Mounting NE Blanks to align the rims

[hockenbery]

@Michael Mason posted this mounted walnut blank. This will be a fine bowl.

I have a suggestion for getting to a balance rim bowl slightly more efficiently.
Assuming the camera is not distorting the angles.
while the blank may be in perfect alignment, the photo, perhaps through distortion, shows it to be off about an inch on the heights of the rim.

I like my high and low rims to be the same height off the table. Here I would loosen the tailstock and move the bowl in the direction of the arrow about a 1/2 inch. This will let me turn a bowl with the rims near to where I want them from the outset, If the distance were such that it would drastically alter the weight distribution, I would balance for weight first, turn off the edged then balance the rims. This is a hefty piece but moving it a 1/2” should not affect weight balance much and knocking off the corners will balance tha out right away.

a quick accurate way I check this is to put my hand or fingers on the headstock with my thumb huts touching the closest of the two bark edges an looking at the distance to the furthest. When they are close enough my thumb just gets brushed by both ends as the blank rotates.

after roughing a bit I would check the alignment again and fine tune in the rare cases when necessary.

 

[Michael Mason]

I agree with everything you said. In the case of the above picture, I could not align the edges perfectly at first because of my chainsaw work. Once I turned a little bit off, I was able to align them. I was trying to get a maximum size bowl, and I cannot safely cut big ones like this round on my bandsaw. I also have to adjust in the side direction to make both of the lower parts line up once a little bit of rounding has been done.

 

[hockenbery]

I agree with everything you said. In the case of the above picture, I could not align the edges perfectly at first because of my chainsaw work. Once I turned a little bit off, I was able to align them. I was trying to get a maximum size bowl, and I cannot safely cut big ones like this round on my bandsaw. I also have to adjust in the side direction to make both of the lower parts line up once a little bit of rounding has been done.

Aha!
Time to trade up to the ONEWAY with the big outboard and riser block.
Then you can turn 40” NE bowls between centers.

 

[Michael Mason]

I was actually planning to purchase a Oneway this summer for my second lathe, but ran across a VL300 Longbed here local, and for the price and all of the accessories, I had no choice but to purchase it.