short bed, long bed, sliding head, swivel head discussion.......

[Odie]

I've never had anything but a long bed lathe, and I've never turned on any lathe, other than those in my own shop.......so, the benefits of what I use, as compared to the possibilities, is theoretical.

I do know that when it comes to the interior of bowls, I've grown accustomed to using my upper body only, because my hips are firmly pressed against the lathe bedways. I can't see myself changing this, because I've grown to use this as an advantage. It would only make sense that if the stance from the hips down is rigid, there will be some cuts that might be done with advantage, specifically because of this......

On bowl exteriors, the opposite is true for the majority. I use a flow, or movement of entire body from feet to hands. For the cuts on the exterior, I've come to think of this as an advantage, as well......because if done right, it can have the benefits of a "graceful dance" when applied to the cutting edge of your lathe tool. The only time I do use some leaning on the lathe for exterior, is very close to the foot. This can be best visualized when realizing that I'm a faceplate turner. After seasoning, my bowls are mounted one time only, and the bottom of the bowl is facing toward the headstock......and, I often times find myself using the headstock and lathe as a point of stability for my body when working close to the foot of the bowl. I don't specifically consider this an advantage, but simply a reality to deal with......and, my developed techniques are attuned to this circumstance.

Looking for input from other turners on all the possible lathe styles, and how they feel it's an advantage (or not), and why. Am interested in a little more reasoning than.....I like it......or, I don't like it. Please tell us why you do, or don't.

ooc

 

[Bill Boehme]

Odie doin' the lathe dance

 

[Michael Mendelsohn]

I have a sliding head lathe (Jet 1642). When turning a platter, the inside of a bowl or hollowing out a vase, I move the headstock so I can face the work. I stand at the end of the lathe and do the turner's dance with the tool firmly braced against my hip or under my arm.

When I upgrade to a larger lathe I will either get another sliding head (Robust American Beauty or Powermatic) or add a short bed to the outboard side of the headstock (ie One Way). I have tried turning bowls and hollowforms on a fixed headstock lathe and didn't feel that I had control of the tool.

 

[john lucas]

I have a sliding bed lathe but for smaller bowls I never slide the head. It's heavy and kind of hard to move. For doing hollow forms and larger bowls I do take the time to move the headstock because it's so much more relaxing on my back. That and I can use my body to better control the cut. Since I start my bowls between centers it would be hard for me to use a dedicated bowl lathe that doesn't have a tailstock. about 80 percent of the time when I start between centers I leave it on that center so in those cases accurate mounting on a screw center or such would be OK. However the other 20 percent require readjusting the bowl and changing it's shape which you can only do between centers. I would miss that option if I had a bowl lathe.
I've had a swiveling head lathe and that is really nice because it doesn't take as much room in your shop as a sliding bed. On a sliding bed lathe you need that extra 4 feet or so at the end of the lathe to stand. The swiveling head has 2 problems. One is it can throw off the balance of the lathe on smaller lathes making it vibrate more, and the second is re aligning the headstock which is a minor nuisance and probably not a problem on good quality lathes. Having the option of doing both might be a good thing if it didn't create too much slop with all those options.

 

[Odie]

Odie doin' the lathe dance

Ha, ha.......good one Bill, but I sort of envision myself more LIKE THIS!

Don't you have a Robust American Beauty, Bill? Maybe you should respond to the thread.......?

Have a good day......and, looking forward to hearing some input.

ooc

 

[hockenbery]

Odie,

Good posture and fluid body movement are most important to me in turning.
Convenience and fewer steps are next in line.

The most convenient setup for most of what I do is ONEWAY 24xx with a 17" bed on the outboard with its own banjo.
Got a stand in front short bed and the between centers without moving anything.
When I have to move things it becomes inconvenient.

I get to turn on lots of different lathes in the last year
Long beds
Short beds
sliding head stocks,
sliding beds
sit down lathes with a tilting bed and sliding headstock

And years ago low end swivel head stock lathe.

I find sliding the headstock can be very useful in providing a better camera view during a demonstration.

