Ring master for Christmas

david swarat

Member
Messages
5
Hi all,

New to site so if I mess up on my first post be nice..:D

My wife wants to get me for Christmas a Ringmaster lathe , she saw some bowls that were made with it so decided I needed to boarden my horizon. Does anyone have one (and use it) if so do you like the lathe.
I have been turning for about 5 years, Pens,bottle stoppers, bowls, platters, etc
I have three lathes nova xp, Jet 1224, and a psi mini that I take with in the RV

Any help would be of great help

God Bless

David
 
I can not help either -- but also welcome

sounds like a circus Master of Ceremony -- and in the center ring we have Larry on the high trapeze
forgive me i am just being silly
paul
 
Hi David, and welcome aboard. :wave: I'm a turner, and although I've not used the Ring Master, my main question would be what would it add to your capabilities? It looks like you're already well-equipped on the lathe front, and for the price of the Ring Master you could buy other tools to help you make a wider variety of segmented projects. The Ring Master seems somewhat limited in what it can do, compared to other segmented turnings I've seen.
 
I have one, but have not yet used it. I got a good deal on a used one, and look forward to using it in the next few months. I have seen them demonstrated, and you can do some pretty neat things with them. One of the advantages of them is getting the maximum project from a small amount of wood. Google ringmaster--there are some good ideas and videos available.
 
Thanks Guys, for the welcome.
Vaughn, yes I am well equipment in the lathe dept. But like Gulf clubs you can never have enough LOL (Norm`s shop LOL)

Chuck, if you find that guy I sure would like to hear from you, don`t want to move forward till I talk with someone who uses one.

Thanks and God Bless

David in beautiful Coeur d Alene ,Idaho
 
It appears they also have the ring device to add to an existing lathe. With three lathes in your stable, have you considered adding the device to one of your existing lathes?

From the video, I wonder if a skilled user could manually cut the rings with a thin parting tool. (I am going to try it when I get caught up with my flatwork and get back to the spinny thing. )
 
I am probably sticking my neck out---even further than usual. My granpa Black turned rings when visiting us for a couple weeks. My dad, knowing nothing about wood lathes at that time, purchased one of the bottom end Sear's lathes for him to use while visiting. He turned rings on it using a cheap Sear's turning set. He then laminated them to turn bowls, goblets, etc. My dad didn't know anything about wood lathes, however, he really did know how to sharpen a tool so I assume that the cheap tools were really sharp. The glue he used was considered strong in that era. You purchased powder and mixed it with water.

Sort of off topic here: He also turned goblets and other items with a free floating ring around the stem or some other thin part.

My thought was, you have some darn good lathes; why not copy granpa Black's methods (but with modern tools and glues)?

Enjoy,

JimB
 
You can do the same thing as the Ring Master if you own a bandsaw. Search google for "bowl from a board".
I have made bowls by cutting rings with a bandsaw, but to get the inside cut you have to cut through the ring, making a spline joint when you put the ring together - which doesn't always look pretty, and adds a fair amount of work and variation in the diameter. When I saw the ring video (on youtube), I realized I could probably cut the rings without breaking them requiring a spline, with a narrow parting tool. As I said, when I get back to the lathe.
 
I know a fellow who has one. He makes bowls by the score. An advantage is they use small amounts of wood, work fast, require little skill. He sells bowls for very little money ($5.00 to $15.00) and in consignment shops a regular turned bowl cannot compete against his low prices. I guess it depends on what you want.
 
Hi all,

First, I want to thank every one for all the remarks.

Jim, in Oceanside, one think to remember this is a Christmas gift from my WIFE if I want the Ringmaster, I have been turning bowls,etc just like your Grandpa ( I am sure not as good) for some time . My wife thought it might be fun for me to play with a new toy, that is why I am researching to see it I would enjoy the gift . By the way the first lathe I ever had was very old used Sears which is still in use by a friend who has passed it on to his grandson.

God bless and Merry Christmas

David in Idaho
 
Bowl from a board.JPG

The attached picture is a bowl made from gluing pen blanks together to made a two boards and then half circles were cut on bandsaw and then glues together. The cut were made at a 45 degree angle and then the rings are stacked on top of each other. The bandsaw works pretty good and can be used for other things, much better way to spend your money than on a Ring Master.

I would ask for a deep hollowing system like Lyle Jamieson sells and it costs less.
 
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I would ask for a deep hollowing system like Lyle Jamieson sells and it costs less.

A ringmaster attachment for an existing lathe costs less than a Lyle Jamieson hollowing kit - about the same as 3-4 good chisels.

I haven't seen the ringmaster in use, but it appears a way to quickly create inexpensive but very nice bowls, and by gluing up multiple colored woods, create some very interesting segmented designs.
 
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