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Bill explains the use of a spacer for holding the plate.
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Mounting the blank on the screw chuck.
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Blank mounted with tail stock for support.
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Bill Grumbine
April 2001
by Lee Buck
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At the April meeting Bill Grumbine demonstrated how he turns platters. He explained that a platter
is a flat bowl. The blank is mounted bowl orientation-the grain runs perpendicular to the ways of the
lathe. The blank should be flat and sawn to a circle. The blank can be mounted with a faceplate and
scrapwood and secured with screws, super glue or double stick tape. If you use double stick tape for
turning be sure to use reinforced heavy duty tape. Bill uses a chuck with a screw center and a spacer
made of luan plywood to reduce the penetration of the screw into the blank.
A pilot hole is drilled at the center of the blank and the blank is screwed tightly to the chuck. Bill
brings up the tailstock for support and uses a 1/2" bowl gouge with a long grind. He takes light
cuts to true up the face. He creates a tenon while beginning to shape the platter with bevel rubbing
cuts. Bill dishes out inside the tenon. He then reverses the blank in the chuck. Care must be
used or the blank will be off center. Bill generously went through this step twice so we would be
sure to see it. Bill trues the edge by taking very light cuts across the edge. He then shapes
the face of the platter. On large platters it is necessary to work from the edge in, completing a small
section at a time. Bill uses a scraper ground to a 30 degree angle to clean up the surface. The scraper
must be horizontal or the handle end slightly elevated. The cutting edge must not be raised above horizontal.
The platter is reversed so the face, the top of the platter, is against a jam chuck or a compression
chuck or, as Bill demonstrated, a vacuum chuck. The tailstock is brought up for support and to center
the piece. The point of the tail center matches the slight mark made when the center was
used for roughing the bottom. The plate is finish turned and any decorative grooves or beads are made.
Sand.
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