Woodturning Wood Goblets

This is the actual goblet I will be building here. This goblet is a little bit simpler than the pair above only because it is made with fewer pieces. The goblets above have veneer in between the staves.

This first picture shows the wood needed to start the goblet. It consists of 9 pieces of wood which are 1/2" x 1/2" x 9". Five of one color and four of the other. They must all be straight, flat, and have parallel edges. Now they need to be glued together to make three pieces.

The next picture below shows how they need to be glued together. Notice how they are not all the same. The bloodwood is in the middle on the center block while it's on the outside on the other two blocks. This is because the bloodwood in the center block will be the goblets stem.

Once the glue dries you can glue these three pieces together. Be sure they are flat. If you need to correct them take off the least amount you possibly can. If you reduce one, reduce the others so they are all the same. If you don't the finished pattern will move over. If you can't get them alike don't worry about it as I sometimes make them a bit different just to move the pattern over but the changes have to be minimal. The picture below shows them glued together. The pattern on the end pretty much tells the whole story.

Next we will add four pieces around the outside. These pieces will also be 9" long (Or as long as you made your first pieces). Normally they will be 3/4" thick. The width will be the width of your finished block plus 3/4". So if you made yours the same as these directions they will be 3/4"x 2-1/4" x 9". The photo below shows the 4 pieces already glued on.

Notice the orientation of the Peruvian walnut blocks in the photo above. They should be glued in this orientation or the goblet won't look correct. If they lap like this the finished goblet will lap also making a curve at each corner rather than a straight line. Even 45 degree corners WON'T work because they will also produce straight lines.

Note: Mine above looks incorrect because they are hanging over. Normally at this point you would have a square. Mine are only hanging over because they are too thick. I didn't bother planing them down. The turning process will take care that so it's not an issue.

Next were ready to turn the goblet. It would be nice If we could just mount it into a chuck just the way it is but we can't do that. If it was a one piece goblet thats exactly what you would do but in this case it probably won't work. Reason being if your glueup is off the pattern won't be centered. And it doesnt have to be off much. So, The best way is between centers. Draw an x across the corners of the small 1/2" x 1/2" bloodwood block in the center on each end. The more accurate you do this the better it will turn out. I use a utility knife for these lines rather than a pencil. A pencil usually marks off to the side no matter how sharp you get it. Then use an awl at the intersection. Much easier to line up your centers this way. Now mount it between centers.

This picture shows the blank mounted between centers. A tennon has been turned ready to mount in the chuck. Note: For new turners. This piece is not mounted in this chuck. If you look closely you will see a drive spur mounted in the chuck. I only do it this way because I have a vacuum adaptor in the spindle. The adaptor stays in the spindle all the time so I can't use a normal drive center with a morse taper.

After mounting it in the chuck I turned and finished the piece as normal. Be sure to hollow the cup section before the stem gets too thin. We came this far so it would be frustrating if you lost it now. The only thing to watch out for comes right at the end. When you begin to see the stem color you must stop the lathe often to see where your at. If you turn too far you could lose part of the pattern.
Good luck!
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