Woodturning Perfect Spheres - For Wise Turners
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- www.AsWoodTurns.com
Whenever I see someone promote a sphere jig, a conflict boils up in me.
On one hand, I respect someone who can create a good jig and appreciate the apparatus.
On the other hand, a sphere jig is a terrible expense for most turners when the same result can be achieved in the same amount of time with typical tools and trivial expense. I would rather use my budget to purchase a good multi-purpose tool.
Well, I saw another and decided to again present the process to turn a perfect sphere without any expensive jig. This process combines the octagon method and cup centers. There sphere in this video took only 27 minutes from the cylinder stage to completed stage. I did not work quickly because I did not intend for it to be a race. However, after realizing how quickly the sphere turned, I am issuing a challenge.
The Challenge is in two parts: For turners who already have a jig and for turners who do not have a jig. For both groups, start when you have a cylinder of the chosen diameter.
Turners with a jig:
Using your jig - any jig - turn a sphere at your standard pace (not race speed) to completion and report your time. My time was 27 minutes to finished.
Turners without a jig:
Follow the process in this video. Turn a sphere at your standard pace (not race speed) to completion and report your times. Even better plan to turn 3 spheres to cement the process in your brain and body.
Instead of blowing the budget on a special purpose tool, develop a basic skill to be used again and again in the future.
Enjoy!
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#spherejig #sphere #woodturning #woodlathe #turning #woodworking #AlanStratton #DIY #woodturningprojects #video #spheresfordummies - Навчання та стиль
Alan, at last weeks Saw Dust Session I did my first sphere. It turned out quite well for the first time. I did have help from another club member, you know the club well, the Willamette Valley Woodturners. Your video on holding the sphere gave me new ideas on a better way to do that. Thanks for the video and your show. Roger D.
Your second sphere will be easier. :)
Alan
As a experienced newbie turner the sphere has alluded me several times - this was a most helpful video as I already have the headstock cup made now just to apply your wisdom - thanks for all you do for us!
You are welcome.
No fear - just go for it.
Alan
Thank you so much for sharing this technique with us. I plan to save this video for the future. I really enjoy your weekly videos.
They are very inspiring.
I will keep them coming.
Alan
OH! The hexagon method! I have made many spheres using various methods, but this is new to me. And a great method it is, I'm using it now for the ornament project. Thank you, Alan.
Wonderful! Time to finish and send it in!
Alan
I have used your octagon method with success. Unless I have a requirement for very close tolerances it is more than adequate. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and please continue to stay healthy.
Thanks for adding your experience.
Alan
Alan, I just finished my first perfect sphere using your excellent method. Whipped up a couple of cup centres from scrap pine and away I went. I think it took longer to sand and finish than it did to turn! Thank you so much for your generous channel.
You are welcome. Congratulations on mastering a basic skill that you will use over and over.
Alan
Hello from France, Allen, I'm happy to see wood turners working with traditional methods, I like your clear explanations, and your English is easy to understand for me as I'm a french speaker. I subscribe your channel. 😉👍
I glad my English is understandable. My French certainly would not be. Quelle dommage
Merci
Alan
Brilliant Allen, and very well explained. A great source for reference.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Alan
Wow! Thanks Alan, I just tried it today and made my 1st sphere. Turned out perfect. Under an hour including making the 2 hollowed out holding jigs. Great teaching technique. I truly appreciate it.
Nice work! time worked out great.
Alan
well done Alan, I always enjoy your videos and because of your explanations and previous videos on spheres - I agree with you on the process of no jig sphere turning - thanks!
Mark. Thank you for endorsing the process.
Alan
Great teaching video Allen. I will certainly keep this video in my reference file as I am certain I will refer back to it many times. thanks for sharing. Regards & Stay Safe. Dennis
Please do! You are welcome
Alan
Great video. thanks- I have used this method for several years.
Excellent - Thanks for the endorsement and sharing your experience
Alan
Alan, I've seen your other videos on turning spheres. This really makes it seem simple to do, especially since you've done the math. I will definitely have to give it a try. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful! Go for it (today)
Alan
Thanks Alan for your video which is well explained. When I started to to turn, I built a sphere jig made with iron. I discovered I spent more time to install and adjust my jig than turning the sphere. With this jig I did one sphere only. Because I prefer a hand made sphere thant a jig made sphere when I plan to offer it. Now I am using your method base on tg 22.5 & tg 11.25. Sorry for language mistakes on my comment but I am French, so hello from France. Regards.
Tres bien. Merci.
Alan
Brilliant video I was about to purchase a ball turning jig as I have to make several shares for a friend I have never attempted a sheer before but after seeing your video I made a sphere out of soft wood as an experiment not believing it would work but was amazed at the result
Thank you fir sharing you knowledge I feel much more confidant now about turning spheres
You're welcome. Now you can spend that $300 jig money on something more useful. :)
Alan
Amazingly clear yet simple instructions for which very many thanks.
