Thread: Threading Wooden Faceplates

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

As yet I have not been able to source a 1x10 bolt. I got a 1x8 which I can modify


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

When I was looking at taps I thought of a bolt or nuts to use but I could not get a 1 x 10 bolt or nut from any of the specialized bolt retailers in the Melbourne yellow pages only a lengths of threaded rod at exorbitant prices. So I settled on the tap from McJings.

Only use it occasionally as I find that I can get a 100 mm face plate from Pop's shed for about $ 14.00 which is more accurate for repeated use. Of course I don't have to pay postage as it is only a short drive from me.


Peter.

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

As yet I have not been able to source a 1x10 bolt. I got a 1x8 which I can modify
Dave the turning cowboy
turning wood into art

I wouldn't have thought that this would be possible - you'd have to squeeze the threads closer together somehow, to get 10 threads to the inch instead of 8.

My daily driver lathe has a 33mm X 3.5 spindle thread. The tap for same is an arm, a leg, and your first born child.

As I make mostly bowls using a chuck, and have a spur drive center that fits in the chuck, I have made face plates, sanding plates, a buffing wheel, and chucks to hold eggs etc., with a spigot that is grabbed by the chuck.

I have them all marked to match the #1 jaw so that the position is repeatable.

The system saves a lot of interchanging between face plate, chuck, and other accessories.

Originally Posted by Paul39

My daily driver lathe has a 33mm X 3.5 spindle thread. The tap for same is an arm, a leg, and your first born child.

As I make mostly bowls using a chuck, and have a spur drive center that fits in the chuck, I have made face plates, sanding plates, a buffing wheel, and chucks to hold eggs etc., with a spigot that is grabbed by the chuck.

I have them all marked to match the #1 jaw so that the position is repeatable.

The system saves a lot of interchanging between face plate, chuck, and other accessories.

Sounds like you're well set up in that regard, Paul.

I should do the same for GP items, but my main interest in threading is really for vacuum chucking. I want to make a range of vac cups, threaded on the back. The 1" x 10tpi BSF taps are much cheaper, too. I got the first, second-hand for $33 delivered, then found a brand new one for $34 delivered. (The first is going to a worthy cause.)

At first I considered buying 3" faceplates, but that can get expensive pretty quickly, even at $14 each from Pop's Shed over here.

Steve,

My post was just to throw in an alternative to making wooden face plates. It is a bit hard to make a 4 jaw chuck vacuum tight.

I have not aspired to a vacuum chuck yet. I can see where it would be handy for finishing natural edge bowls, which I do make.

Originally Posted by Paul39

Steve,

My post was just to throw in an alternative to making wooden face plates. It is a bit hard to make a 4 jaw chuck vacuum tight.

A pretty good alternative - much easier to do, and as you mentioned, cheaper than buying a tap for a 33 x 3.5 spindle. There are vacuum setups available that go into a scroll chuck (or onto the spindle) and have a hose coming off the side, rather than through the spindle. You've probably seen them, you've been at it a lot longer than me. I was looking at the Vicmarc version yesterday. Not bad looking, but I'm too cheap.

I have not aspired to a vacuum chuck yet. I can see where it would be handy for finishing natural edge bowls, which I do make.

Making the vac system is keeping me out of trouble, too. Still a fair way off, but I'm slowly getting the bits and pieces together.

I have come up with a design where vacuum chucking works with a face plate on your scroll chuck too ... I should have been a designer I'm sure


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

I have come up with a design where vacuum chucking works with a face plate on your scroll chuck too ... I should have been a designer I'm sure

Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

I thought about making that type too, but decided to go the usual way, through the headstock spindle, to keep the hose well out of the way.
Here's the Vicmarc ones I mentioned:

( http://www.vicmarc.com/default.asp?contentID=548 )
Rotating Union Vac Chuck.JPG

yeah I need to trick mine up a bit


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

yeah I need to trick mine up a bit

Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

A setup along those lines would be very fast and easy to set up then remove after use, compared to the through-spindle style.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Here's the Vicmarc ones I mentioned:
Rotating Union Vac Chuck.JPG

I have the Vicmarc one, being the centre pic as I use the vacuum cleaner for my vac source. I've got mine with a chuck adapter so it screws straight on the head stock spindle or onto a chuck and have made my own cups using pvc pipe joiners onto small face plates. Pipe joiners came from the US as they are much more solid and stronger and were free.