In the end it is a personal choice based on experiences, perceptions, physical limitations, and available space.
One common limitation is range of motion - the majority children and the elderly lack the range of motion to hollow a bowl by swinging the handle from across the lathe bed. The can however usually hollow a bowl from in front. Although some cannot turn fluidly enough to do it well.

Al

 

[hockenbery]

Headstock design is important to me too
When rough shaping hollow forms I turn a lot from the headstock side.

The design of the ONEWAY and Robust Lathes gives lots of access for the the headstock side.

The square headstocks eliminate cuts I can make on a ONEWAY. I also do a finish cut on natural edge bowls from the headstock side.
With a chuck there is enough standoff to do this with a square headstock but it is cramped and limits the ways in which I can hold the tools.

 

[R Henrickson]

I definitely prefer sliding headstocks -- hollowing bowls, not to mention hollow forms, is so much easier with access from the end. I've never had a chance to turn on a Oneway.

I would also agree that square headstocks can be problematic. I occasionally have problems there when turning on a Jet 1642 or Powermatic 3520 -- plates/platters in particular with some of the designs I favor.

 

[john lucas]

I've never had a problem with my Powermatic square headstock. I like the convenience of laying small tools and such up there as well.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Having turned on a Stubby 1000 for 12 years, I've been spoiled by the adaptability the moving bed gives me. At the flip of a lever I can go from turning a 34" table leg to a 24" hollowform to a 44" bowl or platter. I also have a bolt-on bed extension that takes centers' capacity to 48". All in a compact 28" footprint that saves precious shop space. Except when doing outside shaping, I work from the end of the lathe and don't have to stoop over and try to muscle the tools through the wood. Only lathe I've seen to match the configuration possibilities is a Jerry Nichols machine

 

[Michael Poorman]

I've not had the opportunity to use a sliding or swivel head lathe, so my opinion is lacking some of the experience others may have.

For me, I much prefer standing at the end of the lathe for hollowing. Standing at the end of the lathe to hollow is much more comfortable than leaning over a bed and I can keep the tool close to my body for more control and less fatigue. The only gripe I have is that the blasted tail stock is soooo heavy, but I can only be mad at myself since I made it that way

 

[robo hippy]

This is a difficult question to answer without having the lathe next to me. I started with a long bed lathe (Atlas 4 speed). When I first saw the PM3520A, I bought one for the sliding headstock feature. I will never go back to turning bowls on a long bed lathe. Being able to stand up straight while turning, and not having to reach out is huge in a long day of turning. Being able to stand balanced while turning is huge for tool control. If you have to extend out with your arms, it can be done, and is done, but is more work/difficult to do. We preach about keeping our arms in close to the body for tool control, and on a long bed lathe, this is only possible in some situations. If you look at the Stuart Batty push cut, you can see an extreme example of compensating for not being able to keep your tools and arms in close to the body. Mike Mahoney's pull cut is similar, but still, you extend and pull, but at least with his, you can move more with your body. When turning the inside of the bowl, it is the same thing. If you are leaning against the lathe, you are not standing straight up. Movement becomes more wearing. Ohm-my-aching-back.....

As for a pivoting vs sliding headstock, well, the sliding headstock may take up more room, but the sliding headstock is much more efficient. Nothing to unscrew. Just lift the lever, slide, push the lever down.

Odie, I think you are in the Great Northwet. I will be in Bremerton and Olympia demonstrating for their clubs next month. Well, unless we have another snow storm like the last one...

robo hippy

 

[john lucas]

I use both the push cut and pull cut However i have the tool next to my body most of the time.

 

[Jerry Bailey]

being new to "larger" type turning I don't have much experience/knowledge on the different types of lathes
I got the Nova 1624-44 because of physical necessities, and it had the swivel head stock.
With 4 - 7" titanium rods and 22 screws holding my back together, it's a bit tough leaning over the bed to comfortably turn.
being able to rotate/swivel the head means a lot to me both from a physically comfortable issue, to the fact I can turn larger bowls and platters (up to 29")
standard clearance with head stock in original position still allows me 16" clearance.
But, by swiveling the head stock a minimum 45 degrees and using the optional add-on outboard assembly,
it allows me to stand correctly and use my body to "push" the tools properly.

