Tom Larkin

[Tom Larkin]

New to this forum but have been turning for over 35 years. I live in Tipperary, Ireland . I have a mid 1950's Harrison Graduate lathe, modified and reconditioned by LRE in the UK. I am current membership Secretary of the Irish Woodturners Guild. I am retired for a couple of years so have very little time for turning!!.
I am currently investigating how to make an elliptical chuck - I never buy something I can make myself. If there is anyone out there who has made one I would be delighted to hear from you.


Most satisfying Woodturning project was traction engine which I designed and made with our local Woodturning group for entry in our national Woodturning competition ( it won).

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome to the AAW forum, Tom. That's a beautiful traction engine. It's no wonder that it took first place. Several woodturners have built elliptical chucks and at one time plans could be found on the web. Perhaps somebody on the forum has more information about them.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Welcome board Tom. Love that engine . How long did it take y'all to build.

 

[Tom Larkin]

Welcome board Tom. Love that engine . How long did it take y'all to build.

A group of 10 completed it over about four months - each made different parts and we would meet in someone's workshop a few times a month to assemble, but sometimes there wasn't much work done as the 'craic' was too good

 

[hockenbery]

Hi Tom, good to have you here.
Your engine is amazing!
Curious about the size. What is the approximate length?

 

[Tom Larkin]

Hi Tom, good to have you here.
Your engine is amazing!
Curious about the size. What is the approximate length?

It is 75cms long and is built to a 1:8 scale. It is based on a real traction steam engine, and everything works when the flywheel is rotated- 2 forward gears, reverse, brake, winch etc. We donated it, along with several other very nice pieces to our local hospital (St. Luke's in Kilkenny) where it is on permanent display and raising funds for our chosen charity - Cancer Homecare Team.

 

[Dwight R Rutherford]

Google”elliptical chuck plans”.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Here is a neat YouTube video of a traction engine in Jay Leno's garage.

View: https://youtu.be/M9FuCDRRb7k

 

[RichColvin]

Tom,

When designing an elliptical chuck, especially one used at high speed (I’m an ornamental turner, so high speed is >10 rpm), be sure to consider counter weights for the offset. This is needed to ensure you minimize vibration. Bill Oom’s design for an eccentric chunk would be a good place to start.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Meld0eGem0U&feature=youtu.be

Kind regards,
Rich

 

[Bill Boehme]

Tom, if you are interested in oval turning then the Volmer chuck might be what you are looking for. Here is a link and there is a PDF that describes how it works, but there aren't any how to plans: http://www.volmer---ovaldrehen.de/englisch.htm

 

[Bill Boehme]

Here are some actual plans by David Springett that appeared in an article in American Woodturner several years ago: http://www.aawcontentsource.org/aaw_cs1_pdf/AW3006p28-35.pdf

And, the video: tiny.cc/TurnElliptical