Oneway Outboard Discussion

[Zach LaPerriere]

Hello All,

I'd love to hear experiences with the Oneway outboard attachment for turning large and out of balance pieces. I've heard

If you have experience with other large lathes, too, I'm especially keen to hear your experiences with pros & cons.

The Oneway outboard banjo is massive. Anyone ever use an adapter with the 1 1/2" post down to 1" for finish cuts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[hockenbery]

I have the large outboard and the bed attachment on my 2416. I bought it when I bought the lathe.
I have only used the large outboard maybe a 1/2 dozen times and i’ve Had the lathe about 22 years.
A couple of those were 18-20” bowls just to use it.
Just did not get into big pieces like I planned after I got into hollow forms as a specialty.

The banjo is massive but moves fairly easily if you maintain it.
Still sort of a two hand job but I have just done 4 platters that were In the 25-30” range so not much movement of the banjo needed.

I added the bed attachment.
With the bed attachment I can use the tailstock and the regular tool rest.
This I have used a lot for hollowing and various things.
For a while I was doing a lot of my vacuum chucking on the outboard side with the vacuum adapter inboard
Easier access
But all of this could be done with the 17” bed on the outboard side which is how we set up our 2416.

If you want to do big pieces the outboard table does the job.
Also adds mass to lathe too.
If you are more interested in a short-bed option the 17” bed on the outboard is terrific.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Thank you Al. I figured you would weigh in. Thanks for all that you do on this forum!

 

[hockenbery]

Thank you Al. I figured you would weigh in. Thanks for all that you do on this forum!

There a few folks here who do big stuff. But not sure anyone else has a ONEWAY other than
@John Tisdale who maybe be in orbit around planet mesquite.

 

[Donna Banfield]

I have the Oneway outboard bed for my 2436. Purchased in 2006, I have used it, I'm guessing less than 100 times. By comparison, when I acquired the Oneway used in 2002, I have turned (roughed and finished) more than 10,00 bowls. I thought I would use it more, but the reality is there is a very small market for large diameter bowls. I imagine if one were going to turn wall hangings/art, it would pay for itself in a just 2-3 sales. But I'm not in that market. And I never liked having to haul a large diameter (18" and up) to shows for 2 plus years, before it found the right buyer.

Frankly, I use the lathe ways/table of the outboard more to mount my articulating Vicmarc vise that I can screw my chuck onto, for carving. The lower height of the table works great. If I mount the vise on the inboard part of the lathe ways, I need to stand on a small bench to carve. Have I mentioned, I'm vertically challenged?

 

[Richard Coers]

I have the outboard system. Played with making this wall hanging. Heavily burnt and brushed, then turned and stippled the depressions. 2" thick x 30" long white oak. Top depression is 7" off center. The 2436 looked like a stearman ready for take off! The picture shows about as well as the piece unless you are within 2' of it. Not my best work but demonstrates offset work.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

I have the Oneway outboard bed for my 2436. Purchased in 2006, I have used it, I'm guessing less than 100 times. By comparison, when I acquired the Oneway used in 2002, I have turned (roughed and finished) more than 10,00 bowls. I thought I would use it more, but the reality is there is a very small market for large diameter bowls. I imagine if one were going to turn wall hangings/art, it would pay for itself in a just 2-3 sales. But I'm not in that market. And I never liked having to haul a large diameter (18" and up) to shows for 2 plus years, before it found the right buyer.

Frankly, I use the lathe ways/table of the outboard more to mount my articulating Vicmarc vise that I can screw my chuck onto, for carving. The lower height of the table works great. If I mount the vise on the inboard part of the lathe ways, I need to stand on a small bench to carve. Have I mentioned, I'm vertically challenged?

Thanks Donna. 10,000 bowls! Wow. I am impressed. I felt vertically challenged too with a spindle height of 47" for the older Oneway. If I make the plunge for the Oneway, I might just order the newer adjustable legs. To me, that spindle height is for someone at least 6'1", but I've been accused of liking a lower lathe.

I understand that going over 24" is fairly uncommon. The fellow who offered the lathe said he mostly just turned on that side, especially for the convenience of hollowing.

I appreciate your feedback!

