similar, however the Swinkels one makes provision for a variation in the size of the sphere by having a movable cutter.

[hughie]

Hi Fred,

I agree with Skew 'n Baxter. I have made a jig but never got around to using it :( :D But still its a useful way to start off, good training for the eye.
The only reason I made one was the cost, I thought the commercially available ones were darned expensive for something you can master with out too much difficulty.
Have a go on some rubbish timber, you'll surprise your self ;) :)

[arose62]

I've seen a few articles which suggest that using a sharpened piece of pipe can greatly assist in turning spheres.

The pipe should be smaller diameter than the sphere. Cut the pipe so the end is square, and file the opening so it's a sharp circular edge. Get the workpiece roughly sphere-like, then move the pipe tool around on the workpiece.

I've only done a couple of small balls on the end of some tool handles, and I used a cheapo circle punch, and it seemed to work well. Finish left something to be desired, though, so a light last cut with a skew was used to fix that.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Jack Plane]

Bruce Leadbeatter makes a ripper "Ball Cutter" for less than $50 from memory. I have one and it is quick & easy to use.

Check out the site http://members.ozemail.com.au/~kjeeves/leady/ball/ball.html

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've seen a few articles which suggest that using a sharpened piece of pipe can greatly assist in turning spheres.

That's one of the ways I was thinking of. :) It's really best for partial spheres, eg. the tops of pepper mills, 'cos the tube's applied with a fair bit of effort (cutting with the whole circumference of the pipe at once) and so the object tends to "slip in the centres" if only held in cup chucks.

The other method's really quite simple: mount a cube of wood between centres and turn it into a cylinder, marking the centre of the length with a pencil. Then turn it 90°, mounting between centres at the pencil line. I use a couple of scraps shaped to slip over the centres and fit the curve, so the blank isn't marked by the centres.

With a light shining from above and behind, so the "shadow line" is obvious, you turn down to the shadow line. You then turn the almost sphere another 90° so that you can finish the parts that were covered by the centres, I replace the scraps with cup chucks. Again, you only turn to the shadow line. Once it's shaped, you can re-orient the sphere around any old which-way in the cup chucks for final sanding and finishing.

It really is easier done than said. :rolleyes:

[joe greiner]

For detailed pictures of a shop-made jig made by the late Jean Michel, see http://www.atbq.qc.ca/jm2/boules.htm

No measurements, but you should be able to draw plans from the pictures. All wood, except for the pivot pin and the cutter. He used a bedan, but a scraper should also work.

JG

[tashammer]

...He used a bedan, but a scraper should also work.

JG

Urkk, mental block. No matter how many times i read it it read he used a bedpan and i was wondering about making do with anything that comes to hand. I finally got it though. Duh.