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My 1st of others has done.

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Today when turning the inside of bowl I cut thru the bottom to expose the chuck jaws holding the piece. Attached is some pictures so you can see and maybe give me ideas on what to use to fix this.
 

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Three Options.........

1. Time Machine.
2. Modify the piece by adding an additional layer on the bottom.
3. Pitch It.

If you go with option two, there are several directions you can take.
You could turn it into a nut bowl by turning a base for the bowl and a center piece to hold the nut cracker
You could turn a wood plug of similar wood and glue it into the hole.
You could also cut a couple of decorative grooves in the plug to hide the glue line.
Or use a dark colored epoxy to create a detail line in the bottom.
Or fill the glue line groove with a decorative filler with CA glue or epoxy.
You could turn a lid for the bowl and put some candy in the bowl and no-one will know the plug is there.
You could cut the bowl into segments and rings and turn the fubar into a segmented piece. (takes skill)
You could sacrifice the bowl to the wood gods.
 

hockenbery

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Today when turning the inside of bowl I cut thru the bottom to expose the chuck jaws holding the piece. Attached is some pictures so you can see and maybe give me ideas on what to use to fix this.

Happens to just about everyone.
Doesn't happen quite as often with a tenon because you can get positive feedback from callipers and know exactly what the thickness is.

Fast forward the video to 28:30.
You will see how I use calipers to verify the thickness of the bowl rim to bottom when I am roughing a bowl.
While I can't actually measure to the bottom center I can see it.

Roughing green bowl -
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo0bGSafZq4


Another quick trick is to measure the depth with the gouge. Put the tip on bottom center and hold it perpendicular to the bottom. Close one eye and put your thumb where the rim is. Then hold the gouge with your thumb at the rim and look where the tip is. This just tells you if you should be worried.
 
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john lucas

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Put a mark on the lathe bed that is exactly where your jaws end. Then take a carpenters square and set it on the bed and slide it up to touch the lip of the bowl. Now measure from this ruler as it touches the lip to the bottom of the bowl. Take this measurement and measure from where the square touches the bed back to your line you drew and you know exactly how much wood is left before you hit the jaw. This is by far the best way to measure the wall thickness at the jaws when doing expansion chucking into bowls.
Just reverse turn the bowl and round out the opening. Then glue a contrasting piece in the hole and turn both the inside and outside. Customers don't know you didn't do it on purpose.
 
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Similar to what John is talking about a few years ago there was a jig in American Woodturner. Take a piece of wood and cut it long enough to fit against the head stock out to the top of chuck jaws, Use a square to fit against chuck jaws to get length. Make a flat piece about 12 inches long which will sit on lathe bed. On this piece screw on a thin piece the width of the space between the ways. Mount a upright onto this piece (length determined by chuck height) vertically. Determine the height of the center of the chuck and use this measurement to adjust the vertical piece height so the the stock you will mount to the top is centered on the chuck. This will look like a U laying sideways. The end of the top piece should be sharpened to a point and this point should be directly above the end of the bedded piece. To measure you place the piece under the chuck (jammed against the headstock), then with the point of the U facing the bowl and bottom on the ways push the point into the bowl to touch the bottom. Measure the space between the headstock board and the jig bottom board and that is bottom thickness. Do not have a pic and will be a while before I get a chance to do one .

Found the reference on page 12 of American Woodturner issue 28.2
http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.woodturner.org/resource/resmgr/journals/28-02.pdf
 
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odie

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1. Time Machine.
2. Modify the piece by adding an additional layer on the bottom.
3. Pitch It.

Go with option #3. If you repair it, every time you see the bowl you'll think of "mistake".....forever. :rolleyes:

This is the solution:
IMG_0632.JPG
Get yourself a depth gauge.......and, use it every time, always, forever.....on EVERY bowl.

(They are easy to make.)

-----odie-----
 

odie

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I do have some junk wood I could make these gauges out of. What size rod did you use? 1/8 inch?

Off the top of my head, I think it was 3/16" stainless rod.......but, I don't think it matters much. Whatever rod you have on hand would probably work just as well. Heck, an old wire coat hanger would work! ;)

The only thing necessary is for some amount of resistance to sliding in the hole, so that it stays put and holds the setting. I initially set the depth I want the distance from the rim to the bottom of the interior......then keep checking once I get close to the depth I want to end up at.

-----odie-----
 

Emiliano Achaval

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Three Options.........

1. Time Machine.
2. Modify the piece by adding an additional layer on the bottom.
3. Pitch It.

If you go with option two, there are several directions you can take.
You could turn it into a nut bowl by turning a base for the bowl and a center piece to hold the nut cracker
You could turn a wood plug of similar wood and glue it into the hole.
You could also cut a couple of decorative grooves in the plug to hide the glue line.
Or use a dark colored epoxy to create a detail line in the bottom.
Or fill the glue line groove with a decorative filler with CA glue or epoxy.
You could turn a lid for the bowl and put some candy in the bowl and no-one will know the plug is there.
You could cut the bowl into segments and rings and turn the fubar into a segmented piece. (takes skill)
You could sacrifice the bowl to the wood gods.
I'm interested in learning more about option 1. I want to go back 20 plus years and tell a younger guy all the silly mistakes he made and a few other things...
 
