Aluminum, steel, cast metal faceplates......pros and cons?

[n7bsn]

Would that be one of the new Littoral ships?

.....

Yup, fast and capable

 

[Bill Boehme]

.... Someone on another list explained (right or wrong) that the structure of aluminum looks sort of like fish scales. .....

ROFLOL

Giving your "source" the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he was describing what galling looks like (which can occur with either aluminum or steel). Otherwise, he has a lot of gall saying something like that and then using it as an "explanation" for your stuck faceplate problem. I am sure that we all know that allowing a Morse taper arbor to spin in the lathe spindle socket will gall both surfaces and can result in the parts becoming essentially frozen together. No fish scales are needed for this to happen.

OTOH, I have heard from a source who wishes to remain anonymous that the reason that titanium is so strong is that its "structure" (who know what that is referring to) looks like bear claws. I am not certain if that is referring to the sticky pastry or what is found on a real bear.

 

[Barbara Gill]

Sorry guys but I just have to ask, when do you use faceplates?

I have a bunch that came with my lathes. I can't remember the last time I used one. I tend to turn between centers to get everything roughed out and balanced and then go right to my chuck.

Just curious,

Dave

I am not a guy but that doesn't stop me.:cool2:
I use a faceplate whenever the chunk of wood is too large for me to feel safe turning it between centers. That always includes any piece that is 16" or greater in diameter.

 

[Dale Miner]

I am not a guy but that doesn't stop me.:cool2:
I use a faceplate whenever the chunk of wood is too large for me to feel safe turning it between centers. That always includes any piece that is 16" or greater in diameter.

Hi Barb,

Do you have one of the large (2.5") diameter two prong spurs that can be grabbed with #2 jaws in a chuck?

I start just about everything between centers, including some 18" diameter blanks using a large two prong spur to drive them until the outside is fairly well shaped and a tenon formed on the tailstock end. The only time any trouble happens is when forgetting to periodically check or retighten the tailstock center.

I do use faceplates, but not very often since the start of using the large spur.

Later,
Dale M

 

[Barbara Gill]

Dale I have the smaller version. Wow that must really be a hunk of metal!

 

[Dave Peebles]

I am not a guy but that doesn't stop me.:cool2:
I use a faceplate whenever the chunk of wood is too large for me to feel safe turning it between centers. That always includes any piece that is 16" or greater in diameter.

Sorry about that Barbara ,

Some of my favorite turners are women. Just a slip of the keyboard

Dave

 

[Dave Peebles]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question.

I also used them om my vacuum chucks, but I have since gone to the Oneway aluminum vacuum chucks.

I guess my biggest problem with starting on a faceplate is you loose the ability to balance the grain, but I do see them being a useful item to have around for certain projects.

Thanks again,

Dave

 

[John Jordan]

Faceplates are useful when a piece is large and/or long. Gets you back a couple of inches that the chuck adds in length, and is less prone to vibrate/chatter when that is an issue. No parts to flex. For normal scale stuff, a good chuck works good.

Battleships, guns, warping? Really. They are just faceplates. I use steel, aluminum and cast iron interchangeably. I've turned a LOT of work for a long time. If they are well made, I doubt one would get in a situation where they could tell a difference. Really.

Those little pot metal things that came on Delta lathes for decades, or the little cast iron ones that came with General lathes would snap right off, though.

I've never seen or heard of aluminum wood screws.

John

 

[John Fabre]

I've never seen or heard of aluminum wood screws.

John

They make aluminum nails too, there's bolts and washers. Check this out
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/fasnr/items/ALUMINUM_WOOD_SCREWS_ROUND_SLOT_HEAD__10_X_3_4_NEW_100

 

[MichaelMouse]

I guess my biggest problem with starting on a faceplate is you loose the ability to balance the grain, but I do see them being a useful item to have around for certain projects.

If you have enough depth to play figure games you can make a new angled flat and remount if you're using a smaller plate. Doesn't happen often that I miscall the pattern after years of splitting cordwood, but when I have wanted to, I plugged my pin hole and bored a new one. Pretty much the same thing. Dowel and CA in the screw holes.

 

[john lucas]

Dave I always start between centers and turn until I decide I have it where I want it. Then I will turn the necessary shape or size to fit either a chuck or faceplate. When I feel the need for a large amount of wood where the faceplate will attach I made a special tool to hollow out a rebate for the faceplate. It's nothing more than a bent screwdriver tip to hollow out the square shoulder, the rest is hollowed with a spindle gouge. This makes it fit perfectly aligned so I have very little truing necessary after attaching the faceplate. When the tenon needs to be small I turn it the same size as my faceplate which helps alignment.
Most of my faceplates have a hole in the middle and I tried turning a small tenon to fit in this hole to align things. That works on the ones with a smooth hole but the ones that have the spindle thread going all the way through are just too sloppy to get the best alignment. On those I go back to my rebate tool.

