BALLS! and how do you hold yours?

[boysie39]

How are you guys attaching the cup to the revolving tailstock? Is the a tapered centre with a screw centre?

Cheers

If you look at a few of the previous posts you will see where they have hollowed a piece that fits over the revolving tailstock, I think this is maybe the best way to do it. :roll:

Makes you think dont it.
Good luck with your balls :lol:

 

[Jonzjob]

You speek fer yer sel Boysie.. My tailstock is the Axy multi head jobbie and I just turned the holder to fit into the hole wot the different heads fit in. I make it a nice snug fit and there's no problem removing it 'cause the unit has a threaded collar to remove the steel heads 8) 8) 8) Cool or wot :mrgreen:

This is it, but I had mine before they did the complete set and got it all in 2 lots

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod831018/

For the larger ball I will use the concave head and pad it with some paper towel. Don't want any marks do we :roll: :roll:

 

[harris]

Try this method, I find it is almost foolproof. For say a 3 inch dia ball, mount your timber between centres and turn it down to 3 ins dia then mark off a 3 inch long section. With a parting tool cut each end of this section down to a 1/2 inch (or smaller if you can manage it) spigot at either end (smooth end grain finishes). You now have a 3 inch long x 3 inch dia turning with both end faces clearly exposed. Mark the centre line then mark off 5 lines either side of the centre, each one 1/4 inch apart. From the large dia down to the spigots, mark rings on both end grain surfaces - again 1/4 inch apart. Now with an arcing cut just join the outer line on each end of the large dia to the fist ring on the end grain. Continue and join the second lines to the second rings and so on. This will prevent the "rugby ball" shape and when you get to the spigots you finish off as best as your skill allows - the smaller the spigot dia, the less fiddling to finish there is.
Hope it helps.
Fred.

 

[gregmcateer]

Try this method, I find it is almost foolproof. For say a 3 inch dia ball, mount your timber between centres and turn it down to 3 ins dia then mark off a 3 inch long section. With a parting tool cut each end of this section down to a 1/2 inch (or smaller if you can manage it) spigot at either end (smooth end grain finishes). You now have a 3 inch long x 3 inch dia turning with both end faces clearly exposed. Mark the centre line then mark off 5 lines either side of the centre, each one 1/4 inch apart. From the large dia down to the spigots, mark rings on both end grain surfaces - again 1/4 inch apart. Now with an arcing cut just join the outer line on each end of the large dia to the fist ring on the end grain. Continue and join the second lines to the second rings and so on. This will prevent the "rugby ball" shape and when you get to the spigots you finish off as best as your skill allows - the smaller the spigot dia, the less fiddling to finish there is.
Hope it helps.
Fred.

Now THAT seems pretty damn smart, to me!
I might even give that a go...
after I get back from skiing on the 20th - Whoopee!!
Good luck everyone in the dang competition.
Cheers,
Greg

 

[boysie39]

You speek fer yer sel Boysie.. My tailstock is the Axy multi head jobbie and I just turned the holder to fit into the hole wot the different heads fit in. I make it a nice snug fit and there's no problem removing it 'cause the unit has a threaded collar to remove the steel heads 8) 8) 8) Cool or wot :mrgreen:

This is it, but I had mine before they did the complete set and got it all in 2 lots

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod831018/

For the larger ball I will use the concave head and pad it with some paper towel. Don't want any marks do we :roll: :roll:

I always speak for meself. It was Colins system I was refering to, he uses the hole in the timber and ram it over the revolving tailstock dont you Colin, Ples. agree . Anyway it can be done by fitting the tailstock into a piece of spindle timber and another piece in the chuck and your away with the mixer.

 

[Wood spoiler]

You speek fer yer sel Boysie.. My tailstock is the Axy multi head jobbie and I just turned the holder to fit into the hole wot the different heads fit in. I make it a nice snug fit and there's no problem removing it 'cause the unit has a threaded collar to remove the steel heads 8) 8) 8) Cool or wot :mrgreen:

This is it, but I had mine before they did the complete set and got it all in 2 lots

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod831018/

For the larger ball I will use the concave head and pad it with some paper towel. Don't want any marks do we :roll: :roll:

I always speak for meself. It was Colins system I was refering to, he uses the hole in the timber and ram it over the revolving tailstock dont you Colin, Ples. agree . Anyway it can be done by fitting the tailstock into a piece of spindle timber and another piece in the chuck and your away with the mixer.

Wot can I say Eugene - when yer right yer right

We can't all have the fancy ex-pat gear now can we?

Truth be told my local wood turning maestro insisted I tried his method going over the tailstock before I spent money on the expensive gear on sale in his shop. What can I say - it worked so it was only fair I spent what I would have done on more blanks!

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Off he lathe, bandsaw then back on again?? Is this allowed within the rules of the comp? I hope so as it will also make my life easier

 

[boysie39]

Well I was down in my Studio, yes I use to call it the Shed, but since winning an International woodturning competion January edition on here, I thought it only appropreite (or whatever) to move to the top of the ladder as indeed I should, especially when I start giving lessons and demo's for my following. :wink: :wink: .
Anyway Herself comes into the "Studio " and ses whats that your making Bottle stoppers, no ses I it's for me Balls
Whats wrong with your Balls she ses :shock: .Well ses I there not round enough, so I am making a Jig to put them in to round them off. So I am making the one Colin (Woodspoiler) uses because the one that yer man Jonzjob uses is bought in and a woodturner of my status should make everything he uses
Oooh right ses Herself, and where did this all come from that you have to round yer Balls.
"Blister" ses I he wants us all to have nice round Balls suspended from above or below for this months comp.
Well the cheek of him she ses, if you do yourself a mischief he'll have me to answer too.
So folks here I am between a rock and a hard place, should I use Jonzjobs system which I have or Woodspoilers which I also have made or go for Nev's idea buy a Ball making Jig Jeez its a tough life this woodturning innit.