Easy to put together and very accurate.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

I have the Vicmarc one, being the centre pic as I use the vacuum cleaner for my vac source. I've got mine with a chuck adapter so it screws straight on the head stock spindle or onto a chuck and have made my own cups using pvc pipe joiners onto small face plates. Pipe joiners came from the US as they are much more solid and stronger and free.

Easy to put together and very accurate.

Peter.

Can I ask the price Peter?
I looked at the pretty pics on the Vicmarc site, but didn't query them regarding the cost.

I wouldn't trust myself to make a leak-proof rotating union if I decided to go with that method, but I'm wary of the cost of the Vicmarc.

To fit your home-made cups, did you have a problem getting them to fit on the Vicmarc rotating union? It looks like a fairly large diameter thread.

For the vacuum cups, I'm still up in the air as to whether I want to turn timber cups or use PVC. I like the idea of the PVC type, in a groove on a sealed timber faceplate.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Can I ask the price Peter?
I looked at the pretty pics on the Vicmarc site, but didn't query them regarding the cost.

Of hand I can't remember but I'll have a look tomorrow in the workshop to see if I can find the invoice. Wasn't cheap but cheaper then buying a vacuum pump for my compressor. Besides putting a through pipe through my lathes would be a fiddly task that I didn't want to do. This way I can put them on any of my lathes. Much simpler then fiddling about with different length of piping and couplers.

To fit your home-made cups, did you have a problem getting them to fit on the Vicmarc rotating union? It looks like a fairly large diameter thread.

No, I bought a few Vermec face plates that screws directly on the rotating union.

For the vacuum cups, I'm still up in the air as to whether I want to turn timber cups or use PVC. I like the idea of the PVC type, in a groove on a sealed timber faceplate.

I went the PVC type into a wooden disk attached to a faceplate, being a 100 mm, 75 mm and 50 mm in diameter. The PVC pipe joiner is covered with a special PVC seal that I got from RubberChucky in the US. They only fit the US pipe joiners, not ours, but as there was room in the parcel he gave me the joiners for free.

Could take some photos tomorrow if you like.

Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

Of hand I can't remember but I'll have a look tomorrow in the workshop to see if I can find the invoice. Wasn't cheap but cheaper then buying a vacuum pump for my compressor. Besides putting a through pipe through my lathes would be a fiddly task that I didn't want to do. This way I can put them on any of my lathes. Much simpler then fiddling about with different length of piping and couplers.

No, I bought a few Vermec face plates that screws directly on the rotating union.

I went the PVC type into a wooden disk attached to a faceplate, being a 100 mm, 75 mm and 50 mm in diameter. The PVC pipe joiner is covered with a special PVC seal that I got from RubberChucky in the US. They only fit the US pipe joiners, not ours, but as there was room in the parcel he gave me the joiners for free.

Could take some photos tomorrow if you like.

Peter.

I think that will be too expensive for my blood, with Vermec faceplates etc. as well, Peter.
I think I'll stick to the through-spindle method.

If I use PVC for the cups, I'm planning to just use normal PVC pipe in the required diameters, with the 2mm closed-cell Neoprene that I bought the other day for seals, glued on the lip. Cheap, cheap, cheap - that's me.

I'll still have to set up the piping and couplers, becuase I want to put a vacuum gauge and bleed valve on it, and use the vacuum pump rather than a vac cleaner. Possibly two valves - one for vacuum bleed adjustment and another to use as an on/off switch to release a bowl with the pump running without upsetting my vacuum setting.

I'm just trying to work out how to attach my adaptor to the handwheel without drilling holes in it at the moment. I'll only drill if absolutely necessary.

Thanks for the link to the 'Rubber Chucky' site, too. I'd never heard of them.