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Now that I have a big lathe I have to get big out of ballance pices of wood into round. Does anyone have a system other then chainsaws and band saws? I heard about folks using a grinder. can anyone explain?
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getting into round
- Thread starter Hanley Lewis
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I messed around a lot, until I got an electric chainsaw. The biggest advantage is I can use it in my basement shop.
Hanley, I know of a few people who use 25 grit flap wheels designed for an angle grinder to do this for lathes that don't go slow enough to start the piece without facing it off first. There is also something called a "lancelot" cutter that is designed as a chainsaw carving tool, again for an angle grinder. There are also carbide rasp cutters for the angle grinder, but all are quite expensive. I have a bandsaw with a 13" resaw capacity, as well as a few chainsaws, but occasionally I have to break out the mallet and bench chisel to get a flat for a faceplate or drive spur to seat properly. Whatever your method, they all work, just keep the hands away from sharp spinny things, and your eyes covered at all times.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I now have all of the tools mentioned above, and they do work. When I first started turning green wood I didn't own a chainsaw. I sawed it up with a bowl saw. Naturally they weren't quite round and the lathe I had would not go below 500 rpm. I needed to get the pieces closer to round.
I purchased a side hatchet. These are similar to what we call a side axe. It's sharpened on one side and flat on the other. It a great tool for chopping the blanks and making them round. A little more effort than an electric chainsaw but it's good for building up strength and endurance.
I purchased a side hatchet. These are similar to what we call a side axe. It's sharpened on one side and flat on the other. It a great tool for chopping the blanks and making them round. A little more effort than an electric chainsaw but it's good for building up strength and endurance.
Hanley, one option is to use an Arbortech blade on a large powered angle grinder (definitely with an associated Arbortech guard fitted)
With the piece mounted on the lathe you can easily spin the work by hand and use the grinder to remove the high spots that will swing down to the bed, as the block is heavy that side. Lock the block up at a good position and use protective gear.
An electric chainsaw, used in much the same way is another option.
I hope this helps.
With the piece mounted on the lathe you can easily spin the work by hand and use the grinder to remove the high spots that will swing down to the bed, as the block is heavy that side. Lock the block up at a good position and use protective gear.
An electric chainsaw, used in much the same way is another option.
I hope this helps.
John Van Domelen
Retired Forum Admin
Any reason you don't care for the chain / band saw method? - it is the fastest way to do this.
I know the lathe makes things round as some turners like to say that don't rough from square blanks - I just don't enjoy that tedium and want to put something as close to round as I can get on the lathe. Doing so will save on your bearings in the long term as well, not to mention your shoulder. I plan on turning for a good many more years (I am 46) and don't want to wear out any of my parts doing something on the lathe that the band saw can do in less than a minute.
I know the lathe makes things round as some turners like to say that don't rough from square blanks - I just don't enjoy that tedium and want to put something as close to round as I can get on the lathe. Doing so will save on your bearings in the long term as well, not to mention your shoulder. I plan on turning for a good many more years (I am 46) and don't want to wear out any of my parts doing something on the lathe that the band saw can do in less than a minute.
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Human-powered options like chisels, gouges and drawknives are good for tuning up irregularities, and I have seen something involving a large knife with a hook on one end being used to trim up wood for clogs that might do for heavier. But, if you're going to do other than buy wood at dealers you need a chainsaw, so go get one.
+1 for Lancelot and its second cousin Arbortech. From eyeballing off the lathe, you can't tell how round it really is until it's mounted on the lathe. And static mounting won't hurt the lathe's bearings. Let it drift down to identify the heavy spots, mark with crayon or felt-tip marker, and lock up with two stout wedges, opposing each other against the bed, for carving.
When drifting no longer identifies heavy spots (due to normal friction in the spindle and the live center), I engage an auxiliary rotisserie drive (about 5 rpm), and hit it with the Lancelot a little more.
This is for things that are hopelessly not round, square, or anything in between, like root balls.
When drifting no longer identifies heavy spots (due to normal friction in the spindle and the live center), I engage an auxiliary rotisserie drive (about 5 rpm), and hit it with the Lancelot a little more.
This is for things that are hopelessly not round, square, or anything in between, like root balls.
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I have a electric chain saw for home in the garage and works great for cutting up blanks - you can also process alot of blanks and seal them up ahead of time this way and for me its a bit faster and easier than some of the ways mentioned.
I have a gas powered one for away from home - a bandsaw also but if the blanks are very large the electric chain saw does the job nicely.......
I have a gas powered one for away from home - a bandsaw also but if the blanks are very large the electric chain saw does the job nicely.......
A chainsaw and band saw are the best options. An electric chainsaw is nice because it can be used inside. The grinders are okay, but slow compared to what you can do with your turning tools. A good sharp hand axe (ever watch Roy Underhill?) will work well, but you can't use it while the piece is on the lathe.
How are you roughing out blanks now?
robo hippy
How are you roughing out blanks now?
robo hippy
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7FBDUi5LA4
Saw the same used to rough the circle for lathe work on the other boob tube.
Saw the same used to rough the circle for lathe work on the other boob tube.
I use a reciprocating saw to knock off the corners for blanks that are too large to spin (not trying to get it perfect, just trying to clear the ways.)
Once it can spin without hitting the ways, I just try to make sure it's centered well enough to be very close to being balanced.
With a good tool (I recommend the D-Way tools) and a proper grind, you can really hog out the wood quickly to get your shape.
Dave Schweitzer (from D-Way) is able to take an almost square 12" blank, 8" thick to a bowl shape (outside) in about 5 minutes. After spending an afternoon with him, I'm able to do a similar size piece in less than 10 minutes, but I end up sharpening my tools (I don't own a D-Way gouge yet) more frequently.
Having shavings 1/2" - to 7/8" wide peeling off the blank gets it round fast.
Cheers,
Once it can spin without hitting the ways, I just try to make sure it's centered well enough to be very close to being balanced.
With a good tool (I recommend the D-Way tools) and a proper grind, you can really hog out the wood quickly to get your shape.
Dave Schweitzer (from D-Way) is able to take an almost square 12" blank, 8" thick to a bowl shape (outside) in about 5 minutes. After spending an afternoon with him, I'm able to do a similar size piece in less than 10 minutes, but I end up sharpening my tools (I don't own a D-Way gouge yet) more frequently.
Having shavings 1/2" - to 7/8" wide peeling off the blank gets it round fast.
Cheers,
I am a fan of the chainsaw and band saw method. I had a Lancelot type tool, but it was far more dangerous than a chainsaw, as the remnants of my pants could attest.
.I use an electric chainsaw in the shop, and most of the time on the lathe. I do however have the larger Arbortech on a grinder and really like that too. Got the Lancelot and found the Arbortech better--more control.
But most of the time I just "stop sign" the blank outside with a gas chainsaw to get it close enough and do the rest on the lathe. Sometimes I'll quickly whack off the points of the "stop sign" with the Arbortech once it's on the lathe. Most of the time though I go right to a 1/2" bowl gouge.
I have both a 14" bandsaw and a 24"X24" one that is more dedicated to the slab work we also do. I rarely use them for blanks. Chainsaw is faster for me.
Mark
But most of the time I just "stop sign" the blank outside with a gas chainsaw to get it close enough and do the rest on the lathe. Sometimes I'll quickly whack off the points of the "stop sign" with the Arbortech once it's on the lathe. Most of the time though I go right to a 1/2" bowl gouge.
I have both a 14" bandsaw and a 24"X24" one that is more dedicated to the slab work we also do. I rarely use them for blanks. Chainsaw is faster for me.
Mark