Glad it was helpful! Now go turn a couple quickly. Then you will be a pro.
Alan
@@AsWoodTurns I've now made four and am using them to hold different sizes of clock mechanisms. I hold them with my vacuumm chuck and it's very easy all the way.
Looks like something I should try. Now I will have to find a need for wooden balls! This was so simple that I understood it.
Definitely try it. A sphere can become (of course) a sphere, a hollow box, or foundation for a multitude of forms that you can find in my past videos.
Alan
Brilliant!, Saved for future viewing and reviewing. Thank you so much!!!!
This is a good basic skill to master and use over and over.
Excellent tutorial!!!!!
All the best
Yiannis (Athens Greece)
It works in all countries. :)
Alan
Really good explanation, please keep making videos like this
Thanks, will do! Hopefully others can avoid my difficult journey.
Alan
Nice method. You just gave me a good reason to try my first sphere.
Glad to hear it!
Alan
Hectic! Great video and explanation!
Glad it was helpful!
Alan
Thank you so much. A great video Alan
Glad you enjoyed it. Make a couple and you will be a pro.
Alan
Hi Alan a great job, love watching your videos, I will have a go hopefully next week.
Keep up the good work, keep safe Facemask and head shield on.
Phil from the Moulin in France
Tres bien. Merci
Alan
When I saw Tim's video last week, I hoped that you would respond. I'm glad you did.
I have a sphere jig. I got it because I like well-made tools. (Mine is from Vicmarc.) The ONLY advantage I can see to a sphere jig is in making several spheres of a consistent size. With the octagon method, it is very easy to cut too deeply when cutting off the corners. As you pointed out in the video, that's not a problem -- if all you care about is getting a sphere. It is a problem if you want the sphere to be a particular size.
Once you've done a couple, would you not learn not to cut too deeply?
Some jigs may give the consistent sizing but probably with some practice and cooperation from the wood.
Alan
Hi Alan, Great tutorial in turning spheres. Take care. cheers, Huw
Glad you enjoyed it
Alan
Time to turn some spheres! Thanks for sharing!
You bet! Whenever you feel the urge and without having to setup a jig.
Alan
@@AsWoodTurns I should have also said your tutorial was exceptionally well thought out and presented, thank you.
We all know there are thousands of ways to do almost anything and Tim Yoder was showing us one of those. You method is another option. Tim is a fine turner and I’m surprised by your comments.
I am not knocking Tim. He is free to buy that jig but I do not think he did.
The point stands that an expensive sphere jig is an expensive way to turn a sphere for a lot of turners.
Alan
That is a good demonstration; I will try this technique this week. I've already made my cup centers. Wish me luck!
Best of luck! But if you follow the process, you don't need much of it. :)
Alan
Your technique worked perfectly. The next few will be faster and easier. My wife now wants a whole bunch of them. See what you started?
Wow I just seen your video, I took a look at your video list you are amazing, I'm subscribing thank you.
Thanks and welcome
I like your style...I’m not really a sphere turner, yet! But your method make me antsy to try. Thanks, Mike
You can do it! Learn the process sooner rather than later.
Alan
Thanks Alan. I am scheduled to do our AAW demo for the month and it was already going to be on this method. They would probably learn more from you than a guy who's only been turning for 18 months or so though!
I could do a remote demo but you will prove than anyone can learn the process. :)
Alan
@@AsWoodTurns I did one today in an hour with my minor skills (in comparison). I'm excited to pass your knowledge along!
thanks i will try it
Absolutely - next time you go to your lathe.
Alan
I've made nearly a hundred spheres using the technique you've described. Before this technique will work, the turner MUST be able to turn a cylinder of a constant diameter, then he MUST learn to turn a flat taper between two marked lines. In other words, he has to learn tool control. It's a great learning and practice project with a gorgeous result at the end.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with all these balls sitting around.
Please change "must" to "it helps". Actually, using the cup chucks eliminates a lot of errors. Therefore please no "musts". Then time to get creative with all the extra balls.!
Alan
Great video .. thank you for sharing .. 😀
You are so welcome
Alan
Note to self: magic numbers for a sphere 0.293 0.414😵 Thanks for showing this again Alan🙏 This time I bookmarked the vid. Stay safe. -Mike😷
p.s. I use a shape like your cup center as a sanding block when I need to sand a smooth curve
Yes, make a note on your phone. Then you'll never lose them.
Alan
Thanks for sharing
My pleasure
Alan
Alan; instead of the rubber stopper, I use a 3/4" table leg tip. These are found in any hardware store and work well. And the price is rights 4 for $3!!
Another good idea.
