Reverse

[Paul Douglass]

I have read many threads on "which lathe to buy" and a majority of responses recommend a lathe with reverse. I have reverse on my lathe but have never used it because I don't understand why it is important. Can someone enlighten me?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Paul,

Probably the most common use for reverse on your lathe is for sanding on the lathe. Sometimes you can get better results sanding with the lathe turning the project in the opposite direction.

[Paul Atkins]

Not sure I can enlighten you as I am not enlightened either, but some people use it to sand so that the fibers bent over one direction get sanded off. The big problem I see is the faceplate flying off. If I need to sand in reverse I usually just put the piece on the outboard side. I actually used my machine lathe in reverse the other day because I had a reverse cutter I had to use. Not having a 'grub screw' I was on edge all the time.

[Richard Madison]

Reverse is handy for removing chuck or faceplate. Just get it loose and then let reverse unscrew it for you. Followed by switch off and back to forward. Always thread it ON by hand however, to avoid jamming the chuck against the spindle shoulder too tight.

[Frank Van Atta]

Some folks like to turn HF's and bowls in reverse because it is a more natural position for right handers and causes less strain on the back. The down side is that it will necessitate the regrinding of some tools. Some folks swear by this system, and some swear at it. I've never tried it myself, and I'm not lobbying for or against it - just reporting one answer to your question.

[Jack Mincey]

It allows me to turn on the outboard side of my OW 1640 which makes for a great short bed bowl lathe with a 24" swing and the inboard side being used for small bowls and spindles. It is also great for sanding a bowl.
Jack

[Allen Neighbors]

I also have a OW 1640, and sand in reverse a lot. I also make light cuts in reverse when I need to. I have to make light cuts because I don't have a grub screw on my chucks.
I turn and sand both directions on my little Vicmarc, as necessary. It has a grub screw in it's Compac Chuck.

[alex carey]

I usually start at 120 and make my way to 2500. With every grit change I change the direction it is spinning. Never had a problem with it coming off.

[dan carter]

Yes, the reverse works well to sand in the opposite direction. But just as important, maybe more so, you can turn in reverse if you have some particularly knarley, twisty grain that wants to tear out when turning counter clockwise. So, turning clockwise (in reverse) makes unique, weird grain much more manageable. Try it, you will be amazed.

[Rich Aldrich]

One other reason for reverse along with sanding is so that you forget to switch it to forward and wonder what the heck is wrong with your tools. Not to say I have ever done that:rolleyes::o.

I havent tried reverse turning yet for knarly grain, but I'll have to keep that in mind.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Reverse is handy for removing chuck or faceplate. Just get it loose and then let reverse unscrew it for you. Followed by switch off and back to forward. Always thread it ON by hand however, to avoid jamming the chuck against the spindle shoulder too tight.


This is good advice here. Another really likely potential here is for cross threading of the faceplate on the lathe, which can happen very quickly if you're using one hand to hold a large blank.