Ryedale Woodturners
This website is being updated from August 2022. This is an archive page.
John Whiteley
Thursday 4 November 2021
Snainton Village Hall
There is a video of this demonstration, at least up to the break, but it was filmed on an iPhone because Martyn was unable to come (family illness), and he had been organising all our video and sound equipment, with the intention of bringing it on the night.
Eccentric chuck
John stepped in for this demonstration at relatively short notice, following another withdrawal from a booking by a professional woodturner. He decided on doing some eccentric turning, using a hefty special chuck that had been bought for him. He showed us how to turn a wonky candlestick.
The chuck is capable of sliding along its radius, creating different axes on which to turn. John mounted a piece of laburnum on a chuck insert hammered in to the wood, and turned the first cup with the chuck central.
The chuck was then adjusted by means of a screw thread, which after a few turns put the piece at quite an exaggerated off-centre position.
This resulted in another cup, at some distance off the centre of the first cup.
John cobtinued until, I think, 4 cups were turned, all on different axes.
John invited us to look at some of his previously turned off-centre experiments, and at the chuck that produced them. And then it was time for a break. Lance and Steve had volunteered to re-instate tea and biscuits provision, after 3 months of "bring your own".
On the right here is a seven-centre candlestick made using the techniques demonstrated tonight. Along with some other off-centre oddities.
After the break, John had another go at the off-centre candlestick, but this time using a standard (old) chuck. Two of the four jaws were removed, and it was possible to screw them in and out of centre to change the centre.
There was some discussion as to whether this would be possible on all chucks - for example on the Supernova or the Record SC4. Certainly the jaws can be taken off. Investigation required for re-aligning the jaws.
