The woodscrew chuck is a
most useful piece of equipment and can be used to good effect to make wooden
fruit. Apples and pears are particularly good sellers, and allow some of the
many short ends of wood which we all accumulate to be put to profitable use.
I prefer the stalks of both apple and pear to leave the fruit at an angle,
and this factor influences the chucking techniques. My method means that slightly
longer stock than normal is required, but I am quite happy to waste a little
wood to make the fruit more natural-looking. Accordingly, the stock required
is of 3" square section and 4" long (76 x 76 x 102mm).
Choice of wood
Exotic hardwoods can produce stunning grain patterns, but for some people the
cost of such species can be prohibitive — particularly in the early learning
stage, when mistakes are not unusual. Native hedgerow and garden trees or shrubs
can also produce dramatic grain. Yew wood, laburnum, cherry and plum are eminently
suitable, as are spalted woods, particularly beech. I have used North American
tulipwood for both the sequence photographs and the finished examples.
Mount the wood between centres and prepare it for the woodscrew chuck using
Method 2 above. Taking light cuts with the roughing-out gouge, reduce the stock
suggested 2-3/4" (70mm) diameter. The profiling can now commence at the open
end (the stalk end), using a 3/8" (10mm) spindle gouge. A rolling action is required
to form the rounded-over section, merging into a swinging, scooping action to
form the undercut profile. At a distance of 2-3/4" (70mm) from the open end,
size in with a parting tool to a diameter of approximately ¾" (19mm). The remainder
of the profiling down to the depth of the sizing cut can now be completed with
the same tool. Before reverse-chucking it is necessary to sand and polish the
completed section, and also to drill the 1/8" (3mm) hole to accommodate the stalk.
Stop the lathe and drill the hole to a depth of about 1/2" (13mm) and at an angle
of about 15°.
Fig 6.61 shows the drilling operation, and Fig 6.62 shows the profiling thus
This article is excepted from Woodturning
A Foundation Course By Keith Rowley.