 

[Dick Sowa]

Since so many folks have posted their thoughts, I guess I will add mine. I have a number of Don Pencil faceplates, and a couple of steel ones along with the one that came with my 3520b. My thoughts...

-I turn rough blanks between centers, till they are balanced. Once balanced, and I can pull the tailstock out of the way, the faceplate type (aluminum, steel or even a 4 jaw chuck), really doesn't matter at all. What is more important is the length and number of screws used to hold the blank.

-Since I turn mostly segmented work, aluminum faceplates mounted to a disk of MDF are what I use to flatten rings, center rings when stacking and gluing, etc. They are light weight and really can't be beat.

-I also have one aluminum faceplate deadicated to a donut chuck.

So for me, I happen to like aluminum faceplates...they are inexpensive and handy. Steel also has it's place, but they tend to have fewer screw holes for attachment.

 

[John Jordan]

They make aluminum nails too, there's bolts and washers. Check this out
http://www.bonanza.com/booths/fasnr/items/ALUMINUM_WOOD_SCREWS_ROUND_SLOT_HEAD__10_X_3_4_NEW_100

Yep, I thought about that after I wrote it-I should have added, "but there probably is such a thing." I know screws, bolts and nuts. I'm a motorcycle guy, and there's some pretty exotic and expensive, hardware available.

John

 

[John Fabre]

Well I was unclear about aluminum faceplates until now, i'm really liking the idea. Don Pencil has one machined to fit Oneway, does he make one bigger than 4"?

 

[Bill Boehme]

Well I was unclear about aluminum faceplates until now, i'm really liking the idea. Don Pencil has one machined to fit Oneway, does he make one bigger than 4"?

I think that he might do special orders provided that the size of the aluminum stock that he has and his machine capacity allow it.

 

[Dean Center]

I've never seen or heard of aluminum wood screws.
John

They're great for helping you wade in slippery rivers--just screw a mess of them into the soles of your waders.
Dean

 

[odie]

This thread has turned into an interesting read......thanks for all the input. Actually, I have no need for additional faceplates.....was just curious about the differences. Because of this thread, I'm convinced that aluminum is a viable material for faceplates, whereas I did have some doubts.

It would seem that the larger the diameter of the faceplate, the thicker the aluminum would have to be to match the strength of steel. Maybe that thought has little to do with nuthin'.....Ha!

(BTW: Barbara......I don't see why you can't be "one of the guys". I know that when these terms are used, you are certainly included, and never intended to be excluded...... )


ooc

 

[Gretch Flo]

This thread has turned into an interesting read......thanks for all the input. Actually, I have no need for additional faceplates.....was just curious about the differences.


ooc

Odie-like the way you bring up topics for mulling, or dangle food for thought, Gretch

 

[George Clark]

I switched to steel faceplates for large turnings because of my tendency to cross-thread or the damage the aluminum, without realizing it, when the weight of the blank was close to the maximum that I could lift. It's a lot easier for me to "feel" my way onto the spindle with a steel faceplate when mounting a heavy blank.

I recently purchased a Oneway versa-mount with a 6" faceplate to eliminate the possibility of screwing up the spindle threads when mounting heavy blanks.

http://www.oneway.ca/versa-mount/index.htm

With all that being said, here is a source for high quality Al faceplates.

http://bestwoodtools.stores.yahoo.net/faceplates.html

George

 

[Bill Boehme]

I switched to steel faceplates for large turnings because of my tendency to cross-thread or the damage the aluminum, without realizing it, when the weight of the blank was close to the maximum that I could lift. It's a lot easier for me to "feel" my way onto the spindle with a steel faceplate when mounting a heavy blank.

Which reminds me of an important point about installing anything that screws onto the spindle -- turn the spindle and hold the faceplate/chuck/whatnot steady. I'm not saying that you did it wrong, but I have seen plenty of turners try to thread something onto the spindle by turning the piece of heavy wood. Invariably they will need to make several attempts.

Even when doing it properly, a very heavy piece of wood increases the chance of cross-threading. Here is something that might initially seem counter intuitive, but I prefer aluminum over steel because of what happens if the faceplate is cross-threaded onto the spindle. Why? Well, I would much prefer that only the faceplate threads are damaged rather than damaging the spindle threads which is a possibility with steel faceplates.

 

[Joe Greiner]

Which reminds me of an important point about installing anything that screws onto the spindle -- turn the spindle and hold the faceplate/chuck/whatnot steady. I'm not saying that you did it wrong, but I have seen plenty of turners try to thread something onto the spindle by turning the piece of heavy wood. Invariably they will need to make several attempts.

That's an excellent reason for adding a handwheel if absent. In the meantime, a spanner on the spindle would be an improvement.

Thanks, Bill.