Now I just have to decide if I want to upgrade to the DVR motor so I can stop running around to back of lathe to change the belts for different speeds.........

It'll be interesting to read other people's preferences as to what and why they like their set-ups .

 

[Wally Dickerman]

Having turned on a Stubby 1000 for 12 years, I've been spoiled by the adaptability the moving bed gives me. At the flip of a lever I can go from turning a 34" table leg to a 24" hollowform to a 44" bowl or platter. I also have a bolt-on bed extension that takes centers' capacity to 48". All in a compact 28" footprint that saves precious shop space. Except when doing outside shaping, I work from the end of the lathe and don't have to stoop over and try to muscle the tools through the wood. Only lathe I've seen to match the configuration possibilities is a Jerry Nichols machine

Mark...you turn 44 inch bowls and platters? I'm impressed.

I've been turning in reverse on the outboard side of several lathes over the years. In the 80's on a General 260...then on a John Nichols custom bowl lathe...now on my Oneway. I've been hollowing using a Dennis Stewart armbrace tool since 1987. For me, with that tool I must stand facing the piece with the tool tucked firmly against my side. Using that tool while hanging over the bed is an injury waiting to happen

 

[Mark Mandell]

Mark...you turn 44 inch bowls and platters? I'm impressed.

Once, ONLY once, I used the full swing on the 1000 to turn a platter for a friend's church ceiling fixture.

Once was enough to satisfy my lust-for-large.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Ha, ha.......good one Bill, but I sort of envision myself more LIKE THIS!

You're good if you can dance to the William Tell Overture. Personally, I prefer Ravel's Bolero.

I have had the good fortune to turn using a number of different lathes from a pedal operated Velocipede antique (requires a lot of coordination and stamina) to a Robust American Beauty(requires parting with some dead Presidents). I have also turned on our club's lathes which included a Woodfast and a Powermatic 3520 and several mini and midi lathes. I have a Delta 1440 that has a headstock that rotates and slides. I have not used a Stubby, but it really is a nice piece of machinery that I wouldn't mind having if I had any room for just one more lathe. I have talked to Bill Rubenstein and played with one at SWAT. My feeling after being able to use all sorts of lathes is that a sliding headstock or something equivalent is much more comfortable than leaning over or against the bed of a lathe. The ability to move my whole body versus moving my upper body is a great advantage that has raised the bar in lathe design.

My Delta 1440 Iron Bed lathe has the ability for the headstock to swivel in addition to sliding. The same locking lever is used for both operations -- the swivel operation has several fixed detent stops in addition to in-between angles. This sounds nice in theory, but returning to the same zero position takes a bit of tweaking to perfectly align with the tailstock. The same problem also exists if just sliding the headstock -- the thing just has too much free play to move the headstock without the need to ensure that it lines up adequately with the tailstock. Of course, the upside of that is it does have the ability to line up the headstock and tailstock. Not wanting to spend time monkeying around with these adjustments has led me to treat that machine as though it had a fixed headstock permanently located near the tailstock end. Working around that lathe presented one annoyance -- a brace connecting the legs on the two ends hits me at mid-shin level and is just far enough grom the bed to be an inconvenience for close up work.

A number of older lathe designs have a cabinet style base with no toe room at the bottom which can restrict getting close to the lathe without leaning against it. The Vicmarc VL300 has remedied the situation by having legs below the cabinet that enable the user to stand a bit closer when necessary. I had a chance to buy the club's old Woodfast for a great price, but didn't like that restriction to movement. It was a nice machine -- just not the machine for me.

On my Robust, I also have the outboard accessory as well as the tilt-away tailstock. I have used the outboard accessory only once. It is hard to find wood large enough to need it given the lathe has a 25 inch swing. Anyway, with the headstock at the tailstock end, there is never any restriction to working around anything.

