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Turning spheres

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@hockenberry, I recently came across a copy of “Turning a Ball The Easy Way” that you demoed at the 2014 Swat Symposium. It’s a pictorial of your process using a ring of pvc. Very informative with little actual written instruction. I’m interested in turning some spheres for further projects(David Springett) type. Do you have, or know of a video using your process? Or more info on the ring, how big to make the ring compared to the size ball you are making. Thanks

Paul
 
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I don't have pix or video of it, but I have used a method similar to the one Al Hockenberry detailed. I turned a wooden sleeve (about 1" in diameter and 1" in length) that is press-fit on a little LED flashlight (like the ones you get at Harbor Freight). I just turn the light on and use it in the same way illustrated in “Turning a Ball The Easy Way”.
 

hockenbery

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I’m interested in turning some spheres for further projects(David Springett) type. Do you have, or know of a video using your process? Or more info on the ring, how big to make the ring compared to the size ball you are making. Thanks

Paul
I love the things that David does- pure genius. Some of the David Springette’s projects require precisely sized spheres others do not. If you need exact sizes you might do better with a jig. My method will produce spheres within about an 1/8” of the cylinder diameter when all goes well.

the only good video I have is the Ball in a Ball. The first part is turning a ball. It shows using the ring.

size is not critical but something around 1/3 of the ball diameter works well. I turn rings from pvc pipe. Pvc demands that I ride the bevel. It will let me know if I come off the bevel with a catch and kick the tool back. Any ring with a thin edge toward the wood will work.

This video was shot by Phil Pratt and is from the AAW techniques video for the 2010 symposium. AAW gave me permission to post it.
B&B Demo 2010 AAW symposium
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmCvOP2Mpmw
 
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Thank you for the info Al. That video helps a lot.
David’s work also amazes me. How he even came up with the process is totally beyond me. But I also love projects that make people same no way! That’s impossible!
Again thank you

Paul
 

Dennis J Gooding

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@hockenberry, I recently came across a copy of “Turning a Ball The Easy Way” that you demoed at the 2014 Swat Symposium. It’s a pictorial of your process using a ring of pvc. Very informative with little actual written instruction. I’m interested in turning some spheres for further projects(David Springett) type. Do you have, or know of a video using your process? Or more info on the ring, how big to make the ring compared to the size ball you are making. Thanks Paul


Paul, the video concentrates on how to perfect the sphere after a rough approximation has been obtained. I have some articles in the Tutorial and Tips forum on how to obtain a good initial approximation directly without any calculations. Basically, it extends Al’s concept of turning an 8-sided approximation of a sphere (his 20% rule) to producing 16, 32 or even higher approximations with no calculation required. One of the articles covers ellipsoids and ovoids, which cannot be refined by remounting between cup centers.
 
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