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Bowl Blank Orientation

Leslie S

Leslie S

Joined
Jan 27, 2006
Messages
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Location
Carnegie, PA
Does it matter when beginning to rough out a natural edge bowl if the base of the bowl is at the tail stock or head stock end? I'm using a Jet mini (VS) and I start between centers to rough the bowl and make a tenon for the chuck. My inclination is to cut the tenon from the end at the head stock. Does it matter eitherway?
 
I normally cut the tenion at the tailstock end. When I rough out a bowl I start at the corner and shape and cut towards the headstock end. I have taken steel out off my tailstock live center before, thats better than the driving spur. GT
 
It depends. If you drive the headstock with a spur drive, or a faceplate, you would have to work around those implements later when you turn that portion. Are the holes left from the screws of the faceplate, or the spur drive potentially drilling in, going to get in the way of the design. Understand though, if you are using a spur drive, cutting from the headstock means you are pushing the force away from the spurs.

Then there is the clearance issue. There is a lot less clearance on the headstock side than the tailstock side.

If the above are not an issue, then no, there is no problem with cutting it from the headstock side.
 
Actually that all makes sense. Sometimes the banjo gets in the way since I don't have a saw to rough out blanks (yet) but if I turned the blank around I would have a lot more room. This all came out as I am roughing out a bowl from a crab apple root ball. Talk about a vertical learning curve! Thank you for your insight I have one more part of the root ball and am going to try working from the tailstock when I do that one. Thanks again.
 
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