Page 1 of 2
Set up for lathe turning
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:06 am
by rdavidp
As I have mentioned before, currently my shopsmith is nothing more than a large free disk sander. I am trying to set it up for lathe work, and I know nothing about lathes. I have a tailstock that has been shipped and is on its way. I just purchased a Shopsmith drive center, a cup center, and live center set. I know there are two sizes of faceplates, which are used for bowl and similar type of turning, that I will order later. I of course was given a whole slew of turning chisels, both Shopsmith and Buck Bros. I thought it was ironic the chisels came with the Shopsmith but no lathe parts.
Is there any other parts I need to get set up for spindle turning? Also I take it that the drive center goes on the headstock spindle while the cup center and live center go into the tailstock, correct?
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:24 am
by SDSSmith
rdavidp wrote:As I have mentioned before, currently my shopsmith is nothing more than a large free disk sander. I am trying to set it up for lathe work, and I know nothing about lathes. I have a tailstock that has been shipped and is on its way. I just purchased a Shopsmith drive center, a cup center, and live center set. I know there are two sizes of faceplates, which are used for bowl and similar type of turning, that I will order later. I of course was given a whole slew of turning chisels, both Shopsmith and Buck Bros. I thought it was ironic the chisels came with the Shopsmith but no lathe parts.
Is there any other parts I need to get set up for spindle turning? Also I take it that the drive center goes on the headstock spindle while the cup center and live center go into the tailstock, correct?
Your planned use of the centers is correct. I did not see you mention a tool rest......very important to support the lathe chisel when turning. No tool rest while turning, plan for an exciting day!!:p
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:35 am
by rdavidp
Yes, the tool rest. I have seen enough lathe turning that if I was to start doing some turning I would have realized that I did not have the tool rest.
Lathe operations mental checklist (Do I have everything?)
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:48 am
by terrydowning
Going through my mental checklist
Headstock (check)
Tailstock w/eccentric for mounting centers (check)
Speed set to low (check)
Drive center mounted to quill of headstock, (check)
Live center mounted in eccentric of tail stock (check)
Live center aligned to drive center (tail stock goes up/down, eccentric goes side to side in a circular fashion) and all set screws securely fastened (check)
Mount stock between centers (check)
Position toolrest approximately 1/8" and NO MORE than 1/4" (the bigger the gap the more control problems you will have) from outer most portion of spindle (check)
Test toolrest clearance by hand turning blank just to be safe, a blank is a terrible thing to waste on a toolrest. (check)
Lathe chisels clean,
sharpened and ready for action (check)
ALL SAFETY CHECKS COMPLETE INCLUDING POSITIONING OF FULL FACE SHIELD (If you don't have a FULL FACE SHIELD, get one. My $15 face shield has paid for itself thousands of times over by preventing eye and face injuries.) This is after all a hobby and should be fun. I have never had fun in an ER waiting room. (CHECK!)
I do recommend doing some research there are tons of you tube videos on wood turning, look for ones that demonstrate proper presentation of the various tools to the work.
Read the lathe section of Power Tool woodworking for Everyone, lots of good info and it's Shop Smith specific.
Have fun and be safe.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 1:33 pm
by rdavidp
What is the purpose of the Nova G3 Woodturning chuck? It looks like it grasps spindles or smaller sizes of wood rounds. What benefits does it offer over the standard setup?
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:19 pm
by mrhart
terrydowning wrote:Going through my mental checklist
Headstock (check)
Tailstock w/eccentric for mounting centers (check)
Speed set to low (check)
Drive center mounted to quill of headstock, (check)
Live center mounted in eccentric of tail stock (check)
Live center aligned to drive center (tail stock goes up/down, eccentric goes side to side in a circular fashion) and all set screws securely fastened (check)
Mount stock between centers (check)
Position toolrest approximately 1/8" and NO MORE than 1/4" (the bigger the gap the more control problems you will have) from outer most portion of spindle (check)
Test toolrest clearance by hand turning blank just to be safe, a blank is a terrible thing to waste on a toolrest. (check)
Lathe chisels clean,
sharpened and ready for action (check)
ALL SAFETY CHECKS COMPLETE INCLUDING POSITIONING OF FULL FACE SHIELD (If you don't have a FULL FACE SHIELD, get one. My $15 face shield has paid for itself thousands of times over by preventing eye and face injuries.) This is after all a hobby and should be fun. I have never had fun in an ER waiting room. (CHECK!)
I do recommend doing some research there are tons of you tube videos on wood turning, look for ones that demonstrate proper presentation of the various tools to the work.
Read the lathe section of Power Tool woodworking for Everyone, lots of good info and it's Shop Smith specific.
Have fun and be safe.
Nice order of operations. It's like a flight check.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:25 pm
by terrydowning
Thanks
That is from too many years writing checklists in the AF, It's just the way I think now. Can't help it anymore.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:51 pm
by jimthej
rdavidp wrote:What is the purpose of the Nova G3 Woodturning chuck? It looks like it grasps spindles or smaller sizes of wood rounds. What benefits does it offer over the standard setup?
By turning a spigot or a dovetail recess in the base of a bowl or platter, you can grip larger work without using a faceplate. Most chucks come with a screw that can be gripped to mount the unturned inside of the bowl. By drilling to near the finished depth in the center of the blank and inserting the screw, you can shape the exterior and spigot or recess the base. When you mount the workpiece tO tHe chuck by the spigot or recess, you have a good starter hole for the inside.
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:01 am
by camerio
I use to be able to watch Tim Yoder in the Woodturning Workshop on PBS, now we had to change Cable Provider and ended up with PBS Platsburg which does not have that show on its schedule.
It is a good show to see some pro doing wood turning and he was visiting other shop for different perspective on this nice hobby.
I think PBS Vermont has it and PBS Detroit (which was the one we had before) use to carry it.
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:36 am
by camerio
I have discovered on this web site
http://www.thewoodcrafter.net/ll1.php
a series of lessons on woodturning.
The page I am giving is for lesson #1 and at the bottom of the page you can continue with lesson #2 and so on ....