Although I have known about the right posture and body movements from the beginning, it took me a couple years to make it a regular habit. Thanks for the thread, Odie. Sometimes we take some things for granted, but I'll be that there are some newbies who might be wondering what this lathe ballet stuff is about and as a result learn something that might otherwise take years to learn.

 

[Harry Robinette]

Odie
I turn mostly on my General 160-18 full bed lathe. If I'm turning bowls over 8" or 9" I go to my Vega 2600
because the smaller foot print and bed gives me much better straight in turning. I know I'm one of the lucky guys to have both a full bed lathe and a bowl lathe both. Now that I have the Graduate turning on it is probably the most comfortable I've ever been to turn bowls.
I have to say a dedicated bowl lathe is tops for bowls and hollow forms and if I couldn't have one I would go with a sliding head stoke. I had a Delta __-700 12" with single sheave reeves drive and that head rotated and was just not comfortable to turn on with the head turned.

 

[Rob Wallace]

You're good if you can dance to the William Tell Overture. Personally, I prefer Ravel's Bolero.

You actually DANCE to Ravel's Bolero?

Back in 1979, in the movie "10", Bo Derek taught us what the actual use for Ravel's Bolero is.......!!

I would no longer buy a new fixed head lathe given the versatility of a comparable sliding head lathe. The most important consideration in turning (beyond safety) is the position of the operator, and his/her ability to remain in a neutral, balanced position for the majority of time spent at the lathe. The fixed-head lathes still require operators to "do the lean" over the bed which inherently puts unwelcome stresses on the body just to keep posture, let alone working harmoniously with the lathe tools and cutting operations. This is one of the reasons why David Ellsworth is known for his 'straddling of the lathe' position to provide a bit more amenable ergonomic placement of the body which is at rest and relaxed while turning. With the development and introduction of the sliding head lathe, convertible between long and short bed versions, this makes the body position for the operator much better in terms of establishing a neutral position, tailored to the requirements of the task at hand, and thus is vastly more versatile.

I deliberately did not sell my Jet 1642-2 when I got my Robust American Beauty specifically because I do like a long bed lathe for certain tasks, and its capacity to turn longer spindles, as well as to be able to continue using my Jamieson hollowing system, and having the option to do other 'long bed' tasks. That the head of the Jet 1642 (and PM 3520, etc.) slides, you obviously get the best of both worlds.

Rob

BTW - They say that one of the true tests of whether you have "culture" or not, is that you can listen to Rossini's Wilhelm Tell Overture and not think of some masked-guy with a cowboy hat riding on a horse at full gallop.

 

[robo hippy]

Rob, your culture comment made me think of one of the Marx Brothers movies. I think Zeppo was the piano player. Some one commented to him that he never played 'Classical' music. His comment back was some thing like "I play Classical music, and now I am a gonna play a very classical Beer Barrel Polka".

robo hippy

 

[Dan Oliphant]

I'm also a convert to Stubby, I have a 750 and 90% of my turnings are hollow forms. Standing up straight at the end of the lathe is soooo much more comfortable than reaching over the lathe. All my H/F's are turned free hand using John Jordons tooling, so the inside is hollowed by feeling the cuts and measurements. That feel is made more natural when standing up right. I used to turn on a long bed lathe, every time I would hollow a turning, my side would be sore for a day or two.

 

[Jerry Chandler]

Odie,
One of the features I've learned to appreciate on my 3520B is that I can slide the headstock to the right 6" to 8" when I'm turning boxes, ornaments or any other smaller objects so my left foot is not constantly having to dodge the left leg of the lathe. Maybe not as big a deal as being able to turn bowls and hollow forms from the end of the lathe but a real convenience for me, nevertheless.
Jerry

 

[Odie]

Odie,
One of the features I've learned to appreciate on my 3520B is that I can slide the headstock to the right 6" to 8" when I'm turning boxes, ornaments or any other smaller objects so my left foot is not constantly having to dodge the left leg of the lathe. Maybe not as big a deal as being able to turn bowls and hollow forms from the end of the lathe but a real convenience for me, nevertheless.
Jerry

Jerry, I agree with that. If there is one thing that seems to be the most meaningful to the greatest number of turners......it seems like the sliding headstock is right up there with the greatest inventions in wood lathe design in recent times.

