# How to turn an oval



## grafiks (Jun 4, 2014)

Hello,
I am new to the forum and have a project that I need some advice on. I am making some wooden tools to use making jewelry. Will be working with copper and silver mostly. This is a mandrel used to make bracelets that I want to duplicate out of wood


















. I would appreciate any ideas on how to make this. It is 8 1/2" long, largest part of oval 2 1/4" x 2 1/2" and the smallest part is 1 5/8" x 1 7/8". I want to use hard wood, persimmon or beech.
Thanks,
Bob 
Banner Elk, NC


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Welcome to LJ's. I doubt it can be done like that. You could make each individual ovals separately out of solid wood by turning the and then trimming the corners with a router.


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## mtenterprises (Jan 10, 2011)

I know there is a way to lathe turn it but i cannot remember where I have seen it. The only thing that comes to mind is Rose Engine Lathe but they are few and far between. I'm sure someone else on here will have the answer.
MIKE


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

I think what you need is an oval/elliptical chuck.






More info on oval turning here.


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## FellingStudio (Oct 17, 2013)

This is not really that hard guys … it can be done with a simple spur drive.

Starting with a square blank, first mark the center of both ends by drawing straight lines corner to corner. Next mark points on one of your diagonals that are an equal distance from the center point. Mount on the lathe on the center points and turn the blank round. Mount on the lathe using one set of your off center points, and cut away half of the remaining wood. Mount on the lathe using the other set of your off center points, and cut away the remaining wood. You now have an oval.

Basically you are turning the wood three times on parallel axes.


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## grafiks (Jun 4, 2014)

Thanks for all of the replies. Looks like a special chuck may be in my future. 
Bob


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## Wolfdaddy (May 18, 2013)

There's some great info about multi axis turning here: http://www.barbaradill.com/paper.html>


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## REO (Sep 20, 2012)

for one off jesse nailed it. unless you have an oval turning chuck (very expensive) or want to build one. the OT lathe will do it to but then that is an additional piece of equipment to buy for a one off.


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## Mip (Sep 16, 2012)

Vicmarc makes an oval chuck to fit on a lathe, but the downside is the cost: $2600! I think that would be an awful lot to pay to make one little oval mandrel. I would go with FellingStudio's idea.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

FellingStudio nailed it, it can be done easily using a technique called offset turning, no fancy equipment required. Here's a link to how Roy does it.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

If I remember correctly, Roy also covers the math to get the oval you want rather than just guessing.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Damn. That is a good idea.


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## ScrubPlane (May 22, 2012)

I did one of these for my Mother a couple of years ago. Mine didn't come out as good as the one in the video but the technique is fairly simple and doesn't require any special tools or complicated geometry.


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## grafiks (Jun 4, 2014)

ScrubPlane
Thanks for the suggestions and youtube. My friend glued up some stock and turned an oval today. It worked great. He was going to try to build a jig and use a router but this is much easier. We want to sell these to people that make jewelry to use as a bracelet mandrel. 
Thanks again for your post.
Bob


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## RichardHillius (Oct 19, 2013)

The Woodwright Shop has a episode on turning oval mortise chisel handles that explains the layout really well. Check out PBS's website, it should be there to watch.


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