Lathe accuracy

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 8:56 pm

So maybe ya should have bought a oneway 2436?

reible · Post by **reible** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:05 pm

After reading the postings following the initial posting that I did not see until after my posting which was in a delay loop.... OK let's say I'd like to change the flow to another direction.

I think this might best be done as an educational process and in that way better serve someone who wants to learn.

Step one is to go to this location

http://www.shopsmith.com/academy/welcome.htm

Then for more on the lathe information you can go here

http://www.shopsmith.com/academy/latheturning/index.htm

Feel free to read all the sections as they can give you a better idea about the tool you have.

Ed

henecle · Post by **henecle** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:44 pm

Rather than focusing on if your greenie will be able to provide you with high end performance, you might want to focus on your own basic turning skills. If all you did was clean, service and align the the machine to the factory standards right now, it will out perform your ability to use it. There are woodturning clubs all around the US (check out the American Association of Woodturners web site to find your closes chapter) there are also many community colleges/vo-tech schools that offer intro classes and there are classes at local Woodcraft stores as well. Not being negative, just stating the obvious.

I'm not a tool snob, I grew up on a farm with about an 800 sqft woodworking shop and all high-end stand-alone tools that my Dad taught me to use correctly. Unfortunately, the one bay of my two car garage in the suburbs is all the space I've got and the Shopsmith and special purpose tools/accessories gives me all the same capabilities. And yes, they're still able to produce better quality work than I can... practice, practice, practice

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:46 pm

First an omission!

Welcome to the funny farm!:D

Second an apology!

Please forgive our terse response to your initial post.

Your frustration re getting straight answers came across terribly negative.

After your second post, It is apparent that you are merely trying to get clear answers after having difficulty getting any!

I think Ed has given you good answers more direct to your intended use.

I think you got your answer to why us freaks are so defensive of our pet tool while others are so opposite. It truly is a love it or hate it situation. Those who know it are on one side, and many who know only what they heard or saw elsewhere tend to put it down. It is the unfairness of that scene that makes us defensive. Sorry if we let some of that spill on you.

However you did ask for reasons.

No it is not the best lathe in the world, but it at least is a good starter. Depending upon your skill development, it may someday prove to be inadequate, but it will have served it's purpose in getting you to that point.

Last but not least, do read the sticky posts at the top of the Maintenance and Repair forum for sound advice regarding the care and feeding of your Greenie!

EDit - corrected forum reference

reible · Post by **reible** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:57 pm

I'd like to add a few things here which might help you get started.

First, you need to identify what lathe items you have. You have noted the drive center and the dead center. The other parts you will need to find are the tail stock and the tool rest. You might also have a faceplate or two, and a screw center. Also a set of lathe tools, a set of 5 or so is normal.

I'm not sure what was part of the "deal" back then and what might have been an optional purchase.

If you have a camera you can take a picture of the box of goodies and post it here and we can tell you what is what if needed.

For basic lathe work this is all you need. Well yes you will need a few other things to make it easier but you can keep that on the cheep.

The dead center need lubricant, wax is preferred and a cheap source is at your local home store in the form of a wax toilet bowl ring. Make sure it is wax and not some plastic compound. One of these will last a long time.

One of the first things you will need to do is sharpen the lathe tools, they come dull and will NOT work well in that condition. A lot of ways to sharpen including getting a sandpaper disk for your 12" disk sander and making some wooden jigs to help hold angles. You can upgrade from there. Some of that detail you will find in your reading.

You might well want to check out local woodworking stores for beginner instructions on the cheap or check out the local library for books and or DVD's as other source of learning. This would be in addition to finding some personal help of other local turners.

Got questions, ask them.

Ed

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 3:31 am

reible wrote: One of the first things you will need to do is sharpen the lathe tools, they come dull and will NOT work well in that condition. A lot of ways to sharpen including getting a sandpaper disk for your 12" disk sander and making some wooden jigs to help hold angles. You can upgrade from there. Some of that detail you will find in your reading.
Ed

Several European Lathe tools come sharpened, having just attend a Sorby seminar (and dropped a bundle) the instructor was lamenting on how many tools they get back because the new owner tried to improve on the factory edge. He then took out a new tool and shaved with it and then produced 2 foot curls. If you buy other brand tools Rockler, Superior Lathe tools and Woodcraft will do the first sharping for free, then all you need is a diamond stone to retouch the edge.