If I were to design a lathe, I think I'd incorporate cast iron with a long bed and sliding headstock......with the front headstock clearance of the Robust, and about 20" swing. All hollow #2 Morse tapers. 1 1/4" hardened spindle with cone adjustable, and easily replaceable roller bearings. (among other things!)

Then again, I'm feeling confident there's nothing I can't do with my old longbed fixed headstock Woodfast......but there, I've had a lot of practice doing things that circumvent any problems with this set-up. At this point, I've got a good backbone, and health isn't a hindrance, but that could change. I'm not getting any younger, and my body is telling me so! (65 in May, retire in 14 months)

ooc

 

[hockenbery]

What I have synthesized is the majority of the posters prefer working at the end of the lathe for hollowing.

This can be done on a sliding head stock, or on a short bed lathe.
A short bed outboard gives you the stand in front.

I can return the outside of a dried bowl and true the tenon between centers.
Put the bowl in the chuck on the outboard side.
Move the controls flip the switch to reverse and I'm working in front of the bowl.

The sliding headstock gets the same turning position after taking off the tail stock (or swinging it out of the way)
Moving the banjo, Moving the headstock and moving the controls then mounting the bowl in the chuck.

Now to turn bowl two
With my set up I move the controls and flip the switch to forward.

With the sliding headstock I move the headstock, move the banjo and put the tailstock back in place and then ...


We have a ONEWAY 2416 with a 17" bed on the outboard. To me it is perfect bowl turning setup.
If we ever wanted to turn something long the outboard can be moved to the extend the bed.

Al

 

[Sergio Villa]

I started with a Jet 1642 thinking of doing mainly spindle type of work but soon went to bowls. I tend to get tired of doing the same type of thing.

With the Jet I tended to touch the lathe for a subjective feeling of stability, sort of three point concept, while doing the outside of a bowl. Rarely moved the headstock. Soon the lathe, mainly the banjo, became inadequate for bowl making. So I got a Vicmarc VL 300, short bed ( they do not make the VL 300 long bed anymore).

Given my habit of touching the lathe and having the Vic the stop bar, I often accidentally touched the bar thus stopping the lathe. So I had to adapt to the new situation and now I stand on the feet moving the body with the tool working the outside of a bowl and also the inside. Much much better. I have to lean on the lathe for coring but this is a very small problem for me. No room for turning outboard in my small shop although Vicmarc makes the best outboard tool rest. Now the new VIC comes with the possibility of attaching the 19 inch extension on the outboard. I wish I had this option but can live without it. Easily. A little agility is good also at my age.

With the Vic I can work the outside of a bowl from the chuck to the rim very easily, the headstock and the foot of the lathe being non interfering at all. I just ordered a spindle extension by the way, that should make this process even easier.

In conclusion not touching the lathe has been a great improvement for me and this is also true for spindle work on gentle and long curves.

 

[Odie]

You're good if you can dance to the William Tell Overture. Personally, I prefer Ravel's Bolero.

Yep, exactly, Bill........

There are many different moods to turning......yes, for me there are definitely times when it's very much like the William Tell Overture.......

.......and, there are other times when it's more like THIS.

ooc

 

[Alan Trout]

I own 3 full size lathes both long and short bed variants. I turn mostly hollow forms and favor using a type of captive hollowing rig. My Robust AB is my long bed lathe. I agree with Al about how the slim headstock profile found on the Robust, Oneway, and Vicmarcs, is a big advantage to me. I often work on the foot close to the headstock and some of the bulkier headstocks can get in the way. I can see where the sliding headstock or a short bed lathe would be nice for those whom hand hollow. Having done my fare share of hand hollowing, standing in a comfortable position is a huge plus. I like the long bed lathe for no other reason then it gives me plenty of room no matter the project I decide to attempt.