 

[Wood spoiler]

Well I was down in my Studio, yes I use to call it the Shed, but since winning an International woodturning competion January edition on here, I thought it only appropreite (or whatever) to move to the top of the ladder as indeed I should, especially when I start giving lessons and demo's for my following. :wink: :wink: .
Anyway Herself comes into the "Studio " and ses whats that your making Bottle stoppers, no ses I it's for me Balls
Whats wrong with your Balls she ses :shock: .Well ses I there not round enough, so I am making a Jig to put them in to round them off. So I am making the one Colin (Woodspoiler) uses because the one that yer man Jonzjob uses is bought in and a woodturner of my status should make everything he uses
Oooh right ses Herself, and where did this all come from that you have to round yer Balls.
"Blister" ses I he wants us all to have nice round Balls suspended from above or below for this months comp.
Well the cheek of him she ses, if you do yourself a mischief he'll have me to answer too.
So folks here I am between a rock and a hard place, should I use Jonzjobs system which I have or Woodspoilers which I also have made or go for Nev's idea buy a Ball making Jig Jeez its a tough life this woodturning innit.

Well ses I, yer gotta use the one that works for YOU.

The whole point of the competition from where I sits is to make us try new things and get new ideas etc that we might not otherwise try. That and on this occassion publicly fondling our balls to make sure they are the right shape!

 

[boysie39]

Is'nt this a great forum for learning things . I would never have thought of fondueing me Balls if it wrent for Woodspoiler

Wonder what the French ie bloke thinks of that.

 

[Jonzjob]

Je ne conais rien :?

 

[Paul Hannaby]

Here's another easy way to make spheres - turn it between centres, allowing a short spigot each end so you can turn away the centre marks later. Start with your cylinder and round over each half to the approximate sphere. Make a pencil line at the centre of your sphere then take it out, rotate by 90° and hold between cup centres (either home made or bought). Turn away so you just remove the pencil line as far round as you can. Draw another pencil line at the centre and rotate by 90° again and repeat. That should leave you with a perfect sphere because each time you draw a pencil line, it will be a perfect circle. Sand lightly or your sphere will go out of shape.

 

[gregmcateer]

Paul,
Can you do a few sketches showing lines and which direction you are turning the cylinder and subsequent sphere?
Greg

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Nev

If you dig through your past copies of Woodturning magazine I did an article on ball turning. Basically as John describes, using wooden cups and a template to get as close as possible. If you cut off your nibs and rotate and re-turn, then rotate and re-turn several times you will end up with a pretty good ball. Sanding with 80 grit and several re-positions will get it perfect. I've made loads of balls this way, the biggest being some 8" diam green oak balls for a gate post

As well as more refined versions for shopfitting displays:

HTh

Richard

 

[philb88]

Any idea what copy number? Fairly recent?

Cheers

 

[steadyeddie]

Issue number 228 - July 2011. Definitely worth a read too !

Dave

 

[Richard Findley]

Thanks Dave, was having trouble putting my hands on the exact copy.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Retire2004]

Hi Guys, I agree largely with what has been said but would add the following which involves a little bit of maths. To make it easier I suggest we consider a 2" ball or sphere (1 inch radius). Turn the blank to as near as possible a 2" dia. Mark off the 2" length and part down the sides as squarely as possible to about 3/4" dia. initially. From the middle of the 2" cylinder mark either side 0.4" (actually 0.414 which is the tangent of 22.5 degrees - the maths bit, for other ball sizes it will always be the radius of the ball x .4 which is close enough for practical purposes). Spin a sharp pencil line around from these marks.
Now cut 2 x 45 degree chamfers either side almost down to these lines (this leaves you with an octagon shape viewed from above. With callipers or better still a vernier, measure across these chamfers diagonally (at 45 degrees). Re cut the chamfers until the caliper reading is 2" exactly and both chamfers are the same length (0.8" which is now the same dim. as the cylindrical portion. Now mark the middle of these two chamfers and spin a pencil line around.
You now have three pencil lines which represent an accurate 2" dia. when measured diagonally across. The next stage is to chamfer each of the (4) sharp corners (by eyeballing) until you have a 16 sided shape veiwed from above again meauring across the diagonals (through the core of the ball) until you arrive at a dia. of 2". You can at this stage use a cardboard template to finish off (I suggest that the template radius should be a little more than 1" - say 1 1/16" which will give a more intimate fit for comparrison. As you progress keep measuring with the calipers or vernier at all angles until you have a consistent dia. of 2". The name of the game is : measure, measure and measure again. This sounds long winded but you will probably produce a ball quicker than it took me to write this. Now saw off the nibs (slightly longer than 2" and finish in a cone chuck as already described.

Kind regards,

Tudor

Do the right things, don't just do things right.

 

[nev]

=D> With all this helpful info (and a bit of practice) we should all have perfect balls by the end of the month :shock:

 

[Jonzjob]

Not unless it warms up a bit! I ain't going into my workshop until it gets above zero and it's -8ºC at the mo :shock: :shock: :shock:

I'm glad we moved down here for the warmth :? :? :?