sphere jigs

Re: sphere jigs

Dick Coers

I own the Carter Perfect Sphere. It works very well. I love the feature of being able to rotate, or remove the cutter holder. The fine adjustment on the cutter really works well.

Re: sphere jigs

john lucas

Ditto I only have experience with the Carter and it is very well made and easy to use. I was testing it for a friend who needed to turn some spheres within about .015" of each other. I doubt I can do that by hand but with a little experimentation we were able to figure out a way to get that tolerance with the Carter Jig. Part of that is the use of Hunter cutters. If you rotate the cutter in the direction your going it leaves a finish that requires very little sanding

A friend who is a professional turner bought one thinking it would speed up her Sphere turning. It didn't so she sold it. If your really good turning spheres between cup centers it's faster. But if you need to really nail a certain size the jigs really help.

Re: sphere jigs

Ric Taylor

I have the Vermec sphere jig. It is a really solid unit built to very precise tolerances. It will make a sphere up to about 8" in diameter, which is close to the size of a bowling ball.

Re: sphere jigs

Mike Stafford

I had the opportunity and the need to turn some spheres before Christmas and was loaned the Chefwarekits sphere jig.

It was surprisingly easy to set up and use. It differs slightly from most that I have seen in that it rotates/swivels over the top rather than side to side. The one I borrowed had a Hunter cutter assembly on it and the finish off the tool was such that I started sanding with 320 and then finished with a green pad.

Here is a picture of it in use.

As I said, I have no previous experience with any other jig but this was very easy to use and set up.

Re: sphere jigs

david

I have the Carter Perfect Sphere, and I think it works as well as expected. If you don't set it up well you can have issues with chatter and harmonic vibration with the cutter against the wood.

Re: sphere jigs

Mark Paulley

All,

Thanks for the quick response on the jigs out there and appreciate the opinions too!!!

Interesting to view each type on u-tube!

Mark

Vermec

Geoff Whaling

Another vote for Vermec. It is a robust & very well engineered unit & later versions include a centering pin to aid alignment of the sphere jig to the work piece if you are adding sphere style accents or ball top finials.

I've used mine making many spheres from 3/4" (19 mm) to 4" (100 mm) but mostly in the 2" (50 mm) range.

Re: Vermec

Donna Banfield

One of the (many) reasons I attend a Symposium is to get a good look at equipment I'm thinking of acquiring. Last year at the AAW in Pittsburgh, it was sphere jigs.

After sitting in on Dick Gerard's rotation (turning spheres), I went down to the Trade Show and got a good look at the Carter jig and the Vermec. In my opinion, the Vermec was better made, built like a tank and more precise. The turner in the Carter booth may have been inexperienced with the device, but he was having a lot of trouble with chatter, so much that the cutter was bouncing on the wood and gouging it. Did not give me confidence.

Getting one that weekend wasn't in the budget, but I got it for my birthday later that summer. I love the precision, the accuracy with which it cuts, and using a carbide cutter, achieves a very smooth surface. Vermec is made just like the Vicmarc tools and accessories (they're brothers). Top quality. Vermec is available through Woodworkers Emporium, in Las Vegas.

Re: Vermec

David Walser

At the Phoenix symposium, I did something similar to Donna. I looked at the Carter jig and the Vermec very closely. I was able to briefly turn using both. Both are quality jigs. The Vermec is superior. Here's why:

Sphere jigs of this type have a pivot point that is mounted to the bed of the lathe, centered underneath the sphere. Pivoting on the pivot point is an arm that holds the cutting head. By adjusting the location of the cutting head in or out, a larger or smaller sphere may be turned. The cutting head also has a smaller arm with a carbide cutter mounted on one end. The cutting head allows the smaller arm to be moved in or out in precise increments. So, when cutting, the spinning force of the lathe is translated from the cutter to what is in essence a long lever and it's up to the pivot point to resist and overcome that force.

The Carter jig's pivot point is basically a bolt that turns in a bearing. The operation is smooth. The Vermec's pivot point is much larger in diameter than is the Carter's. The Vermec's pivot point is turned steel shaft that's 1" in diameter. It fits tightly in a bearing mounted into the base of the jig. It alos is very smooth in operation. IIRC, Vermec's pivot point is more than twice the diameter of Carter's and is made of higher quality material. The Vermec jig is simply better able to cope with the turning forces.

The arm to which the cutting head is mounted is more massive on the Vermec jig. The Vermec's arm is 5/8" thick flat steel stock into which a slot has been cut. The cutting head is mounted through the slot, allowing an infinite adjustment between the endpoints of the slot. In contrast, the Carter jig's arm is an aluminum bar, into which 4 holes have been drilled. The 4 holes are used as mounting points for the cutting head. The arm, while thicker in cross section, is not nearly as massive as the Vermec's arm. The creates an opportunity for vibration, which causes chatter.

