The Show washup

[rsser]

I was pleased to meet and talk with Vic and Enzo today and to get the back story on my VL175 lathe shipping damage. 3rd damaged lathe this year for VM.

VM and Vermec continue to innovate. I was impressed by the Cole jaw clamps for offset turning at $20. (I had to wait in line for Soren to buy some chuck exotica and for his credit card to stop smoking before I could make my modest purchases).

The Proforme flexi whispered insistently 'buy me, 10% off' and I did. The Carroll roadshow was impressive with Larry Curly and Mo playing on various machines.

Another purchase was the Conchuck from Pop's Shed, a split pin chuck ideal for quick mounting of nat edge blanks where you don't anticipate having to re-center to get alignment of wing top and bottoms. Click (http://www.popsshed.com.au/Sub_Categories.aspx?cid=42) for info.

Jim Davy was there with WoodRiver planes at good prices, Vers 3. Very tempting. Picked up 2 cans of G15 rust protector at $20 - been hanging out for this stuff.

Most of all the range and quality of timber was awesome. Partic. Huon 'pine' of which there were samples of dense but not esp figured stuff that would serve as breadboards etc. There was also lots of quality Aus Cedar.

It was great to catch up with so many forumites as well.

[hughie]

Ern I would interested to hear of your experiences on the Con chuck when time permits

[rsser]

Other things equal, for nat edge lumps I'd prefer to mount btwn centres using the Vermec screw-on drive dog, so recentring could be done. But the VL175 doesn't have that much swing over bed to cope with larger lumps.

The Con Chuck mates well with the VM spindle. Max inserted length is 50mm.

We might get a chance at the mid-week Ernfest to see how it holds a lump swivelled out.

I've done similar before, with a VM100 and shark jaws. Usually have to get clearance and chisel out bark to sapwood, after forstner drilling @ 50mm, and it's a bit of a bother.

[rsser]

Hi Neil,

We gave the Con chuck a run today and I'm quite impressed.

Mounted a decent lump of wet elm with it, nudging 36cm OD and plenty deep.

Drilled a hole to receive it, 7/8" OD and 2" deep.

Held fine with no tailstock support.

So I would say it's a better option than a scroll chuck with shark or long nose jaws.

For nat edge bowls where you rough out and have to realign to ensure that the low points of the rim, and the high, match, starting between centres is still the way to go.

[hughie]

So I would say it's a better option than a scroll chuck with shark or long nose jaws.
For nat edge bowls where you rough out and have to realign to ensure that the low points of the rim, and the high, match, starting between centres is still the way to go.


Yeah I did wonder about that, but still its nice to have a good array of tools to meet some of the unforeseen.

[rsser]

Yeah, and engineer wisdom has it that turning large lumps driven by a spur on any MT2 runs the risk of twisting the taper producing galling in the socket.

[hughie]

Yeah, and engineer wisdom has it that turning large lumps driven by a spur on any MT2 runs the risk of twisting the taper producing galling in the socket.

........ be tight then :U. I actually do a lot [ read most ] of bowls with a screw chuck and tailstock, for me its quick and simple. The inside is done on a tenon and then finish the bottom on either the Longworth or donut chuck.
Still I would like to see the Con chuck in action. :2tsup:

[Jim Carroll]

Much the same as the pin chuck we used years ago.

It was great for doing capitals, drill a hole in the base and slide on and twist. Turn the capital and give it a slight bump to get of the pin and put another one on. No need to turn the lathe on and of.


I would still prefer the vermec drive centre with the adjustable pins for natural edge peices so you can adjust for best grain and balance.

[rsser]

Yes, the Vermec screw-on dog is hard to beat for large nat edge work.

[Sawdust Maker]

...

The Proforme flexi whispered insistently 'buy me, 10% off' and I did. The Carroll roadshow was impressive with Larry Curly and Mo playing on various machines.

...

Ern

I'm interested in your views on this tool
It whispered at me as well in Syd this year but I managed to put temptation behind me ... well at least for a while, or until next year.

[rsser]

In terms of cutting head designs I like the Proforme J shape better than the Munro cup shape; you can plunge cut with the tip and plane with the side.

The Flexi is smaller than the orig. Proforme and obviously has links for undercutting. How much twisting force is generated and how easy it is to control awaits a test.

[crow400]

Great photos in the blog Ern. Thanks.
Bruce

[Jim Carroll]

In terms of cutting head designs I like the Proforme J shape better than the Munro cup shape; you can plunge cut with the tip and plane with the side.

The Flexi is smaller than the orig. Proforme and obviously has links for undercutting. How much twisting force is generated and how easy it is to control awaits a test.

One thing to keep in mind when articulating the head is to try and keep the cutting tip in line with the bar.
You position the link to the right and then the cutting tip comes back to the left to form a U shape , You are still able to do a reasonable undercut this way and if you need to go deeper use the long link.

The more you move the cutting head past the level of the bar you will find more tendancy for it to pull side ways.

You do need to tuck the handle into your sides and have your hand over the top of the bar on the toolrest and with the swivel head of the VL175 you will work comfortably.

[rsser]

Thanks for the tips Jim.

BTW I went for the Flexi on Brendan's recommendation; he'd been using one at the show. Just a bit of market research data for you.

And thanks for the feedback on the Blog Bruce. Nice to see it gets looked at. I'd really like to maintain it when out bush using the laptop and phone as modem but for some reason the logon fails. Something to do with Telstra's server settings I suppose.

As for wood pickups at the Show, as posted there was some interesting stuff. I got a Wenge bowl blank, some Huon pieces, a rectangular piece of superbly figured Tas Myrtle and a spindle blank of Ringed Gidgee.