Whats so amazing today are the equipment choices that we have. No longer do we have to coble together a spindle lathe with riser blocks so we can turn bowls or hollow forms. We can call up a specialty lathe manufacture and order our dream lathe. Even the mass produced equipment is easy for most to work with at a reasonable price.

 

[hockenbery]

Alan hit it on the head with the choices available in the big lathes
ONEWAY and Robust would be at the top of my list. Both have extensive arrays of configurations and adjust to height

Vicmarc is being hurt by the exchange rate has some options and adjustable height
Stubby's are in short supply and may not be available except through the used market but they will never wear out.

Powermatic is major player. The new price structure makes it a shorter leap to a ONEWAY or Robust.

My wife and I both turn and we have a ONEWAY 2436 with the monster outboard, ONEWAY 2416 with the 17" outboard, 20" long bed woodfast, General 260 vs with a 24" outboard. We use all the lathes when we have classes and occasionally because we'll set up one with the vacuum system for a couple of days.

When we have classes in our shop we have had guest appearances by an American Beauty, 20" powermatics, jet 1642, shortbed woodfasts, and a few other smaller machines. Anyone of these machines can serve well.

20 years ago when we bought the Woodfast it had little competition.
How the field has changed! It is sort like there are no bad choices in the lathes I listed just better ones for individuals.

My first choice won't necessarily be your first choice.
Al

 

[robo hippy]

When I bought my PM, I was also looking seriously at the Nichols lathe. Built like a tank. Not pretty, but built for heavy work. He basically lost most of his business to Oneway which was just starting out at that time.

robo hippy

 

[Richard Findley]

My lathe choice...

Hi

Most of you guys seem to be bowl men? While I've made my fair share of bowls, my main business is spindle turning. My main requirement for a lathe was versatility, closely followed by mass, as I found myself doing a lot of large spindle work which is really slow if you can't crank up the speed a bit ( or a lot!) with a good range of speeds.

My first decent lathe was a Jet 1442, which I used for about 6 years. I loved it but by the end it just wasn't man enough for what I needed, plus after 6 years, taking me from keen amateur to a full time professional, it was beginning to suffer with belt/drive/power problems. I needed something with more guts, more wieght - BUT, the Jet, with the bed extension I had could handle 5ft between centres. A new lathe that could beat it would set me back a minimum of £6000 (about $10,000 I think?) So I went down a different route:



My lathe is a Wadkin RS8. This has a very much fixed headstock. It can handle 5ft 10" between centres and a 16" bowl - but if you look closely you will see there is a gap bed which can be removed to turn up to a 28" bowl. If I were feeling really silly I could technically mount 8ft diameter outboard but I would need more space for that!! The lathe is about 3/4 of a ton of cast iron, so is quite sturdy too. There is 8 speeds ranging from 200rpm to 2600rpm. The deal-breaker was that it only cost me £1400 (about $2400). I love it, but I know it wouldn't be for everyone.

Thought this may be of some interest.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Odie]

Hi

Most of you guys seem to be bowl men? While I've made my fair share of bowls, my main business is spindle turning. My main requirement for a lathe was versatility, closely followed by mass, as I found myself doing a lot of large spindle work which is really slow if you can't crank up the speed a bit ( or a lot!) with a good range of speeds.

My first decent lathe was a Jet 1442, which I used for about 6 years. I loved it but by the end it just wasn't man enough for what I needed, plus after 6 years, taking me from keen amateur to a full time professional, it was beginning to suffer with belt/drive/power problems. I needed something with more guts, more wieght - BUT, the Jet, with the bed extension I had could handle 5ft between centres. A new lathe that could beat it would set me back a minimum of £6000 (about $10,000 I think?) So I went down a different route:

View attachment 7100

My lathe is a Wadkin RS8. This has a very much fixed headstock. It can handle 5ft 10" between centres and a 16" bowl - but if you look closely you will see there is a gap bed which can be removed to turn up to a 28" bowl. If I were feeling really silly I could technically mount 8ft diameter outboard but I would need more space for that!! The lathe is about 3/4 of a ton of cast iron, so is quite sturdy too. There is 8 speeds ranging from 200rpm to 2600rpm. The deal-breaker was that it only cost me £1400 (about $2400). I love it, but I know it wouldn't be for everyone.