 

[Donna Banfield]

Definitely get the adjustable legs. I bought my Oneway from a guy who was 6'4", and had the tallest legs Oneway made at the time (non-adjustable). I had a platform made with 2x4's standing one their side, 3/4" plywood on top of that, and 2 rubber floor mats to get me up to height. And that still was a bit short.

 

[odie]

Being "vertically challenged" gets worse with age. In my youth, I was 5'9''......but more recently, I've been measuring at 5'7"!.......

I hope this trend has it's limits!

-----odie-----

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

Being "vertically challenged" gets worse with age. In my youth, I was 5'9''......but more recently, I've been measuring at 5'7"!.......

I hope this trend has it's limits!

-----odie-----

Pretty soon Odie, your heels may be higher than your head.

 

[john lucas]

When people in my family get old they start to really shrink. I'm fighting it with lots of weight lifting but I'm already down an inch and I hit 70 this year so by the time I get to.90 I may be a whole lot shorter.

 

[robo hippy]

Don't have much experience with outboard turning. I did pick up a Vicmarc VL240 with the pivoting headstock, in part to see what the Vic lathes are like and in part because I want to run some work shops. Only turned a couple of bowls on it thus far, but I have logs coming in this week (Madrone and Myrtle), and have a July show to get ready for... The outboard set up is not nearly as quick to reposition as the banjo on the lathe is. The mount on the lathe is a pivot point and doesn't have to be locked, but the elbow arm does need to be locked, and there is a handle for it that works fairly well. Have to get used to it... The market for big items is a specialty market....

I haven't measured my height in a while. I was 6 foot even for a long time. After getting bionic hips and a knee, I am down to 5 11 1/2.... Maybe I should take up the inversion boots.... Swim hard, no running, and little walking....

robo hippy

 

[John Tisdale]

Zach,
The below pics might give you some ideas. The only change I made BEFORE mounting the log was to add some serious gussets to the banjo.
I'm guessing from your email you are in the decision mode as to which lathe - while I don't have experience with the other guys, I can tell you you can't go wrong with the Oneway. The support I received from Oneway was huge. Kevin Clay, president and engineer at Oneway, and I swapped several emails and drawings - he came up with the "extension risers" and "H-beam mounting plate" - he made all three plates. The lathe spindle and live-center are dead-nuts.

The log was over 1000-lbs, grossly off balance and mounted between a BestTool 1.5" spur drive and a standard 10-yo Oneway live-center. Kevin told me NOT to assist in the spin-up and allow the lathe to turn the log - I tried it his way and it worked - never had a problem - I kept it under 125-rpm. The pressure between live-center and spur-drive was horrific - didn't want this in my lap.

Whichever lathe you get, I would mount it to a beam-system - while perhaps an old wives tales, mounting to concrete is probably a bad idea. I mount to the beams in the picture and leave the bolts a teeny bit loose - if something wants to shake, I want to know about it and reduce speed.

Not sure what the upper limits might be for the Oneway - maybe I'll put it in my obit.
Good luck,

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Zach,
The below pics might give you some ideas. The only change I made BEFORE mounting the log was to add some serious gussets to the banjo.
I'm guessing from your email you are in the decision mode as to which lathe - while I don't have experience with the other guys, I can tell you you can't go wrong with the Oneway. The support I received from Oneway was huge. Kevin Clay, president and engineer at Oneway, and I swapped several emails and drawings - he came up with the "extension risers" and "H-beam mounting plate" - he made all three plates. The lathe spindle and live-center are dead-nuts.

The log was over 1000-lbs, grossly off balance and mounted between a BestTool 1.5" spur drive and a standard 10-yo Oneway live-center. Kevin told me NOT to assist in the spin-up and allow the lathe to turn the log - I tried it his way and it worked - never had a problem - I kept it under 125-rpm. The pressure between live-center and spur-drive was horrific - didn't want this in my lap.

Whichever lathe you get, I would mount it to a beam-system - while perhaps an old wives tales, mounting to concrete is probably a bad idea. I mount to the beams in the picture and leave the bolts a teeny bit loose - if something wants to shake, I want to know about it and reduce speed.

