Vicmarc or Robust Outboard Turning?

[Gary Conklin]

Does anyone have a Vicmarc or Robust outboard attachment, and would you mind snapping a few photos of the joints and attachment points?

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Gary take a look at this post of mine. It is the outboard turning setup for the American beauty and it is solid!! http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=64635 :)

[Gary Conklin]

Christopher, thanks for the reference!

[Jake Helmboldt]

Gary, I just had a friend fabricate an outboard rest for my Jet 1642. I can take some pics to give you ideas. Built like a brick outhouse. My friend calls it the M1 toolrest.

I test drove it last night...sweeeeet! :) I know, no pics, it didn't happen. Haven't had time yet.

[Gary Conklin]

Would love to hear the details, and you know what they say about a picture and thousand words....:)

[Jake Helmboldt]

Would love to hear the details, and you know what they say about a picture and thousand words....:)

Gary, here is the toolrest, dubbed M1. The main tubes are 2" box section steel with 1/4" walls. My friend couln't find tubing to fit the OD so he machined a sleeve which is bolted together from heavy plate steel which adds considerable mass. There are two large 1/2" set screws that allow the main post to slide in the assembly to facilitate adjustment should I change my lathe height and to accommodate the uneven concrete floor in that corner of the garage.

The whole assembly is bolted to the end of the lathe using the existing threaded bolt holes for the bed extension. The angle iron is in turn bolted to that plate, so should I upgrade to another lathe I can simply have a new base-plate fabricated and bolt the whole assembly to any other lathe.

The articulated arms are 10", giving me about a 36" swing should I ever (for some reason) decide to turn some giant platter. The arms can be locked in place with large hex head bolts making the whole assembly very rigid and stable.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Gary Conklin]

I am in the process with help from Dave Schell, of making the one that he references here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=114496&highlight=outboard). Was just wanting a closer look at the joints and fasteners on the big boys.

I my haste to post this and wind down, I neglected to comment on your outboard Jake. It is a very good design and looks like it will be rock solid. Nice job, and thanks for the pictures and info.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Gary, I used Dave's design as a starting point and gave that to my friend as a reference. As I mentioned, he couldn't find tubing that fit within another tube as Dave did for his post/arm connection. Otherwise it is pretty similar.

I'm not sure how dave set up the joints of the arms, but with mine the cap screws thread into the tubing at the bottom of the joint, though there was an additional piece of steel added to provide more thickness and thread depth so they can be tightened with an allen wrench. No nuts to mess with.