Home made controlbox arm.

[Paul.J]

Having recently bought my new lathe,which i haven't had much chance to use yet,still changing workshop round,I wasn't too keen on where the on/off switch was situated with the control box,and i needed something that could be put back out of the way after been in use,due to lack of space where my lathe is situated.
So i came up with the idea of using an old t.v wall bracket
As you can see from the piccy the bracket had to be altered to suit my requirements,by extending the arm.
This i done by taking the arm apart and putting an Oak extension piece in,with suitable lock nuts and bolts so the arm could be bent and tightened to which ever position would suit.
The holder in the piccy is just a trial one which was just quickly knocked up,i will make a better one if this works.
So what do you think.Is this a better solution.
I would like it tilting back slightly but can't see a way of doing it the way the bracket is,so any suggestions will be appreciated.

This piccy shows how the arm was extended.

This piccy shows the control box in working place.

And this piccy shows the control box nicely folded out of the way.

Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Looks ideal and effective. Can it not be tilted back by having a wedged bottom under the box it is sitting in?

Pete

 

[beejay]

Hi Paul,
Good idea, giving you choice of position for the speed control and it folds neatly away. Much cheaper than the Hegner arm I bet.
A slight hijack:
I would be most grateful if you could post some user comments on the lathe when you've given it some work to do as i'm looking seriously at this model or a good S/H one if it comes up anywhere. So far its between the Hegner, Record or Nova but I do like the Hegner.
regards, beejay

 

[jpt]

HI Paul

That arm looks good, better than Hegners one, I might borrow that idea at sometime as it would suit me better than the original one.

As Bodrighy says a wedge between the bottom of the box and the bracket will tilt it beautifully.

Looks like you have been getting it dirty, I see some shavings and a round thing on it, hows it going?

Beejay I was able to purchase a second hand one recentlly and I love it.

The only problem I have with it is that mine is a 3/4 hp version and on some of the larger pieces I find it does slow down a bit, maybe I should take lighter cuts

john

 

[Paul.J]

Bodrighy wrote
Can it not be tilted back by having a wedged bottom under the box it is sitting in?
Yes Pete i see what you mean.
It's just that i built the box round the control box,firstly by bolting the base on first then fixing the sides on,with the back been held on by 2 of the small bolts that go through the back of the Control box.
I would like to swivel it back to upright position when finished with,not something that is at that permanent angle.
I suppose i could put a small nut and bolt through the side of the CB,and leave the back piece off,so the box could swing back and forth,but don't want drilloing the CB to affect it's warranty.

Beejay wrote
I would be most grateful if you could post some user comments on the lathe
Yes Beejay will do as soon as i have a really good go on it.
Have you sent for the free DVD from Hegner.Shows you all about the lathe plus some good turning film.

Paul.J.

 

[Paul.J]

JPT wrote
That arm looks good, better than Hegners one, I might borrow that idea at sometime as it would suit me better than the original one.
Yes John.The on/off position switch was my only concern with the lathe.
Didn't like the idea of reaching over the lathe when it was spinning,as pointed out by other forum members.I do like my on/off switch on my left hand side.

And
The only problem I have with it is that mine is a 3/4 hp version and on some of the larger pieces I find it does slow down a bit, maybe I should take lighter cuts
John.
Hegner do do an upgrade to the 1hp.Might be worth finding out how much it would cost.
Paul.J.

 

[beejay]

Yes Beejay will do as soon as i have a really good go on it.
Have you sent for the free DVD from Hegner.Shows you all about the lathe plus some good turning film.

Thanks Paul, look forward to your comments in due course and I'll contact Hegner about the DVD.
beejay

 

[dickm]

Looks ideal and effective. Can it not be tilted back by having a wedged bottom under the box it is sitting in?

Pete

Not sure I am thinking correctly in three dimensions, but could you not angle the outer hole in the wooden bar so that rather than both being parallel to the vertical section of the bar, the outer one is at about 11-0 o'clock/5-0 oclock when seen from the end?

 

[Mark Hancock]

Paul

A good solution to the problem. Well done and glad to see the lathe is up and running.

 

[Paul.J]

DickM wrote
could you not angle the outer hole in the wooden bar so that rather than both being parallel to the vertical section of the bar, the outer one is at about 11-0 o'clock/5-0 oclock when seen from the end?
Good idea,but this would still make the box fixed at that angle,if i've understood your idea correctly.
Would still prefer something that i could put back to upright position when finished with.
Paul.J.

 

[Mark Hancock]

DickM wrote
could you not angle the outer hole in the wooden bar so that rather than both being parallel to the vertical section of the bar, the outer one is at about 11-0 o'clock/5-0 oclock when seen from the end?
Good idea,but this would still make the box fixed at that angle,if i've understood your idea correctly.
Would still prefer something that i could put back to upright position when finished with.
Paul.J.

Paul

Why not attach a wooden bracket direct to the TV arm with curved slots in the uprights of the bracket. Then attach the wooden box holding the control box with bolts and wing nuts through the slotted channels of the bracket. In this way you can angle the control box. Hope that makes sense :roll:

 

[dickm]

Good idea,but this would still make the box fixed at that angle,if i've understood your idea correctly.
Would still prefer something that i could put back to upright position when finished with.
Paul.J.

Yeah, you're right. I was trying to think and type at the same time - difficult .
So, how about making the outer part of the arm swivel about an axis along its length? Box on the end for controller, swing it out to working position, then twist the outer part to bring the controller to the angle you want? Not sure if you would have enough resistance to droop at the joint, however....

..., and thinking about it, that's basically what Mark has suggested.
Doh.