Thread: off centre turning - wow !

Damn he makes using a ring tool look easy!

Yeah - Right, I bent mine!

...not that I know doodly squat about turning, but that goblet is a work of art, the technique, simply amazing.

Made these this morning from green Jacaranda , just have to get used to turning 80% air

Originally Posted by pommyphil

Made these this morning from green Jacaranda , just have to get used to turning 80% air

Hello PommyPhil,

Did you use home made chuck or bought one ?

If home made .......... care to say a few words about it please ?

Bill

Originally Posted by steamingbill

What are the "must see" books and videos for off centre turning ?

Bill

Any recommendations ? Nothing has leaped out of google at me yet

Hey Bill Just a VM120 with shark jaws, same as "Shovel" (?) on the Utube clip

Monkey see, monkey do.

Phil

I love playing with off-centre turning, but can't justify the cost of a dedicated O/C Chuck. (There are plenty out there... the Escoulen, of course, but VicMarc, Sorby and Axminster also have versions, to name a few.)

I use Phil's method... just a normal, fairly heavy-duty chuck - SuperNova2 in my case - and a set of jaws similar to shark jaws. However, I only use two of the four jaws, fitting them opposite each other. eg. No's 1 & 3 or No's 2 & 4.

This allows me to use the jaws as a vice and locks the piece in one plane, but allows it to be positioned at various angles in the other.

It does mean that great care must be taken when turning, as it's far from being the strongest grip. However, all off-centre turning requires a delicate touch and as much concentration as you can bring to bear, so IMHO my method is not really any more... "risky" than using a dedicated O/C chuck.

The main advantage of an O/C chuck is that you can easily repeat the "settings" to reproduce an item at a later date... provided you took note of the settings in the first place, of course! My way is a lot more complicated & fiddly for this; it's much better suited to doing one-off jobs.

Hello,

Had another go today.

Experimented with small pieces of pine on a screw chuck.

Got things that looked a bit like a spinal cord from a skeleton.

Can see the potential for slightly more interesting chess pieces.

They always look more interesting when they are whizzing around - havent been able to determine what the final product will look like yet - always have to stop the lathe.

Here's an article I reckon's worth a read.

http://www.barbaradill.com/images/xx...s_LR1018-1.pdf

Great article Osbojo, thanks for that.

Phil

Great post I turn all my mushrooms off center here is one a friend wanted to display a fairy.
Thanks George

Originally Posted by Osbojo

Here's an article I reckon's worth a read.

http://www.barbaradill.com/images/xx...s_LR1018-1.pdf

Thanks Osbojo - thats a terrific article.

Hi All,
Now I haven't read all of the posts, but I was shown this way.
Not having 1 of those O/C Chucks, you could take a bit of 2in x 2in. / 50 x 50mm. put it in your Chuck turn a ball on the T/S end, to the best of your ability, & put 3 equal lines on the Ball.
Turn it around, with the Centre Line, lined up with the edge of Chuck Jaws. Turn what you want, Sand & Finish.

Loosen the Chuck, & now moving the Wood in the Chuck to 1 of the lines, & maybe push it Sideways as well.

This may sound Dangerous to you, but I found, if you had the Lathe going Flat Chat, it was easier.

Sand & Finish, before every move.

Gee, sounds as clear as mud ???.

These are pair of crooked rooks I turned for another competition a few months back. Made in red oak. The top was done with the piece between centers and then the bottom part in a chuck. Doing a one off is fun but two the same is a bit of a challenge and I was happy with the way they turned out.