In this newsletter Brian McEvoy shares is experience learning from Doug Fisher and how he put his own spin on the techniques he learned from Doug.

A month or so ago Gord and I had the good fortune to spend a couple of days with west coast Canadian turner Doug Fisher.  He was presenting his magical technique of turning off-center wall hangings and, even more intriguing, the carving and dyeing of his pieces.  Doug's skill and imagination have inspired many from around the world. 

I wasn't sure what the size limitations were regarding off-center turning, particularly with the lathe and equipment that I have in my arsenal, and some of the stories I'd heard of heavy lathes bouncing around the shop had me a bit nervous.  I'd seen some beauties in the 24 inch range but none much larger.  I happened to have a couple of pieces of Alaskan Yellow Cedar in the three foot range that were dying to be played with.  I thought this might just be the timber best suited to large offset turning because it was light weight in comparison to many other species and should be less unbalanced for its size when offset than heavier timbers.  As it turned out, it was a breeze and I'm sure that with care, I'll be able to turn much larger off-center pieces in the future. 

This technique will be well suited to smaller platters as well, and I would recommend for most turners to start with a 12 - 14 inch diameter piece first until you're comfortable with the process and understand your own lathe's limitation.  Obviously the heavier and more secure your lathe is, the easier it will be to turn off-center.

Cut your circle as round as possible, keeping the center marked so you can attach a faceplate.  This center mark will also be used to re-center your platter onto the vacuum chuck once you've finished the bottom.

Fasten your faceplate onto the side that is going to be the front, or inside of your platter.  Remember that the screw holes will be turned out later, so be wary of the screw length so that you can facilitate this procedure. You don't want a beautiful wall hanging with a bunch of screw holes front and center.  

Turn the bottom to the shape you desire.  In order facilitate moving the piece off-center, and the fact that you will be re-chucking this piece with a vacuum chuck, turn the bottom without a recess or a foot.  Once you've formed the bottom to your satisfaction, sand it to your finished state.

Carefully reverse your piece onto a vacuum chuck in order to turn the inside.  There are a number of different options available to accomplish the re-chucking if you don't have a vacuum chuck.  Most will require keeping the tailstock in place to secure the platter to the lathe, but none are as simple as using the vacuum chuck.  (For peace of mind, even with a vacuum, I still kept the tailstock in place for most of the process.)

Turn the desired design into the front. Note that the tailstock is still in place, and will stay that way until you're ready to turn out the center.

With the tailstock removed, finish turning out the center portion and sand to completion.  In order to move it off-center, re-mark your center point just as a reference before you remove the platter. 

Now the platter has been re-chucked off to one side an inch or so, and I've marked where I'm going to re-chuck a second time off to the left of center.

Now with the tailstock in place, the vacuum at full suction, and the lathe speed turned down to almost nothing, start your lathe and slowly turn up the speed until you feel a bit of vibration; then turn down the speed until the vibration ceases. 

Turning off-center is essentially the same as turning a natural edge bowl or platter.  For the most part you'll be turning air and so the higher the lathe speed, the smoother and easier it is to make the cut.  In most cases, turning off-center is safer that turning a natural edge burl platter as you don't have the sharp jagged edge to deal with.  You can make several cuts at different locations to suit your fancy.  Once you're satisfied with your design at this location, sand the new cuts with the lathe running.  This is only partially effective because your sandpaper will be difficult to handle. Some hand sanding may be necessary in some areas.

If desired, move the platter over to the other previously marked location, off-center on the opposite side, and repeat all the steps from the first off-center location.

The subtle but effective off-center cuts will add a real touch of flare.

There we have it, much simpler than it might seem.

The holes that were used to keep track of the center and the two other locations will be carved out in the next step of completing a beautiful Doug Fisher wall hanging.  If you aren't going to carve your piece, you'll have to hand sand or re-chuck your platter at center and turn them out.  No big deal.

My lathe is set up with a 12" Oneway vacuum chuck.  This particular lathe is the largest setup that I have - it's a 24/36 Oneway with a five foot extension on the inboard and the large outboard attachment.  With the extra lead weight that I've added, it probably weighs in at around 2000 pounds and as you can imagine, is very stable.  Please keep in mind that you will be limited by your equipment, so please play safe.

It was so much fun I did a second one.

The finished piece.  This wonderful finishing technique is part of what Doug Fisher teaches in his classes, and I would highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity take advantage of what Doug can offer.