You’ve seen the special eccentric chucks - you know, the $250 to $400
ones - the Escoulen versions with the ball with a hole in it or the
screw that can be moved off center on the chuck. If you’re a tool
phreak you’ve probably got one of them on your Wish List. Well there
is another approach that doesn’t require a special chuck - but rather a
different use for a set of jaws you probably already have.

The October 2006 (Issue 167) Woodturning magazine - a Guild of Master
Craftsman Publications, Ltd., has a 5 page article by Dave Regester on
how to turn his trademark eccentric trunion box (imagine an eccentric
Escoulenesque piece, with a variations of a loose ring in the middle,
but rather than a ring it’s a two hemispherical “box” with a shaft
running through the middle of it). The key to his method is to turn a
ball on the end of the work piece and chuck it up in a set of spigot
jaws - instead of turning a tenon on the piece and sticking it in a hole
in a ball in a special chuck.

Turning a ball end is pretty easy, even for a newbie like me. I already
have a set of long spigot jaws for a SuperNova2 chuck. Had a roughed to
round piece of oak with a short split on one end that became the test
piece. Between centers turned ball, change over to the chick, tilted
the piece off center so that the live center on the tailstock was close
to the edge of the piece, away from the split, and it was off to the
races. Turn the tail stock side down with multiple centers - with live
center support, then remove the tail stock and turn the chuck side half
of the piece, supported only by the chuck. I skipped the loose “trunion
box” part - I’ll try that one - someday - maybe. Works like a champ
though I need to better understand how to blend shapes.

The $8.75 US price tag for this Brit magazine, available at my local
Barnes and Noble, saved me $240 - plus shipping and handling. Great
bang for the buck and got me to try more eccentric turning. Never
thought to put the ball on the work instead of in the chuck. Learn
something new every day!

charlie b

That's a good trick. Here's a couple more eccentric options.

Turn a ball or square the end of your blank to fit in a round or square
recess in waste stock on a faceplate, then remount the waste stock
off-center on your faceplate, insert your blank into the recess, and bring
up the tailstock.

Remove jaws #2 and #4 from your 4 jaw chuck, then remove jaw #3, spin the
scroll 1 turn in, and reinsert jaw #3. You now have two jaws gripping off
center.

If working with flat stock, like for shallow bowls, sometimes it is
possible to turn multiple (overlapping) chucking grooves on the base of
your stock, either the same jaws or for two different size jaw sets.

I'm sure there are lots more options that other clever people will tell
us about, but these are ones I have had succes with.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

Mike Paulson wrote:
That's a good trick. Here's a couple more eccentric options.

Turn a ball or square the end of your blank to fit in a round or square
recess in waste stock on a faceplate, then remount the waste stock
off-center on your faceplate, insert your blank into the recess, and bring
up the tailstock.

Remove jaws #2 and #4 from your 4 jaw chuck, then remove jaw #3, spin the
scroll 1 turn in, and reinsert jaw #3. You now have two jaws gripping off
center.

If working with flat stock, like for shallow bowls, sometimes it is
possible to turn multiple (overlapping) chucking grooves on the base of
your stock, either the same jaws or for two different size jaw sets.

Thanks Mike, great info! I had alreay discovered the trick with the
chuck jaws and you describe the methos very well.

Bill Berry, of Gulf Coast Woodturners, came up with this homemade design --
he calls it a wobble chuck.
http://www.gulfcoastwoodturners.org/...bble_Chuck.PDF

-- M-Powell