Also, because the Carter jig uses holes, instead of a slot, to adjust the location of the cutting head for different sphere sizes, the Carter jig's smaller arm holding the carbide cutter needs to be longer (to create the range of motion necessary to cut sphere sizes that fall in between the 4 holes). For certain sizes of spheres, the Carter's cutter will be extended farther away from the cutting head than is the Vermec's cutter. Like extending a tool too far over the tool rest, this creates an opportunity for vibration.

For all of these reasons, the Vermec is simply a better jig. That doesn't mean it's a better value. By taking very light cuts, I'm confident the Carter jig will do just as good a job as the Vermec. Only you can decide if the extra heft, stability, and durability offered by the Vermec is worth the extra dollars. I thought it was.

Re: Vermec

john lucas

somewhere (I moved remember) I have paper work on all the various sphere turning jigs. As someone who is trying to learn metal work I had planned to build one using what I thought were the best features of each. The one I like the most in terms of design is the Vermec. IN terms of price the Chefware kits unit is by far the least expensive. I'll look tomorrow and see if I can find all that paper work to see if there is anyone else we missed.

Re: Vermec

Donna Banfield

Thank you, David. You said technically, mechanically and comprehensively, everything I loved about the Vermec Sphere Turning jig.

Re: Vermec

Bill Blasic

Vermec here too, quality!

Okay I can't resist the gloat

Dick Coers

I was offered a chance to buy my the perfect circle jig I bought for $80. One of the best deals I've ever gotten. So you guys saying the Vermec is better, I agree. But let's see if any get that kind of deal on one! LOL! Sorry just couldn't resist, sigh.

Another small family business

Geoff Whaling

Vermec and Vicmarc are small family owned manufacturing businesses following the great ( American ) Australian dream of proudly Australian made.

I had the pleasure of chatting for quite some time with Enzo at Terry Scott's home in NZ a while back. It was a very interesting chance to discuss the development of tools and the pressures small manufacturing businesses face on a daily basis and to stay viable. Certainly not an easy road, but a rewarding one when turners say they like your tools because they are the best about. Enzo & Yvonne have a rather unique set of skills ideally suited to small manufacturing.

I have quite a range of Vermec tools, face plates, ER collet chucks, live centers, forstner bit extension, long hole boring tools, spindle adaptors, chuck inserts, camlock tables, carving mount etc. All very well manufactured and built like the proverbial brick outhouse. There are a few others to be acquired yet, the router mount, indexing jig, Guilio Marcolongo design assisted multi center chuck etc.

Certainly well worth a look and excellent value if you appreciate well made and well engineered quality products.

Re: sphere jigs

Alan Zenreich

Another happy Vermec owner here.

Re: Okay I can't resist the gloat

David Walser

Dick -- That's a good gloat. In my write up of the differences between the two, I concluded that the Vermec jig is better, but not necessarily a better value. If the Carter jig was priced at $80, I'd have concluded the Vermec jig definitely wasn't a better value! Good buy. Enjoy using it!

vermec out of stock

John K Jordan

I talked to the US distributor (Woodworkers Emporium) who said they had a sudden run on the Vermec sphere jigs. I wonder if this thread had anything to do with that!

They said they expect more sometime in April. As far as I can tell, they are the only distributor.

JKJ

Re: vermec out of stock

William Duffield

More probable that it had something to do with the recent publishing by Pop Wood of a "Woodturning With Tim Yoder" video on sphere turning using the similar Carter tool. OK, after watching it, anyone with a lick of sense would have come here to see if they could find better recommendations.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3z-u6vpv70o

Not the best techniques shown in the video

Dick Coers

Turning between centers is not the way to go. Using a chuck with dovetail jaws lets you work down to just a single nub. You can also bring up the tool rest and not have to remove the fixture. When removing the fixture and then reinstalling it, you increase the time considerably and introduce error trying to find center again.

Re: Not the best techniques shown in the video

bowlman

which video are you addressing? Vermec or Carter or Chefware?

The Tim Yoder video that William posted

Re: vermec out of stock

John K Jordan

Well Yoder is certainly entertaining. I see issues with his methods, but to each his own.

BTW, there is some disagreement about the Circle story; most attribute it to Giotto instead of Michelangelo. It could simply be an urban legend.

JKJ

Re: vermec out of stock

Ric Taylor

Did they have urbans back then? ......