odie
TOTW Team
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2006
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Fellow turners........
I've only had this "profile viewer" for about a month now......and, I've been so pleased with it, I decided to share the idea with all of you here on this forum.
I've always had troubles seeing the profile of my bowls real clearly as I'm final shaping....until now. This "profile viewer" is something I wish I had years ago! I now have no trouble seeing exactly the profile shape of bowls in progress.
It was made from a few scrap pieces of pine 2x4's, a piece of white shelving material, and a few drywall screws......cost was $7 for the shelving material, and everything else was already on hand. I drilled a hole and installed some rope to hang it on the wall next to the lathe......that's important, as this contraption is rather bulky and needs to be out of the way until needed. Something else that's good to know, is you'll have to position your lathe lamp strategically, in order to take full advantage of the viewer's usefulness. This is especially critical with very light colored woods......dark colored woods naturally have the advantage!
It's easy-on, and easy-off.....it wedges in between the bedways, and can be installed or removed without tools, or removing the mounted bowl. I made sure it was the right size to handle any size diameter bowl my lathe can handle, up to 7" thick.
If anyone decides to make one of these, you'll have to custom make it to fit the specifications of your lathe.
(As anyone can see, the shape of the Ash bowl in the photo needs some refining......the profile looked pretty good to me, until I took a better look with the "profile viewer"......and, this is why I made it!)
I'll be headed back to the shop now.......good day!
otis of cologne
I've only had this "profile viewer" for about a month now......and, I've been so pleased with it, I decided to share the idea with all of you here on this forum.
I've always had troubles seeing the profile of my bowls real clearly as I'm final shaping....until now. This "profile viewer" is something I wish I had years ago! I now have no trouble seeing exactly the profile shape of bowls in progress.
It was made from a few scrap pieces of pine 2x4's, a piece of white shelving material, and a few drywall screws......cost was $7 for the shelving material, and everything else was already on hand. I drilled a hole and installed some rope to hang it on the wall next to the lathe......that's important, as this contraption is rather bulky and needs to be out of the way until needed. Something else that's good to know, is you'll have to position your lathe lamp strategically, in order to take full advantage of the viewer's usefulness. This is especially critical with very light colored woods......dark colored woods naturally have the advantage!
It's easy-on, and easy-off.....it wedges in between the bedways, and can be installed or removed without tools, or removing the mounted bowl. I made sure it was the right size to handle any size diameter bowl my lathe can handle, up to 7" thick.
If anyone decides to make one of these, you'll have to custom make it to fit the specifications of your lathe.
(As anyone can see, the shape of the Ash bowl in the photo needs some refining......the profile looked pretty good to me, until I took a better look with the "profile viewer"......and, this is why I made it!)
I'll be headed back to the shop now.......good day!
otis of cologne