Got an offcut from a beautifully figured board? Turn it into a
plate! Standard 3⁄4-in. wood and a shop-made chuck are all you need.
The trick is to figure out how to hold such a thin piece of wood on the
lathe. It's so thin, there's hardly anything to grab onto. Here's a
safe and simple system for turning a plate from thin wood.
All you'll need is a small face plate, a medium-sized bowl gouge
(3⁄8-in. to 1⁄2-in.), a round-nose scraper, some masking tape and a
large, thick chunk of wood for the chuck. A plate blank that's 9- to
10-in. wide works best. It can be glued-up or cut from a wide board,
just as long as one side is flat and smooth. You'll need that flat
surface in order to glue the plate blank onto a mounting block. To make
the blank, cut off a square piece from the wide board and cut it into a
rough circle with a bandsaw. Draw a 3-in. circle in the center of the
blank's smooth side. Then make a 3-in.-dia. mounting block from a piece
of 1-in.-thick wood that's been surfaced on both sides. Screw the
mounting block onto a small face plate. Now follow the photo sequence
and create your own stunning plate.
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PHOTO 1:
Glue
the mounting block onto the plate blank. Use medium- to thick-viscosity
cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. It dries quickly, so you'll be ready to turn
in two to three minutes. Adjust your lathe to run at its lowest speed.
Then mount the face plate on the lathe and true up the face and edge of
the blank with a bowl gouge.
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PHOTO 2:
Round the plate's rim with the bowl gouge turned on its side. This
prevents the gouge from catching and is called a “closed cut.” Move in
the direction of the arrow and swing the handle of the gouge around the
corner. Ride the bevel of the gouge on the plate, keeping the cut very
light.
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PHOTO 3:
Flatten
the face of the plate. Work from the outside to the center. Keep the
bevel of the gouge rubbing against the plate to make this shearing cut.
Because you are working with thin material, use light shearing cuts,
especially around the rim. You can place your hand behind the rim to
reduce vibration.
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PHOTO 4:
Cut a cove to define the rim. Drop the handle of the gouge below the
level of the tool rest so the gouge won't catch. Keep the bevel riding
on the plate.
Next dish out the center of the plate with shearing cuts. Measure the depth of the plate before you cut too deep.
If you're careful you should be able to make a very smooth surface
across the entire face of the plate with the gouge. You can move right
on to sanding. But if you've had some trouble and there are tool marks
you can't get out, reach for a scraper.
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PHOTO 5:
Scrape
the face of the plate with light cuts for a smooth surface. Move from
the center out to the edge. Raise the handle of a round-nose scraper
above the level of the tool rest so its cutting edge won't grab.
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PHOTO 6:
Burnish a scraper's edge at a 90-degree angle. Grind the scraper first
at 60 degrees, then remove the wire edge with a sharpening stone.
Burnish with a single pass, using hard pressure.
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PHOTO 7:
Remove
most of the waste from the back side of the plate. Move the bowl gouge
from the center out to the edge. Take the rim down to its final
thickness. Again, you can support the rim with your hand to reduce
vibration. Sand the face of the plate and apply a finish as it spins on
the lathe. Sand and finish the outer edge of the back side as well.
Then remove the face plate from the lathe.
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PHOTO 8:
Make a rim chuck to hold the face side of the plate. Make the chuck
from a wide piece of hardwood. The wood should be at least 11⁄2-in.
thick or make the chuck from two 3⁄4-in.-thick pieces of marine plywood
that are glued together. (Marine plywood is free of annoying voids.)
Turn a recess into the face of the chuck. The plate should fit snugly
within it, but you can insert paper shims if it's a little loose. (You
can re-use the chuck for smaller plates by turning another recess.)
Drill a hole through the chuck so you can pop out the plate with finger
pressure. Once the plate is mounted, snug up the tailstock to the
mounting block to hold the plate securely in the chuck.
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PHOTO 9:
Reduce
the mounting block to a 1⁄2-in.-dia. stub tenon with the bowl gouge.
Then shape the plate's base and complete the underside of the rim. Sand
and finish the back while it's still supported by the tailstock.
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PHOTO 10:
Tape the plate into the rim chuck. Use plenty of wide masking tape.
Adjust the lathe to run at its lowest speed. Then back off the
tailstock and cut off the stub tenon with the bowl gouge. Use light
cuts so you don't dislodge the plate. Sand and apply finish to the rest
of the plate's bottom. Remove the tape as soon as possible so it
doesn't leave any marks.
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Fig. A
Try
these classic shapes for starters or copy any piece of china that you
like. The thickness of your wood plate shouldn't be less than 3⁄16 in.
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Woodturning:
If
making a wooden rim chuck for every plate you turn seems like too much
work, try a commercial adjustable rim chuck. A turn of the wrench
simultaneously moves four aluminum jaws in and out to firmly anchor
your plate. Eight rubber buttons screwed into tapped holes in the jaws
hold the edge of the plate.
Pictured at left is a set of Jumbo
Jaws mounted on a Oneway Stronghold Chuck. They can hold a plate from
23⁄4- to 11-in. diameter. A similar set of plates and buttons is
available for a Super Nova-geared chuck. Called a Cole Jaw Set, it can
hold plates from 3- to 10-in. diameter. See “Sources” below.
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Sources
Lee Valley Tools, www.leevalley.com, (800) 871-8158, Veritas Scraper Burnisher, #05K35.01, $43.
Packard Woodworks, www.packardwoodworks.com, (800) 683-8876, Stronghold
Chuck, #112610 $270; Jumbo Jaws, #112614, $90. Woodcraft Supply,
www.woodcraft.com, (800) 225-1153,
TEKNATOOL SuperNova2 Chuck, #145898, $170; 127141; $180, Cole Jaw Set #15M83, $85.