Short-bed lathe?

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - I only want to make circular table-tops, maybe shallow bowls, so I don't need a long bed - in fact, hardly any bed at all. But I would like to go up to say 18" diameter. Lathes that allow large-diameter workpieces also seem to have proportionately long beds which must add to the price, not to mention taking up loads of unnecessary space.
Are such things available?
Thanks,
Graham Rounce

 

[wizer]

What's your budget ?

http://www.hegner.co.uk/pages/VB36_Lath ... athes.html

 

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - Yes, I should have mentioned: less than £300, definitely. Ideally less than £200 if possible. If it turns out (ha) that I use it a lot, I'll look at spending more, but not at first.

 

[GrahamRounce]

<Grin> and yes, the VB36 looks like just what I need... (Four grand plus accessories just fractionally outside my range unfort!)

 

[TEP]

Evenin' Graham.

For that sort of money you would be better looking for a second user lathe with swivel head. Most could do 18" as long as you take light cuts.

 

[Bodrighy]

I suspect thatnless you are very fortunate to find something 2nd hand you won't find a bowl lathe which is what you are talking about for that sort of money. An alternative would be one with a swivel head. There are a few around and some on ebay etc 2nd hand. Not sure whether you could go up to 18" but certainly 14 or 15. Have a look at the Axminster lathes or the Fox lathes on Poolewood's site may be the sort of thing you want

Pete

Beat me to it Tam

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Graham,
Keep a lookout for a Viceroy bowl turner, I picked mine up for £175 on ebay and have seen others fetch around that sort of price.
They are very well made and possibly underrated, I have been very satisfied with the performance. Take a look at them on www.lathes.co.uk and see what you think.
Regards,
Ian

 

[GrahamRounce]

Hi again, and thanks for the advice. I'll just have another whinge at the particular thing I'm looking for not being available then let it go...
The specialised bowl-turning lathes generally seem to be made in a tank factory because of having to support perhaps half-cwts of wood for making deep bowls.
For working a disc of wood no more than an inch thick, albeit 18" or even 20" across, I wouldn't need such a monster! Any of the cheap lathes at Axminster, Screwfix etc would do, if there was just another few inches on the max diameter. And the extra cost for that I was hoping would be offset by a reduction in the superfluous bed length.
As for a second-hand large "normal" lathe - yes even that would be good if I had a workshop with room for it. It would unfort be a case of tucking it away in the living-room or kitchen and hoovering up after, and they all seem just too large for that.
I'm thinking reluctantly of making the disc with a router, then putting the slight curve I want on the surface by careful sanding, but what a lot of work and care to reproduce what could have been done quickly and easily on a not unnecessarily massive lathe of the right proportions!
Thank-you! End of vent!
Graham

 

[big soft moose]

The specialised bowl-turning lathes generally seem to be made in a tank factory because of having to support perhaps half-cwts of wood for making deep bowls.
For working a disc of wood no more than an inch thick, albeit 18" or even 20" across, I wouldn't need such a monster! Any of the cheap lathes at Axminster, Screwfix etc would do, if there was just another few inches on the max diameter.

on your former point thats not necessarily the case as the bulk and mass is primarily there to absorb vibration , which increases on wider diameter work

on the second point if you got something like the axminster 900 or clone thereof (currenty under 200 notes) you could accomodate an 18" swing with the headstock rotated ( i have one and i have regularly turned this dia - in fact ive done up to 24" tho that required a free standing tool rest (another 200 notes or so)

that said if you are only going to do it occasionally (especially as you dont have a workshop - any lathe makes a lot of mess , i woulndt even contemplate using one in the kitchen or lounge as its not just a case of hovering up the shavings , you also have dust to contend with) a router on a pivot point maybe a better bet - plus you can probably cove the edge or dish the centre with a router cutter rather than resorting to sanding if you wish.

 

[GrahamRounce]

Yes, points taken. I should really have ended all my sentences with "?"s, because I was mainly guessing. I'm coming to all this rather late. Thanks for pointing out the Axminster 900. I've had a look and it looks fine, just what I want - except again it's over 5ft long. Is everybody expected to make a lot of bannisters, standard lamps and baseball bats?
Graham

 

[big soft moose]

Yes, points taken. I should really have ended all my sentences with "?"s, because I was mainly guessing. I'm coming to all this rather late. Thanks for pointing out the Axminster 900. I've had a look and it looks fine, just what I want - except again it's over 5ft long. Is everybody expected to make a lot of bannisters, standard lamps and baseball bats?
Graham

if you are never going to want to make anything that needs a long bed you could buy a cheap one second hand (or a clone , like the clarke new) then have the bed cut down by a metal worker - its cast iron so i'd recomend using an oxy acetylene rig rather than trying to do it yourself with a grinder

this would of course render the stand useless but you could easily enough whomp one up out of two by four or similar.

for that matter you dont have to mount the headstock on the bed provided - you could buy any second hand lathe (this works best with ones like the axminster which have the motor integral to the head , its more difficult if the motor is elsewhere on the lathe) then mount the head stock on a homemade bench and use a free standing tool rest.

for instance see here http://www.gandmtools.co.uk/cat_leaf.php?id=5850 an old coronet for sale dismantled and well inside your budget - you could easily mount the head stock on a homemade stand then make another one to hold the tool rest banjo.

