Turning balls (spheres)

Re: Turning balls (spheres) *LINK*

Steve Roxberg

>AAW American Association of Woodturners had a good article in the last year or two? Check their web site.


AAW

Re: Turning balls (spheres)

Lloyd in CA

>http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Paradise/2000/rob/woodensphere/

de-cloaking

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Bill, I've not seen you post here before. If you're just now showing up, you will be a HUGE and welcome addition to the turners here. If not, please post more often!

For you guys that don't know Bill - you should ask him to post some of his stuff. I use his work as inspiration for my bowls and platters the same way I have Wally for hollow vessels.

Re: Turning balls (spheres)  *LINK*

Lee Weed

>


Here's another

Re: Turning balls (spheres)

Bill Neddow

>Steve, I am digging out my AAW magazines. So That is where I saw the article! I asked on this site because I subscribe to four different magazines and buy anything else I see with woodturning in it. If I assembled it all in one place the pile would be over three feet high. Quite a job to go through since I would rather be turning.

Lloyd, That article is excellent. I will definitely use it and keep it in my files for reference.

Mike, I am still blushing. To be compared in any way witih Wally is the ultimate compliment.

I tried posting some photos here over a year ago but was doing something wrong and could not get them to load. Thus, I gravitated to WOW. But I check in here often because it is such an excellent site. Will try posting some photos again.

Hi Bill!

Dominic Greco at home in Richboro, PA

>Bill,

Glad to see your name pop up here on WoodCentral! Whenever I have limited shop time and just need to turn "something" (mostly for therapeutic reasons), I will turn a sphere. I posted some pics here on WoodCentral back in August of 2003.

Two articles I know of are:

See ya around,

Dominic

Re: Turning balls (spheres) *LINK*

Fred Holder

>The simplist way to turn a sphere is show in the article I wrote in 1997. There are more sophisticated methods and more accurate methods, but this is a good way to go.


Balls Balls Balls

Re: Turning balls (spheres)

Bill Neddow

>Wow! I was hoping to get one "link" . I now have multiple articles that are fantastic. Thank you, everyone!

Hurry, Bill!

Bill Howatt

>Bill,

Better hurry up, the meeting is only 2 days away! See you then, assuming the weather is kind.

Bill

Re: Turning balls (spheres)

Keith Tompkins

>Hi Also Bill! Glad to see you over here....please post some photos of your wonderful work!

Re: Turning balls (spheres)

Dave Peebles Lyons, Ohio!

>Hi Bill,

Great to see you here. Please post some pictures of your beautiful work. You are one of my favorite turners. Your shapes are always perfect to my eye.

Also, I saw that you said you had some problems in the past. I know that Ellis has a limit on photo size. Maybe that was the problem in the past.

Best wishes,

Dave

You might not like it . . . .

Fred in NC

>There is another way that uses a jig. Machinists use it. I made one for my miniature metal lathe, and one of these days will make one for the Jet Mini. If there is any interest I will explain.

Re: Turning spheres - The Stuart Batty method

Joe Fleming

>Taken from my post on the World of Woodturner's Website:

======================

Title: Turning Spheres ala Stuart Batty

Description:

When I posted my sphere Christmas ornaments, several people asked how I made the spheres. I posted to the photo, but decided to post here for general consumption. So....

If I ever get a digital camera, I'll take photos of the process and make a pdf file.

How to turn a "perfect" sphere using the method that Stuart Batty uses for his sphere boxes.

Ingredients:

wood

parting tool

roughing gouge

detail gouge

possibly scrapers depending on the wood

Directions:

Turning spheres ala Stuart Batty:

1 - Between centers, turn cylinder to approximate sphere diameter. Length should be about 1/8" longer on both ends than diameter. Mark center of piece EXACTLY with a pencil. Do not let this line be to the left or right.

2 - Round off cylinder but do not touch the center line and do not shorten either end of the original cylinder. You end up with an oval piece with two tenons from the center. Remove piece.

3 - Mount a small scrap block in a chuck. Turn the diameter to about 1" or so. Turn one end of this piece so that it can seat on a revolving center. Reverse and turn the other end to be concave to approximately mate with the sphere. Remove from chuck and mount on the revolving center. I have a cheap revolving center permanently set up like this.

4 - Mount a small scrap block in a chuck. Turn the diameter to about 1-1/2" or so. Shape the face to be concave, so that it will approximately mate with the sphere. This will be the drive.