Alan
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Alan
Thanks for sharing your wisdom you have a blessed day in the name of Jesus
You are so welcome
Alan
$250.00 minus over seas shipping is a lot to pay for turning a sphere as Tim Yoder demonstrates in his "Spheres for Dummies" video. Your method you showed is easy as can be and I've been using this way for years. Unless your going to make thousands of Spheres I'll just stick to the method you demonstated.....it's excellent!!
That works for me. Go for it.
Alan
Hmm, I needed a bunch of smaller spheres for a coat rack I am making to go on the ends of dowels. That also happened to be the club demo last month, Beaver State Woodturners in Eugene, OR. The demonstrator mentioned your video. What I want is billiard ball perfect. I got to see Allen Batty at a workshop near Salem some years ago and he was telling about making billiard balls from Elephant ivory, which was a couple of years for the process. For final turning, they would use jamb chucks. All of mine have ended up still having tool marks when I have gotten it to the point where the surface will not improve no matter what I do. The demonstrator did turn a morris taper for the headstock end, and a cup chuck for the tailstock that seated on the live center. I was ending up with some nasty bumps for the 'as good as I can get' stage. I found out my live center was not very precise. So, I did find an old Nova center that you could knock the points out and turned a dowel that would fit into it, and made a chuck chuck from that. I epoxied it in place, and rough turned it by mounting the live center in my smaller chuck, then stuck it into the tailstock. It still was not 'perfect'. I was able to get my cordless drill onto the live center to make it spin so I could finish turn that cup to almost perfect. My results got a lot better after that.... I might have to try to make some sort of adjustable jamb chuck for final turning. I do cut the spigot waste off the rough blank after I put it into the cup chucks. Don't like holding them in my hands and using a flush cut saw. I did look up rubber chucky, and they have some nice accessories for sphere turning. I would like to be able to make a jig of some sort to get my first 45 degree cut very close to correct. Oh, the spheres I was making started out with 1 1/2 inch stock. I do measure the diameter of the blank when rounded, and use dividers to mark the line. I did discover that one point was longer than the other, so I use that long point to mark out the ends of the sphere length. I also use it to mark out the 2.93 mark. The demonstrator didn't mention the .414 marks. Will have to try that one too... I do use digital calipers and millimeters. Much easier to do the math that way....
It may be that you are going for a world's record before any practice.
My first experience was with jamb chucks which was a total failure.
That is why I use cup faceplates at least on the spindle side. Sometimes, I use only a rubber stopper (drilled to fit on the One-way LC) on the live center.
After using the octagon method for the rough sphere. a minimum of 3 rotations are needed at each subsequent stage: stage 1 - cutting or scraping tools; stage 2 - 80 grit sand paper; stage 3 - 120 grit; stage 4 - 180 grit; stage 5 - 240 grit; stage 6 - 320 grit; stage 7 - 400 grit. Most important are stages 1 & 2 to ensure roundness.
If too rough at any stage, do more rotations at that stage or back up one stage.
Hope this helps
Alan
For sanding, even with some iron wood and mountain mahogany, I start sanding at 150. I have turned spheres on and off over the last 20 or so years. One I haven't done yet is a threaded one. You have to use a collar on the tenon part of the threading and then turn the sphere after that. It can be done. I do like a challenge....
@@robohippy Well, I am sorry that you are working too hard. Having spent several years as a teen in a body shop, I have done A LOT of sanding. I view 80 grit as another turning tool. It works great to remove bumps where a tool such as a scraper would be too aggressive. I view it as key to a perfect sphere. Subsequent finer grits simply clean up for the 80 grit.
However, I may have to take you up on the threaded challenge.
Alan
Well, to me, the whole purpose of learning good tool skills is to reduce the sanding time. On my bowls, I almost never have to start with 80 grit. On big leaf maple, a lot of the time, 100 grit. The problem with 80 grit is some times the scratches from it are worse than the tool marks. I picked up shear scraping from Jimmy Clewes, and that does leave a better surface for me than I can get from a gouge. Any gouge, and I do really like the 40/40 grind.
@@robohippy Looks like we are in almost violent agreement - now that you mentioned 100 grit. We have a club member who specializes in large bowls and prides himself with starting sanding with 220 grit. However, when I examine his bowl, the surface consists of tiny facets. Yes, they are smooth but the surface almost seems to have tiny corners. Which decent sanding would have eliminated.
Now, if you would use some 80 grit on the sphere, it will save you some grief. IMHO. (100 if you do not have any).
I have found that cutting an arc in thin plywood or the like helps in checking your work from time to time. The diameter of the arc is cut to match the diameter of the sphere.
That is a great tip if cutting a sphere that is attached. However, it is not necessary when using the octagon method coupled with cup chucks.
