# Ringmaster Bowls



## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

Here are the latest creations with my ringmaster. I used two different blanks and interchanged the rings. The one blank is solid walnut and the other is walnut, white oak, mahogany,hickory,maple, and cherry laminated together. They were both supposed to be five rings tall but I broke the top ring on the one bowl while I was sanding it. :furious: The one is 4" tall and 11" around, and the other is 3 1/2" tall and 10 3/4" around. I still like the end result though.


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Those are really nice. That ringmaster is one cool tool. How thin did you turn them?


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

The rings start out somewhere between 3/16" and 1/4" these bowls finished are about 1/16" after sanding to get them uniform.


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

Is ringmaster a tool that fits on only one brand of lathe or is it a stand alone tool?Itchy


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

> Is ringmaster a tool that fits on only one brand of lathe or is it a stand alone tool?Itchy


Well both, You can get it as a stand alone tool or they make one that goes onto your lathe. They are limited to only a few lathes that they will fit on. The last time I was on their website they had added some different models. I have to say that one drawback to them is they are expensive. It is a $400 attachment. The only reason I have this one is because it was given to me with the lathe I have. My uncle decided to upgrade lathes and the ringmaster would not fit one his new lathe, so I kind of ended up with it by default. It is very cool the way it works. You have to make sure you have everything set up properly or the rings will not line up correctly. Here is a link to their site. http://www.ringmastertool.com


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## Jeff4woodturning (Feb 1, 2009)

very nice, you might have just got me motivated to dig my ringmaster out a use it. it has only been used once since i own it. great job


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

You don't need a ringmaster. You can do the same thing with a parting tool. I did quite a few bowls almost 20 year ago now that way. I couldn't afford a ringmaster and id seemed more difficult to change the angles so you could change the shape of the bowl. I simply sketched out the bowls and calculated the angles and how wide each segment would be. Then I used the parting tool cut cut through. I made a special thin parting tool out of a paring knife. This was so I could make 2 passes to widen the kerf for easy clearance. It works great and you don't have to install anything on the lathe. The only thing I did was to set an angle gauge at the angle needed so I could line up the parting tool correctly.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

> You don't need a ringmaster.





> I couldn't afford a ringmaster


John, I agree with you on both statements. Although it is not that difficult to install the tool on the lathe or change the angles. If it had not been given to me I would not have one either. There are a lot of things I can think of to add to my shop for that kind of money. Having the Ringmaster has allowed me to do something I would otherwise probably not even attempt.



> very nice, you might have just got me motivated to dig my ringmaster out a use it. it has only been used once since i own it. great job


Thanks Jeff I'm glad I might have been a motivation to you.  Your options are endless have fun with it.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

You can also do something similar with a bandsaw. I did some of those years ago and have wanted to renew my skills so I could demo that to the club. If you do a search for Bowl from a board, or Bandsaw bowls you can find info on how to do this. If you have trouble finding info I'll dig up what I found. I printed them off and took them to the shop. It might also help on making different shaped bowls using the ringmaster.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

Really awesome looking work! :thumbsup:


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

> Really awesome looking work! :thumbsup:


Thanks KC. Life has been a little crazy lately so I have not spent much time in the shop. I got the itch to go make something a couple of weeks ago and these are where I started. I've got a few other things to post but I am going out of town tomorrow so I will do that after I get back. I spent my 3 day weekend in the shop and have some things to show.


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

AZ that is an eye catcher bowl for sure. I'm sure you will get a lot of compliments.


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

> AZ that is an eye catcher bowl for sure. I'm sure you will get a lot of compliments.


Thanks John. I am glad you pointed out that there are other cheaper ways of doing the same thing. It is always nice to look at it from another point of view.


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## MFAdkins (Dec 31, 2017)

just learning to use my ringmaster, still in learning curve. sat in box for over a year before I even used it, it was a gift. having problems with cuts, cuts are not lining up where they meet in middle of board, about 1\2 a blade thickness off, have to do a lot of sanding on inside and outside of bowel after its done. use straight edge and magnetic blade liner I ordered from ringmaster to line up blades, still not working right, also bowls are splitting after they are done, separating at joints, using titebond glue, splits not always at joints, wood is seasoned, any advise? enjoy using but tired of losing bowles


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