hi, alan stratton from as wood turns dot com.this is the third video in my series where i'm overcoming my phobias on making perfectwooden balls or perfect spheres. in the first one, i made a couple of these balls. in thesecond one, i showed the faceplates that i'm using as a process to make the balls. in thisone, i'm going to totally wipe out those old phobias and i'm going to turn a large, hollowwooden ball.
52 weekend woodworking projects, now, with a hollow ball, you're turning blindmost of the time. you really do have to be careful to have it right. there's no roomor margin for error on this one. so, let's make a large, hollow, perfect woodenball. to start with, i glued up 2 blanks each with2 layers of 2 inch thick poplar, then bandsawed
the blank into a round a little larger than6 inches. each is mounted to a large threaded wood faceplate with only hot melt glue. thesewill be the two halves of my large ball. then after a little rounding, the first taskis to hollow each half much like a bowl. the difference from a bowl is that i cannot simplyjudge the interior form by eye. i need an exact curve on the inside -- absolutely nomore -- maybe no less. i drew up an exact paper template using microsoft powerpointand used it frequently to gauge my progress. although no one will ever see the interiorof this ball, i'll smooth the remainder with a large bowl scraper. but i'm stopping shortof sanding and finishing the inside. if it ever breaks open, they will not see a finelysanded finish.
a final check with the template and it isclose enough for this side. one last thing to do is to sand the rim perfectly flat forthe final glue joint. now to glue the two halves together, the firsthalf is on its own faceplate. i've mounted that faceplate to a reverse chucking adapter.the reverse chucking adapter has threads to match my lathe spindle and a #2 morse taperso that it can mount onto the tail stock. this assures alignment on the same axis. thenspread the glue, rotate the blanks to align the grain, and use the tail stock to provideclamping pressure. once the glue has dried, i've removed thefaceplates and carefully remounted the entire blank between centers. i should have markedthe centers better before removing them from
the faceplates because it took some trialand error to get the blank positioned. i could not allow any slop else i risk breaking thruto the interior. now the glue joint represents my center. ineed to round over each end from the center. i've marked the ends of the ball. however,this is not typical spindle turning. the grain is running across the blank. so even thoughi have it mounted between centers, this is more like turning a bowl with alternatingend grain and side grain. i'm using a parting tool at the mark to cutpart way, then a gouge to remove the wood. then a little more with the parting tool andmore wood removal with the gouge. i cannot be super aggressive; i must be cautious.once i'm getting to the rough shape of the
ball, i'll use another paper template to helpjudge progress. this is really like tooling the bottoms of two bowls opposite each otherexcept that i cannot see inside to assess wall thickness.it's almost thru the first phase of the ball process. i'll knock on it to assess thicknessif i can from sound -- good luck -- and check with my paper template. then it's ready forthe 1st 90 degree axis rotation. i'll remove the centers, mount a threaded faceplate tothe tailstock and the other faceplate to the scroll chuck, rotate the ball 90 degree andhold it in place with pressure from the tail stock.i'll saw off the nubs on each end with a hand saw. i did not want to take the risk of cuttinga large round object on the band saw.
with the ball now between the faceplates,i want to take light strokes, i want to leave the line i marked along the glue joint whichis the center of the ball. i'll start with a gouge but then switch to a carbide tippedtool. now i'm ready for the next rotation. i'llmark a new line at the middle, rotate the ball's axis 90 degrees and go for it againwith very light cuts. now for sanding. with the size of the ball,i'll power sand this one starting with a coarse grit.rotate the axis 90 degrees and sand more with the same grit.again, rotate the axis 90 degrees and sand more with the same grit.then repeat this process for each sanding
grit.with sanding complete, i'll apply a mix of mineral oil and beeswax and rub it in at highspeed. i'll rotate the axis 90 degrees, apply more oil and wax, rub it in. then again, rotatefor the final finishing. now, with thanks to dale larson, alan lacer,and some simple inexpensive faceplates, my ball turning phobia is long gone. if i canturn a large hollow perfect sphere, i can do anything. do you like this hollow ball?starting with smaller solid wood balls, when will you tackle yours?be sure to like this video; subscribe to my as wood turns channel and website so we cankeep you updated. have fun and be safe -- always wear a fullface shield.
this is alan stratton of as wood turns dotcom. we'll see you on the next video.