Its not an approach i would generally recomend to someone wanting to get into turning as you wouldnt have the ability to do any between centres work , but as you have very particular requirements it could be the solution you are looking for.

 

[RogerB]

Hi
Have a LOOK AT UNION GRADUATE LATHES ON eBAY AS THERE IS A HEAD STOCK ONLy on at the moment and no one has bid
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPARE-PART-UNION- ... dZViewItem

And a short bed.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LATHE-BED-BOWL-TU ... dZViewItem


If you then want expand there are always bit on eBay,as the guy I purchased my Graduate from said he breaks more machines than he sells complete. Some thing to do with H&S not sure.

Have a look as something may come up.

I had a Record DML36 swivel head that I fitted short bed tubes to 18" long which I turned an 20 inch platter on unfortunatley I never finished it as it split in two when I was sanding it, I keep the revs down now on bigger work.

 

[big soft moose]

Hi
Have a LOOK AT UNION GRADUATE LATHES ON eBAY AS THERE IS A HEAD STOCK ONLy on at the moment and no one has bid
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPARE-PART-UNION- ... dZViewItem

And a short bed.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LATHE-BED-BOWL-TU ... dZViewItem


If you then want expand there are always bit on eBay,as the guy I purchased my Graduate from said he breaks more machines than he sells complete. Some thing to do with H&S not sure.

Have a look as something may come up.

I had a Record DML36 swivel head that I fitted short bed tubes to 18" long which I turned an 20 inch platter on unfortunatley I never finished it as it split in two when I was sanding it, I keep the revs down now on bigger

work.

be aware however that that is three phase unit so you will need either a three phase socket , to convert the motor , or to fit an inverter which would ramp the price up sharply.

 

[GrahamRounce]

"I had a Record DML36 swivel head that I fitted short bed tubes to 18" long"
Yes, I think that's the kind of thing I'm going to be looking for - I suppose they sell the heads separately? 3-phase is just going too far, but thanks anyway. Jeez, just to put a curved surface & a nice polish on a disc of wood... I'll stop here before NASA gets involved!
Thanks for all the help - I've got a much better idea now of what's possible/practical/affordable. Don't anyone hold your breath, but I'll put a pic up when I've dunnit.
G

 

[GrahamRounce]

Hi - dunnit I have.
I got a DML36SH (swivel-head) and cut the bars down to 24".
Also, I have the bowl banjo on the left-hand end and the normal banjo on the bed, with a home- (well actually the metalwork place up the road)-made 22" angle-iron toolrest joining the two, so I should be able to work tabletops up to maybe 20", as long as they're not too heavy and I keep the speed down to a sane level... I'll post a pic when I can get my kid to remind me how to upload it.

I do have another question about having a circular disc screwed to the faceplate, and the workpiece glued onto that. At school we used to use a piece of thick drawing paper in between, and Cascamite as the glue, but I don't remember the details too well. Apart from not getting the glue outside the paper area, is there anything else I should be careful of? I have plenty of Evo-Stik Wood Adhesive, but I'm worried I might use too much, then not be able to get the masterpiece off the damn disc, or too little and have it come off and go whirring and smashing its way around the room...
Thank-you for helping me not have that happen!
Graham

 

[TobyB]

I haven't got a lot of space in my workshop but wanted the option of turning bigger bowls and tabletops - and am very happy with the WivaMac 6000 - and I can always buy a 1200 bed if I ever do want to make long spindle work ...

Cheers

Toby

 

[bobham]

Graham, it sounds like you are asking about a paper joint for mounting the table top? That is a tried and true method of making a reversible glue joint. The paper needs to be thick enough that the glue will not soak all the way through, rendering the glue joint permanent, but not so thick that there is too much unreinforced (by glue) paper in the joint. Basically, newsprint is too thing and card stock is too thick. I am not sure how well it translates, but the paper from brown paper grocery store bags is just about ideal. When done properly the joint should separate fairly easily after the turning by inserting a bench chisel into the gap and getting it started splitting. The joint should separate within the thickness of the paper, so that there is a layer of paper and glue on both of the mating surfaces. The glue should be standard water based woodworking glue, white or yellow.

Good luck!
Bob

 

[GrahamRounce]

Ok. I've used thickish drawing paper, and it came apart fine (when I wanted it to!)
Thanks,