Wood or metal lathe?

[woodbloke]

The latest issue of F&C (which is very good btw) has an interesting article by Marc Fish on testing a small metal work lathe. He maintains that much of the smaller stuff that can be done on a wood lathe can equally be made on a metal lathe, with all the benefits for metal machining (if required) as well.
Bearing in mind that I only do small stuff (no bowl turning) there does seem to be some merit in the idea.
As I'm going to change my lathe later on, I wondered how many use metal lathes for wood and metal?

(Pete[Newt]...I know what you're going to say :wink - Rob

 

[Alf]

I always understood it was a bit of a no-no, owing to moisture from the wood - or was it oil and swarf from the metal? Either way, a potential contamination problem, no? But then you're a tidy freak, er, I mean tidier worker than I am, Rob. :wink:

 

[Boz62]

I have on occasion used my Myford ML2 for some crude wood turning. The problem is that you need to thoroughly wipe everything down then wash your hands before even looking at your piece of wood, then do a similar thorough clear up and re-oil everything afterwards. I admit that the Myford is prewar and lubrication is a "total loss" system (just pour more oil in), so I am probably seeing the worst case. A modern lathe may not be quite so oily itself, but you'll still have used cutting oil with it for metal and need the thorough clean-up to start with, and remove ALL shavings afterwards. So, possible, but hard work. My inner OCD is helpful in this case

Boz

 

[jasonB]

Before I bought a wood lathe I used my engineering one to do both, the biggest advantage was that you could rough out a cylinder very quickly and accuratly. I machined up a backing plate so I could use a 100mm Axi woodchuck on the lathe which was better than the 3 & 4 jaw engineering ones.

Its a bit harder to rig up a tool rest for freehand turning but once done is OK for smaller work where you are not using large chisels. Never found sawdust to be a problem but you will want to cover the bed with a sheet of stiff paper before you start doing any sanding.

Jason

 

[CHJ]

In purist terms I guess it's a no no and if I had seen either function being performed in the 'wrong shop' would have voiced my displeasure somewhat.

But as they say the hobbyists workshop is a different matter unless you are an absolute precision freak on the machining front.

Cleaning wood dust out of oilways can be a pita, a lot depends on how well your leadscrews and bedways are protected and wiped. Engaging Leadscrew feed nuts on a leadscrew that is full of oil soaked wood dust is not a good idea.

The advantage of using a metal lathe for small wood projects is as mentioned the ease of producing true sized cylinders and bores which often is worth the extra clean up effort. (the domain of a pattern makers wood lathe)

If someone with only room for one machine, asked me for a recommend for turning small parts like marking knives, the odd chisel handle, cabinet knobs and metal ferules etc. I would say get something like 9 X 20 metal lathe.

Good extraction on the metal lathe can prevent a significant amount of dust problems and is not difficult with small parts.

A piece of stiff canvas or plastic with just a hole for the toolpost draped over the bed can ease cleanup.

 

[woodbloke]

Gents, thanks for the input. Consensus view seems to be that it's probably not a good idea in a woodshop, so I'll probably stick to Plan A, which was the smaller Jet midi wood lathe
edit:...and Alf - Rob

 

[head clansman]

hi all

interesting thread the same idea had recently occurred to me but in reverse using a wood lathe to do the occasional small metal work jobs on but i don't know if i could get over the tool rest height problem that may occur .

I sort of wondered if the metal work tool rests from metalwork lathes would fit on to the rails of a woodworking lath so it sort of combines two lathes into one on the occassion that you may need it , so you didnt have to purchase a second lathe.

Rob have you actual seen the size of some of these minature lathe ( dont be fooled by a picture) , what size hand do you have you need to be a miget to use some of them, and boy they aint cheap . hc

 

[Harbo]

The Emco Unimat 3/4 has/had optional wood turning accessories and a table saw attachment!

I've turned some Tufnol on mine but a very messy experience and would probably be even worse using wood?

It's not the size of your hands that's the problem with these lathes - it's your eyesight - here's some more bits for my clock - arbors for the clock wheel gears, turned from 1/8" silver steel, smallest pivot is 0.045" diam::

Rod

 

[paininthe]

slightly off topic,

Whilst working in the tool room at British Aerospace (i was a fitter) the machinists where always good for a guvvy job. One's speciality was tool chests. All nicely made, in wood, on his hugely expensive jig boring machine.

 

[Shrubby]

I've used Unimat and Colchester lathes for woodwork - turn off the suds!
Matt

 

[Mr Ed]

I turn wood occasionally on my metalworking lathe. I can see the argument for not doing so due to the dust, but provided you clean up straight away its not that bad. For me, a metalworking lathe is a far more useful thing to have than a woodworking lathe and I can't justify both.

Ed

 

[shipbadger]

I bought a metalworking lathe (a Perfecto)that had been used in a printing works as a 'universal' machine for £100. When bought I thought it had a light coating of rust, it was very cheap so I was willing to accept this. I wanted it for metal turning by the way. The rust turned out to be wood dust covering everything that was oily, in other words almost everything! This was laborious to remove but the oil/wood mix had preserved the bed and other bare metal remarkably well. The downside was that wood dust had got into the four jaw chuck and the wood had soaked up oil, expanded and jammed the jaws. In an attempt to screw a jaw out the previous owner had bust the recess for the key. I was able to drill the broken parts out (using a Frei [spelling?] drill) and Myford had some second hand jaws for the Pratt-Burnerd chuck in stock so all now works. I think the previous suggestion of a dedicated woodholding chuck would be very sensible and a good clean down after use. Many of the books on making lathe accessories describe hand tool rests so that didn't ought to be a problem.

Tony Comber

 

[markymark12]

I would think it largely comes down to what you are going to do with them. I am fairly certain that both Karl Holtey and Robert Ingham both use metal lathes and mills for their work. So it can be done and if you have a need for very precise work it would be a very useful tool. Just wished i had the room and i would have them here myself

 

[jasonB]

You could also go for an older lathe several of which had the facility to mount a cross & topslide to them. Maybe something like this Wadkin :wink:

Myford ML8, Coronet and early Delta wood lathes also had this facility.

Jason

 

[Chris Knight]

I use my Myford Super 7 for wood when need be. I welded up a tool rest for freehand turning although I don't do much. The lathe is used for all sorts of odd jobs including milling and I would never give it up in favour of a wood turning lathe.

 

[Mr Ed]

I use my Myford Super 7 for wood when need be. I welded up a tool rest for freehand turning although I don't do much. The lathe is used for all sorts of odd jobs including milling and I would never give it up in favour of a wood turning lathe.

The ability to do a bit of milling, precise drilling and metal turning opens all sorts of doors to toolmaking in my view.

Ed