As for accuracy I have turned Corian pens where where is just a few 100's of an inch walls without problems on a Shopsmith and I just completed a 12" burl maple turned gift (from an uneven blank) for my wife and used the Shopsmith for everything from preparing the blank, turning and polishing (you can see your face in the finish).
If you purchase something on CL you have no idea what your are getting and it is not a Shopsmith issue that the manuals for a 50 year old tool did not come with it, they did come with the new machine.

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:48 am

If you don't want to spring for the cost of manuals from Shopsmith, you could do a google search or look on E-Bay for a used copy of the Shopsmith bible -- "Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone" by RJ DeCristoforo.

wa2crk · Post by **wa2crk** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:41 am

FWIW; I just attended the Florida Woodturning Symposium in Eustis Fl last week and there were some pretty nifty lathes there. The American Beauty from Robust tools was about $6900 and there were Powermatics on display as well.
However most of the demos and classes were held with the instructors using Delta midi lathes. I have a Delta and the bearing in the headstock of the Delta is the same as the quill bearing in the SS quill. There were some nice sized bowls turned on these lathes as well as the larger ones. Point being that you can learn the basics on a basic machine and then progress from there. Make sure the SS is tuned up properly in the lathe mode (points come together) and the work will turn out OK. If the 700 RPM of the SS is too high for you to work safely try to score a speed reducer, that will get you down to about 100 RPM.
The SS is not designed to be a heavy duty machine. Some of the larger lathes weigh up to 800 pounds!!
No machine can do everything. I have a friend that extolls the virtue of his Delta Unisaw comparing it to my SS. When he does I hand him one of my pens and ask him to do that on the Unisaw. That keeps him quiet. At least for a while.
Bill V

fiatben · Post by **fiatben** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 12:34 am

pennview wrote:If you don't want to spring for the cost of manuals from Shopsmith, you could do a google search or look on E-Bay for a used copy of the Shopsmith bible -- "Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone" by RJ DeCristoforo.

PTWE copies are even cheaper at Amazon and Half.com than they go for on ebay.

Yeah, got to thinking about what Paul and wa2crk said, and was wondering if any lathe out there comes with a bandsaw attachment (and others) for prepping the blanks! As far as I can recollect, your dedicated lathes aren't particularly good for roughing out blanks (bandsaw), drilling pen blanks (in either vertical or horizontal modes), sanding the ends square (sanding disc or belt sander attachment) or cutting and smoothing pieces for laminated blanks. I'm liking my two SS's more by the minute!!

kalynzoo · Post by **kalynzoo** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:20 am

I'll just jump in here. As a really novice turner I was really apprehensive to turn my first spindle. I watched Youtube, and read a few "how too" books. Finally I attended a 4 hour class as my sort of local Woodcraft store. Nothing really beats hands on. Once I lost the fear of getting my hands close to the wood everything else sort of fell into place. I still consider myself a novice, however, many talented people seem impressed with my pens and some of my other spindle work. One of these days I'll try some bowels.
As for the SS. It works great for me. The rock solid platform creates the base of a fine tool in my mind. I only have experience with my 510 model, but I have never experienced wooble or unwanted vibration in the quill. I did find when turning a 4x4 that the live center did not hold tight, but after posting on the site, imput from others informed me that I should cross cut or drill to better set my mountings...it worked like a charm.
I do agree that $30 seems steep for a manuel. I am sure there should be a cost attached to retrieving, copying, and shipping a "historic document" but customer service would suggest that pricing not be based equal to securing a "court document."
Anyway, in my mind you have a fine machine, but like any fine tool or instrument, making music takes practice. You can certainly find better lathes for a great deal more money, but you could have done a lot worse.
Just my humble opinion.
Gary

Shopsmith Forums

Lathe accuracy

Maybe a slightly different perspective...

even cheaper