Alan
Great video. I will put it into action soon. One question: The .293*d makes perfect sense to me, I was even able to confirm it with a quick sketch. Once you start turning, though, where does the .414*d come into play? As a way to check that the faces you have cut are the correct length?
Yes, I do use the .414*d to check the faces.
But, almost more importantly, to measure on the top/bottom cylinder for the corner on those surfaces. It is easier for me than measuring .293*d in towards the axis.
Most often, I cut a tenon to this size so that I can cut the 45 degree surface from the mark on the side of the cylinder to the intersection of the tenon and the top/bottom of the cylinder.
Alternatively, I cut the top beyond the corner but mark at .414*d for that side before cutting the 45 degree cut.
Either way, it is extremely useful.
Alan
@@AsWoodTurns Got it! That makes perfect sense now. And that would actually make the turning process that much more certain/simple. Thanks for taking the time to answer!
I have a jig (British Boffin jig with a carbide NR cutter), but prefer to do spheres by hand using the Octagon method ... it is faster. With my jig, you have to do most of the work by hand before setting the jig up on the lathe ... it is a pain. The only time I use the jig is when I am turning resin ... the inevitable small facets you get when hand turning are hard to polish out on a high gloss surface like Alumilite.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Alan
Do you use one size cup center for ALL size spheres?
No. I had to change for very small and very large.
Alan
Bravo
Thank you for the video, very helpfull. i have always done them freehand though they are not perfect they are pretty close. I wonder how you make the cuts removing the corners? thank you
charles green
Thank you Debbie
Alan
Hopefully, yours will be more spherical now.
Alan
Time to crank up my old trusty Harbor Freight lathe, it's not a Vicmarc vl300, but it gets the job done. I turned my pine spheres in 10 minutes, didn't apply any finish.
Glad you went for it.
Alan
❤
Thanks
I would prefer to use a jig to make an absolute perfect sphere.
Then you need to watch my video again and try it. :) and you'd be minus 300 to 400 dollars. :(
Your choice. The process works.
Instead of calculating 0.293 x diameter and then drawing a line by measuring from the side of the square piece, you can measure from the opposite side. The distance to the line is half the diameter = the radius. Old woodworking trick. No calculator needed.
We are not measuring for the half distance. Instead we are measuring to find the corner of an embedded octagon that will guide us to the sphere.
Alan
Nice video Alan, but shame on you for your reply to Greg Just’s comment. ‘I am not knocking Tim. He is free to buy that jig but I do not think he did.’ To imply that I lied to my viewers about purchasing the German jig is very disappointing. I expected more from a fellow turner.
Well Tim.
You have sponsors and sometimes try out a vendor's gear as I do. I assumed you were provided that gear to test. If you purchased the gear at full retail. then I apologize for the assumption.
Alan
@@AsWoodTurns At the 3:50 mark in the "Spheres for Dummies" video, Tim states that he purchased the jig.
@@bryancrain3335 Then my apology is in effect.
@@AsWoodTurns Apology accepted Alan. I'm not a big fan of Social Media communication myself. Too many things can get misconstrued. I assumed since you shot a video in response to what we posted that you had watched my entire video. As they say never assume...
How would one make many spheres all the same size - say, within 100th of an inch?
#1. Practice first on several (This would be the same as with a jig)
#2 Turn the initial cylinder to the desired dimension plus a little for tolerance
#3 Use the octagon method. Be careful not to OVER cut.
#4 In the 80 grit sanding phase, Keep sanding and rotating until reach desired dimension.
#5 Continue with finer grits.
Or spend your $400 on a jig but you will still have to work at getting the desired dimension.
Alan
A old pattern maker told me about this method years ago I cannot see the the point in spending a huge amount of money just to turn spheres in wood that would probably move over time anyway
Sounds like a wet versus dry issue.
Thanks for commenting.
Alan
Alan, I normally enjoy your videos but I had to disagree with one of your first statements that no jig is needed....Each to their own...I have the occasional uncontrollable twitch in my arm which means I can get a catch or create a curve where it should be flat in your method, so your method isn't for me as the flats are so accurate, and I have difficulty seeing the ghosting so again not for everyone. So I have a sphere jig..I use it and I can make a great sphere thanks to it. I'm not saying your method isn't correct for MOST but not everyone. Thank you for an otherwise great video.
I will always make an exception or accommodation for someone working to overcome an obstacle.
Alan
It looks to me like your method would work great , but my math skills are just to weak to understand it
If you can multiply 2 numbers on your phone, that is the extent of math skills that you need.
Alan
Check your Facebook messenger feed. I tried sending you a personal message about some Lilac
Got it. I don't check messenger very often.
Alan
You just made it complicated
You're welcome to turn by eye and after a couple of thousands like those you see at demonstrations, you could be as good as they are.:)
There's nothing perfect about this. Even harder to make a sphere at a target diameter.
So now it is time to turn another one.