Not sure what the upper limits might be for the Oneway - maybe I'll put it in my obit.
Good luck,


View attachment 29037 View attachment 29038

Thank you John! I followed your posts before on Planet Mesquite—and that is VERY impressive. Everyone I have talked with about their Oneway loves them and calls them bombproof.

I called Oneway to ask a few questions, and was transferred over to Kevin. I had no idea I was talking with the president of the company. No wonder he sounded so knowledgeable!

Very interesting on the beam system. Thanks again.

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

...... The support I received from Oneway was huge. Kevin Clay, president and engineer at Oneway, and I swapped several emails and drawings - he came up with the "extension risers" and "H-beam mounting plate" - he made all three plates. The lathe spindle and live-center are dead-nuts......

Speaking of service. A couple of weeks after I got my new Oneway, I gave the tailstock a shove and it sailed off the end and hit the concrete floor, breaking the hand wheel . I called Oneway to see what could be done. They sent another--no charge!

 

[Mike Darlow]

An outboard facility has two purposes. One, the lesser, is to permit workpieces which cannot be turned inboard to be turned. The major purpose however is to enable the turner to stand comfortably, and be free to present and traverse tools optimally. If I was turning a 3-inch diameter bowl I would therefore turn it outboard.
If you're right handed, the optimum way to turn a bowl's outside it with the bottom facing you and the workpiece spinning anticlockwise. Similarly for hollowing the inside, the workpiece should be spinning clockwise. Therefore if you desire to turn bowls optimally, I recommend that you don't buy a lathe with a high inboard swing because the banjo and tailstock are much harder to move along the bed. Another recommended facility is the ability to lock the chuck to the spindle nose so that it can't unscrew when you don't want it to.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome to the AAW forum, Mike. We're very honored to have you here.

 

[George Van Beynen]

"Anyone ever use an adapter with the 1 1/2" post down to 1" for finish cuts?"
Zach, I purchased a piece of 1.5" X .25" wall D.O.M. tube as a reducer so I could use my 1" toolposts in the outboard banjo. This has worked perfectly for me.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

An outboard facility has two purposes. One, the lesser, is to permit workpieces which cannot be turned inboard to be turned. The major purpose however is to enable the turner to stand comfortably, and be free to present and traverse tools optimally. If I was turning a 3-inch diameter bowl I would therefore turn it outboard.
If you're right handed, the optimum way to turn a bowl's outside it with the bottom facing you and the workpiece spinning anticlockwise. Similarly for hollowing the inside, the workpiece should be spinning clockwise. Therefore if you desire to turn bowls optimally, I recommend that you don't buy a lathe with a high inboard swing because the banjo and tailstock are much harder to move along the bed. Another recommended facility is the ability to lock the chuck to the spindle nose so that it can't unscrew when you don't want it to.

Thank you, Mike. Good advice, and I agree completely on your point of turning in an optimal position without other parts of the lathe in the way.

Can I ask you what is your favorite lathe for freedom of movement?

 

[Mike Darlow]

Dear Zach. I'm down to four lathes. I don't have a favourite, but I use two Vicmarc VL200s most. These swing 16 inches diameter inboard which is ample. The more recent of the two has a split-ring facility to lock chucks onto the spindle so that braking or acceleration in either direction are safe. I have an ouboard patternmakers stand which supports a banjo which takes toolrests with 1.25-inch-diameter stems so everything is nice and solid. This with the techniques I've developed means I'm able to turn bowls without tear-out, crushing, scraping or sanding.

 

[Mark Stinson]

Im in the market to upgrade, and Oneway 2416 3hp is one of my top considerations. I'm interested in the large swing outboard, but wonder if $1200-$1700 is worth it. Has anyone heard of someone retrofitting something like the Robust outboard tool post to a Oneway?

 

[Mike Johnson]

Oneway has the quality and features most turners are looking for, very well made and a pleasure to turn on.
I passed up on one several years ago in my area and I am still kicking myself for not buying it.

 

[hockenbery]

The outboard table, banjo, and tool rest are well made and sturdy.
You can add a bed to the outboard table which lets you use the small banjo and tailstock on that side.
Adds a lot of flexibility.
You could do things like mount the Trent Bosch hollowing system on the bed on the outboard table.