Odie
Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
For those of you who wish to check the thickness of the bottom of a bowl that is mounted by the rim in Stronghold Mega Jaws......
If I have work in progress, I'd rather not remove the bowl from the chuck.....and it isn't necessary to remove the bowl to do this with this handy home-made thickness gauge.
I used a stainless steel 3/16" rod, but just about anything you want to cook up will work.......welding rod, dowel, coat-hanger, whatever. The wooden base is a scrap piece of hardwood that's slotted and drilled for this purpose. A carriage bolt serves as the cinch to clamp the rod tight.
Insert into the back side of the hollow spindle. Slide the rod through until it touches the bottom of the bowl, while holding the wooden base flat up against the handwheel. (With the Stronghold, there is enough room for the rod to go through the chuck body, even if the jaws are completely closed.)....and tighten the cinch.
Withdraw the rod and place the rod on top of the headstock and through the jaw slots, (or gap between the jaws, or over the top of the jaws), while placing the wooden base on the outside edge of the handwheel. In this position, it's easy to see how thick the bottom of your bowl is by aligning the rod end perpendicular to the bowl, with your eye.
otis of cologne
If I have work in progress, I'd rather not remove the bowl from the chuck.....and it isn't necessary to remove the bowl to do this with this handy home-made thickness gauge.
I used a stainless steel 3/16" rod, but just about anything you want to cook up will work.......welding rod, dowel, coat-hanger, whatever. The wooden base is a scrap piece of hardwood that's slotted and drilled for this purpose. A carriage bolt serves as the cinch to clamp the rod tight.
Insert into the back side of the hollow spindle. Slide the rod through until it touches the bottom of the bowl, while holding the wooden base flat up against the handwheel. (With the Stronghold, there is enough room for the rod to go through the chuck body, even if the jaws are completely closed.)....and tighten the cinch.
Withdraw the rod and place the rod on top of the headstock and through the jaw slots, (or gap between the jaws, or over the top of the jaws), while placing the wooden base on the outside edge of the handwheel. In this position, it's easy to see how thick the bottom of your bowl is by aligning the rod end perpendicular to the bowl, with your eye.
otis of cologne
