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If you were following this thread, you already know the trials and tribulations I've been through on this hollow form. When I reworked the neck the first time, I didn't get it centered exactly, so the curve on the neck was uneven. Tonight I came up with a way to get it really centered, so I had another go at the neck shaping. I wanted to share it here in case it might give some of you other turners a few ideas.
A while back I bought an Asian import live center set on sale from one of the online woodworking stores. (Don't recall where I bought it.) One of the "points" that came with it is a 3/8" pin. Looks like this:
So I grabbed a scrap piece of alder, cut it into a cylinder about 4" or 5" long and about 2 1/2" in diameter, and drilled a 3/8" hole in one end:
Mounted it with the spur center, and after a few minutes with the skew, I had a cone that looked like this, with the pin stuck into the tailstock end of the cone:
Next, I removed the spur center from the headstock, mounted the faceplate part of my donut chuck, stuck the cone into the hollow form, and tightened the tailstock just enough to hold it firmly in place. I didn't want to get it too tight and crack the neck. I added a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam ("Fun Foam" from the craft supply stores like Michael's) to pad the base of the hollow form and to provide some friction to turn the piece. It's not attached, just held in place by friction. Here are a couple shots before I started turning it. The first shot shows how uneven the curve of the neck is:
And here's a shot after the shaping. I used very light cuts, and started sanding at 220 grit. The lathe is running in this shot, and you'll see there's no "ghost line" at the neck, an indication I got things trued up correctly this time. (I also was able to add a bit more curve, which I think helped the overall form.)
And finally a sneak peek at the new neck, with a fresh coat of Antique Oil. I'll shoot some "finished" pics in a few days when it's done.
A while back I bought an Asian import live center set on sale from one of the online woodworking stores. (Don't recall where I bought it.) One of the "points" that came with it is a 3/8" pin. Looks like this:
So I grabbed a scrap piece of alder, cut it into a cylinder about 4" or 5" long and about 2 1/2" in diameter, and drilled a 3/8" hole in one end:
Mounted it with the spur center, and after a few minutes with the skew, I had a cone that looked like this, with the pin stuck into the tailstock end of the cone:
Next, I removed the spur center from the headstock, mounted the faceplate part of my donut chuck, stuck the cone into the hollow form, and tightened the tailstock just enough to hold it firmly in place. I didn't want to get it too tight and crack the neck. I added a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam ("Fun Foam" from the craft supply stores like Michael's) to pad the base of the hollow form and to provide some friction to turn the piece. It's not attached, just held in place by friction. Here are a couple shots before I started turning it. The first shot shows how uneven the curve of the neck is:
And here's a shot after the shaping. I used very light cuts, and started sanding at 220 grit. The lathe is running in this shot, and you'll see there's no "ghost line" at the neck, an indication I got things trued up correctly this time. (I also was able to add a bit more curve, which I think helped the overall form.)
And finally a sneak peek at the new neck, with a fresh coat of Antique Oil. I'll shoot some "finished" pics in a few days when it's done.