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Go with option #3. If you repair it, every time you see the bowl you'll think of "mistake".....forever. :rolleyes:

This is the solution:
View attachment 23368
Get yourself a depth gauge.......and, use it every time, always, forever.....on EVERY bowl.

(They are easy to make.)

-----odie-----
I will be making one of these Odie. I was thinking about a bowl depth gauge just the other day. I may use a dowel as a rod since I have some on hand.
 
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Pitch it. You also have some soft spots and a ton of tear out, so hours of sanding ahead if you want to keep it. Any repair would not be worth it to me.
 

hockenbery

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Bowl depth gauge tip. Place the hole for the rod at the 1/3 point in the cross piece.
If the largest bowl you want to turn is 12" diameter make the cross piece 18" long and drill the hole 6" from one end.
You Measure the depth of the bowl, Hold the rod in place with thumb pressure.
Put the rod against the rim with 12" side of the cross piece square on the rim.
Now everything is square. Close one eye and see when the tip of the rod is over the outside of the bowl.

These are nice aids to have when you need a quick confirmation.
Since I turn only curved bowls calipers do a quicker better job for me.
 

john lucas

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Hard to beat Keith Thompkins Gauge T for measuring wall thickness and it will reach around and measure the bottom on many shapes of bowls.
 

odie

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I will be making one of these Odie. I was thinking about a bowl depth gauge just the other day. I may use a dowel as a rod since I have some on hand.

Lamar, I almost forgot.........The larger depth gauge was made back in the 1980's, and I originally used a dowel rod. As I remember, the dowel didn't work out very well, because it didn't slide well.....was sticky. Shown here is where I drilled it out and filled with a bigger dowel......then drilled again and inserted the stainless rod. This has worked well for about 30+ years. I suppose it's possible to make the dowel arrangement work, but the metal rod has worked so much better than the wooden dowel ever did........

-----odie-----
IMG_3203 (2).JPG
 
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Lamar, I almost forgot.........The larger depth gauge was made back in the 1980's, and I originally used a dowel rod. As I remember, the dowel didn't work out very well, because it didn't slide well.....was sticky. Shown here is where I drilled it out and filled with a bigger dowel......then drilled again and inserted the stainless rod. This has worked well for about 30+ years. I suppose it's possible to make the dowel arrangement work, but the metal rod has worked so much better than the wooden dowel ever did........

-----odie-----
View attachment 23372
Thanks for the tip Odie, I wondered about the ease of slide with the wooden dowel? I'll get a couple of stainless rods. There are made already just need rods now. Thanks Odie and Happy turning!
 
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Lamar, I almost forgot.........The larger depth gauge was made back in the 1980's, and I originally used a dowel rod. As I remember, the dowel didn't work out very well, because it didn't slide well.....was sticky. Shown here is where I drilled it out and filled with a bigger dowel......then drilled again and inserted the stainless rod. This has worked well for about 30+ years. I suppose it's possible to make the dowel arrangement work, but the metal rod has worked so much better than the wooden dowel ever did........

-----odie-----
View attachment 23372
I have one with wooden dowel also and it is hard to adjust. I tap it on the ways to adjust but Just thought that if the dowel was waxed it would adjust easier.
 
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Old school method is to insert your lathe tool into the hollow until it hits the bottom of the bowl
and sight down the outer edge of the bowl aligning both the closest and furthest edge of the bowl
rim and placing your finger tip at that point on the tool.
Remove the lathe tool from the hollow and hold it on top of the bowl aligning the finger tip on the
outer edge of the bowl and sight down the cutting end of the tool to gauge how much material is
left in the bottom of the bowl.
 
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Old school method is to insert your lathe tool into the hollow until it hits the bottom of the bowl
and sight down the outer edge of the bowl aligning both the closest and furthest edge of the bowl
rim and placing your finger tip at that point on the tool.
Remove the lathe tool from the hollow and hold it on top of the bowl aligning the finger tip on the
outer edge of the bowl and sight down the cutting end of the tool to gauge how much material is
left in the bottom of the bowl.
Hi Mike, that is the way I've been measuring bowl depth. Making one with stainless rods....... Happy turning!
I have one with wooden dowel also and it is hard to adjust. I tap it on the ways to adjust but Just thought that if the dowel was waxed it would adjust easier.
Thanks Gerald, I thought that wood on wood might not slide as well. Happy turning!
 
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You could use a straight edge across the rim of the bowl and use a tape measure to measure the depth.
If you used the same concept and switched the round rod for a steel measuring rule you would quickly
have an analog value of the depth. A rare earth magnet mounted into a wood straight edge would provide
an easy way to attach a steel rule and allow it to adjust to the depth of the bowl.
 
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Dude - this is not a problem.
The bottom broke out in a large maple hollowform some years ago - I cut it round and inserted a boxelder plug - I used black dyed epoxy to glue it in so there would be a clear glue line. The piece sold at my next gallery show: it had a story. The buyer was more impressed with the "little red surprise inside" than the rest of the piece. And I'm guessing that, due to it being the bottom, it rarely gets any light and is probably still bright red.
I'd use a contrasting exotic wood and make it stand out. Better yet, find a bud at your club with a rose-engine lathe - go nuts with it.

If it's worth doing it's worth doing to excess - moderation is for monks - if the meek inherit the earth, what's happening to us tigers?
 
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