5 - Mount the sphere between the wooden drive chuck (step #4) and the wooden tail center (step #3) so that the tenons go end-over-end. Take time to line this up exactly. You want the center point holes to spin exactly in the same plane. You also want the penciled center line of step #1 to be exactly in line with the spindle centers.

6 - Use a 1/8" parting tool to cut a square groove in the sphere so that the parting cut exactly passes through the tenon centers. Deepen the parting cut until there is a slight groove all the way around the sphere except for the pencil mark in step #1. The groove should just barely kiss the pencil line from the other marked center. It is OK if you scribe through the pencil line, but the deeper the parting cut at this point, the smaller the sphere. Remove the sphere and tailstock.

7 - Mount a scrap block in the chuck to be used as a jam chuck for the sphere. Diameter should be about 1/2" or so larger than the sphere at the pencil line. Hollow out the jam chuck into a "U". Remember that a "U" is not a semicircle. It has two straight sides connected by a semicircle. Scrape the "U" so that it will take the sphere jammed in the original orientation (one tenon inside the chuck and one to the right). Do not jam to the original pencil line, but shy of that so that the pencil line is exposed. You will use the pencil line to insure that you have the sphere lined up. Turn the outside of the jam chuck with a concave cut (like half a cove) so that the jam edge is rather sharp. Do this without the sphere in place.

8 - Jam the sphere using the pencil line as a guide. Use masking tape to secure the sphere in the jam if you prefer. At this point, you will have a pencil line going around the piece and a parting cut going around the piece through the tenons.

9 - Now turn the right end of the sphere down to the parting cut, BUT DO NOT ERASE THE PARTING CUT. The parting cut represents the final sphere. If you breach the parting cut, you will have reduced the sphere's diameter and will have to go back to step #1 to make a smaller sphere. For very hard woods (like exotics) you can scrape the last few thousandths with a skew turned on the side. This technique will take very light shavings. Cut all the way to the chuck/tape, but past the pencil line.

NOTE: As you turn the sphere, the sides of the parting cut will vanish before the flat of the bottom of the groove will vanish. You can see this with your eye. Stop while the flat of the groove is still visible, but the sides of the groove are gone.

10 - Re-jam the sphere with the other end sticking out and repeat the process in step #9.

11 - Remount the wooden drive and the wooden tailstock center. Press the finished sphere between the two and sand. Stop the lathe a few times and re-center the sphere to make sure that you are sanding all sides/surfaces. Work your way through the grits in a like manner. You can use friction polish with this technique too.

PRODUCTION NOTES: I can do one sphere complete in about 15 minutes, but I already have a wooden revolving center, a wooden drive block and a wooden jam chuck laying around. I also tend to do these things in groups to minimize set-ups. When jamming, do the smallest sphere first, and then work your way up the diameters. This will minimize the amount of jam chuck turning you will have to do.

Joe Fleming - San Diego

And it only takes 5 minutes...;-)

steve antonucci in NW NJ

>Actually, I'm probably down to 15 minutes if I try, but Dom's pointers at 5 Barns were dead on-

Two fixtures- take your time in making... I'll post pics and write an article later if I get a few minutes...

Steve

Re: You might not like it . . . .

Bill Neddow

>Yes, I am interested. I believe I have seen something like what you are suggesting in a British magazine some years ago. Would like to see it or hear about it.

Re: Turning spheres - The Stuart Batty method

Bill Neddow

>Thanks, Joe.

Re: You might not like it . . . .

Bill Neddow

>Yes, Fred, I a interested. I think I have seen it somewhere in a British magazine for turning lawn bowling balls which have to be exactly the same size. I would like to know exactly what it is.

Re: You might not like it . . . .

Fred in NC

>Bill, I will take a pic of the jig I made for my metal lathe.

You can think of the jig as an "L" bracket. One side of the L pivots in line with the ball's centerline. The tool is affixed to the other leg of the jig. As you rotate the jig at the pivot the cutting tool of course travels in a perfect arc.

Machinists use this type of jig to cut balls at the end of handles.

You cannot cut a complete sphere with this jig. A set of cups will be needed to get rid of the tenon.

Re: You might not like it . . . .

Bill Neddow

>There was a tool llike this advertised in the UK Crafts Supplies catalogue for a number of years. I cannot remember seeing it recently. Wish I had bought one.