Has anyone made a donut chuck?

[Arlin Eastman]

If so how do you like it and did you make a few sizes for smaller stuff and bigger stuff.

Also if I send the materials would someone be willing to make one.  Of course you will need to tell me what I need to send or even directions on how to make one and I could do it.

[crokett™]

I made one using a plan I found somewhere. This was a few years ago. I did not like it. Now that I have them, Cole jaws are much more functional. I kept the side that mounts in the headstock. I use it to turn bowl tenons + mortises round again on the 2nd turning of bowls.

Reasons I did not like it.

1. ring size never seemed to fit the bowl I was working on. I'll say that I only made one ring. Perhaps if I'd made more of different sizes I might have liked it more.
2. The bolts whirling around can be dangerous, unless you keep half a dozen different lengths on hand depending on the depth of the bowl. Any extra length has to stick out on the side being turned, unless you mount it in a chuck or figure out a way to keep it a few inches away from the head stock. I used an old #2 taper faceplate to mount the large flat side on, so didn't have much room at the headstock for extra length.
3. tough to center the bowl in the ring for turning
4. didn't work for larger diameter shallow bowls
5. a lathe with a 12" swing like mine means you have to have someplace to put the bolts for the ring, so you lose at least 1" diameter on your turnings to have room for the bolts out at the edge of the donut.

If it were me, I'd make a set of cole jaws. there are folks that have made them out of plywood, you can find plans online. You could use an existing set of jaws as a template for bolt holes.

[Angus]

I haven't used cole jaws since I made mine and it's been a lot of years. I would not recommend a donut chuck for any lathe smaller than 16" but you loose capacity with cole jaws to. Yes, to be effective you need donuts with different size holes and different length carriage bolts.



I always mark dead center of every turning. It's easy with a center finder from Don Pencil. I don't know if anyone else is making them. It fits in the hole of the face plate or chuck then you just strike the pin. When you mount something in the compression chuck you just use the live canter in the tailstock in the divet left by the pin. Here's what mine looks like.


Here's some pointers that will help. After you cut the inside circle with a jig saw use a roundover or chamfer bit in the router and go around the inside. Wrap the edge of the inside in fabric after you round it over. That way it won't mar the turning. And most important, ALWAYS PUT THE THREADED END OF THE CARRIAGE BOLTS FACING THE HEADSTOCK. Otherwise you have spinning fingers of death that will cause great pain and much blood loss. Dedicate a large faceplate to the disc. countersink the bolt heads so no matter the size of the turning the rim won't hit the bolt heads. Doing tall semi verticle turning can be a problem but the same would be said for using cole jaws. I have mine set up to even do natural edge bowls.

Edit: someone is still making center finders canter finder

[badwhiskey]

If so how do you like it and did you make a few sizes for smaller stuff and bigger stuff.

Also if I send the materials would someone be willing to make one.  Of course you will need to tell me what I need to send or even directions on how to make one and I could do it.

I made one with multiple donuts and I love it.  I have several sizes of bolts to accommodate different sized bowls.  Any extra length of bolt is facing the headstock, so no real risk of busting a knuckle.

I use a reverse chucking alignment doohicky  to center the bowl with on the base.

Directions are pretty straightforward.  I used faceplate and mounted it to the center of a circle of 3/4 plywood.  A matching circle of plywood with a hole cut in the circle is the donut.  I stacked the two to drill the holes.  I did use a chisel to make the holes square to hold the bolts while I tighten them.

I didn't think to round over the inside edge, that's a good tip.  I do use that black shelf liner/padding an that has protected the bowls.
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[url=https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/112/4287/TMI-Reverse-Chucking-Alignment-Adapter]

[PVW]

If so how do you like it and did you make a few sizes for smaller stuff and bigger stuff.

Also if I send the materials would someone be willing to make one.  Of course you will need to tell me what I need to send or even directions on how to make one and I could do it.

I've made and used several but have given up on them. Now I just chuck it up between centers on a padded chuck. However I'm not turning off a big tenon. I use the brown paper bag on a glued up waste block. Knock it off and work on the bottom

[Arlin Eastman]

Thanks guys I really like the info.