Thought this may be of some interest.

Cheers

Richard

Thanks for showing us, Richard........Never heard of a Wadkin, but man, that's built like a Mack truck! Since you are a full-time spindle turner, how about showing us some of your work? Thanks.

ooc

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Odie

I guess the closest thing you would have over there would be Oliver? My Wadkin is old, made in 1950, not made since the 70s sadly.

If you think there would be interest I'd be happy to post some pictures. In the gallery section right... I'll take a look when I get a minute.

Thanks

Richard

 

[john lucas]

Richard Glad to have you on board. I really enjoy your articles in Woodturning. They are a lot of fun and very informative. It's good to get a different point of view from across the pond.

 

[Bill Boehme]

..... Most of you guys seem to be bowl men?

Actually, I hate making bowls, but everybody want me to make them "just one more" bowl.

Most of my turning is either gifts or donations for fund raisers which often means bowls. My latest "creation" is just a sphere -- about as plain and simple as something could possibly be, yet difficult to make and not go below the target size. Well, I went under the target size by about one-sixteenth inch (1.6 mm). Fortunately, it isn't too noticeable on a 7½ inch diameter (19 cm) sphere. It also is my heaviest turning to date with a finished weight of 8 pounds 12 ounces (3.97 kg).

 

[Richard Findley]

John, thanks for the welcome. Glad you like my articles.

Bill, I always enjoy the challenge of making balls, got some to make this week which are paper jointed together to form quadrants.

One of the good things about my lathe is just what it can handle. The heaviest bit of wood I've had on was about 150 pounds - just a little but of spindle turning!! ;-)



When people ask how I turned it my reply is Carefully!! ;-) I do generally have a rule though, if I can't lift it I won't turn it!

Cheers

Richard

 

[hockenbery]

John, thanks for the welcome. Glad you like my articles. Bill, I always enjoy the challenge of making balls, got some to make this week which are paper jointed together to form quadrants. One of the good things about my lathe is just what it can handle. The heaviest bit of wood I've had on was about 150 pounds - just a little but of spindle turning!! ;-) <img src="http://www.aawforum.org/vbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7101"/> When people ask how I turned it my reply is Carefully!! ;-) I do generally have a rule though, if I can't lift it I won't turn it! Cheers Richard

Richard, Folks will be able to see some of what you do in Phoenix.

I turn a lot more balls than spindles.
Your photo reminded me of my "big" spindle. A baby compared to yours.
These were pedestals to display African Stone carvings. Sort of a drum theme.

Never got a photo of the finished pieces.
My second biggest spindle have been tall stool legs.

Looking forward to seeing you in Phoenix.

Al

 

[Mark Mandell]

A Little Lift

I do generally have a rule though, if I can't lift it I won't turn it!

Well Richard, then you need one of these to avoid time at the chiropractor



Of course the Arg! factor is there as well.

 

[Michael Poorman]

Wadkin Lathe

Richard,

I love those old iron lathes! If space were of no consequence I'd have a Wadkin or Oliver in my shop Why not both?

I restored an old 1920s Tannewitz table saw, so love of old arn' runs deep in me!

 

[john lucas]

Just bought a chain hoist the other day to help me diss assemble an old Oliver lathe. Really saved my back. I don't plan to turn any spindles that big and and heavy. My gun cabinet lamp was that large but of course hollow so it was easy for me to handle without a hoist.

 

[Bill Boehme]

... One of the good things about my lathe is just what it can handle. The heaviest bit of wood I've had on was about 150 pounds - just a little but of spindle turning!! ;-)

View attachment 7101....

Turning a trembleur?