Broke my HF lathe!

[Mike Ramsey]

Well Saturday i broke the tool rest base on my 12" HF lathe..Trying to rough out a heavy piece of Wet Oak. I have some blanks coming from John Hart but was wanting to turn something and couldn't wait, snapped it into! I have a new 4 jaw chuck from the bay and used it several times last week on junk wood which led me to set a new policy for myself! If it ejects itself off the lathe 3 times then on the third time....well it's just gonna stay where it lands! I've been getting pretty good at dodging, juking and jiving! Broke a brand new heavy duty 3/4" roughing gouge! Snapped it right off at the handle! Not gonna say how i did that! Have you ever done something knowing full well that you shouldn't? The new base is backordered so it will be the first week of June before i can get back to some serious dodging again. I will take this time to modify the lathe by replacing the legs with something more substantial and adding a ballast box and i will build a new sharpening station. I can't hardly go to the shop without wanting to use the lathe even though i know it's broke:( .

[Raymond Overman]

Sounds like you're being pretty aggressive with that gouge there Mike. Be careful. Even a poor boxer lands a punch every once in a while and I've got my scar to prove the hunk of pecan wins.

Good luck with that replacement and I hope they get a surprise shipment just for you.

[Jim Becker]

Mike, don't forget that roughing gouges are for spindle work, not bowl blanks. The way they are made is not condusive to the forces generated when you are spinning larger objects. They are acutally quite weak in construction. Rough your bowl blanks using a regular bowl gouge or a side-grind bowl gouge, such as the Ellsworth Signature Gouge using a pull technique that forms the shape at the same time as you are making everything "round". Bill Grumbine's CD shows this technique in detail.

Sorry to hear about your tool rest base breaking ("banjo" is a OneWay Manufactureing term)...it does happen sometimes, but it's no fun when it's "you"!

[Mike Ramsey]

Jim, broke the gouge about a week before i broke the "tool rest base" on a long piece of rough Mesquite. was just practicing a little:rolleyes: . I am having a lot of fun and do have several good (more than bad) pieces roughed out and drying.

[Carole Valentine]

Man! What are you turning, boulders? Ever consider some lighter cuts?:D What kind of chuck jaws are you using? Are they dovetail? If so the angle of the dovetail on the tenon is critical for a secure hold. So is a good flat shoulder. Be careful. I hope you are wearing a full face shield. Maybe you should invest in some body armor!:eek:

[Glenn Hodges]

Mike, if you have to replace your roughing gouge look at the P&N brand. They have a round solid piece of steel where it goes into the handle. The others have a thin flat piece at this point. P&N are cheaper than the others, one reason is because they come with no handles. My daddy, nor grandpa doesn't own the company, and as far as I know I don't either. I did the same thing as you did, broke my original roughing gouge, ordered another, broke it, and then got me a P&N, and still have it. Take a look before you spend your money again. I have had my tool rest welded back together also, and it is a bigt 15 inch Poolwood toolrest....welcome to the club of agressive turners. I finally learned to not be as agressive, but I was a hard one to learn, I had to learn this on my own. I don't understand why my wife calls me hardheaded.

[John Hart]

Wow Mike...you give new meaning to "Diving right in" :D I do know the feeling though...the gouges like to grab and when they do, you learn in a microsecond how fast that lathe is spinning.:eek: Good luck on your repairs! That wood should have arrived by now shouldn't it?

[Mike Ramsey]

John, not here yet..I'm thinking today maybe..
Glen, your right about the thin flat piece and that is of course where it snapped. I would like to make my handles so i will check the P&N tools out.
Carole, yeah it was pretty close to being a boulder as you can get. Better to know what your machine can do :rolleyes: or can't do, and now I have a better idea of that:D

[Harry Goodwin]

When the rough gets going those first cuts can be done with a diamond tool of large angle and once everthing is spinning fine go to the gouge. The diamond will make it round much better than a gouge if problems have developed. Harry

[Mike Ramsey]

("banjo" is a OneWay Manufactureing term)..

Jim, are you saying that the term "Banjo" is strickly a Oneway term? as i can't find many lathe Co. that don't use that term for a toolrest base.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, are you saying that the term "Banjo" is strickly a Oneway term? as i can't find many lathe Co. that don't use that term for a toolrest base.

Strictly? Doubtful, but it's my understanding (and I could be wrong) that OneWay coined the term for this particular component.

[Rich Stewart]

What is a diamond tool?

[David Dixson]

Well Saturday i broke the tool rest base on my 12" HF lathe..Trying to rough out a heavy piece of Wet Oak. The new base is backordered so it will be the first week of June before i can get back to some serious dodging again."

"I will take this time to modify the lathe by replacing the legs with something more substantial and adding a ballast box and i will build a new sharpening station. I can't hardly go to the shop without wanting to use the lathe even though i know it's broke:( .

Mike,

A couple thoughts, just my own though.

On the base, you might want to order one from someone like lee Valley, as they have some nice ones that should hold up better than the cast iron ones and they have the 25MM size that'll fit the rest you currently have, assuming the rest is not broke along with the base.

On the legs, I just got done adding 1/8" plywood to the sides and back for reinforcement, along with installing a shelf inside, a door on the front and a board across the top to prevent sawdust falling inside the "cabinet" I"ve created. I then went and added 120 lbs of ballast and found room in the middle to build myself a small tool caddy for the tools I'm not currently using.

I was quite suprised at how much difference stability wise the 1/8" plywood and sand make for the stability of the lathe. BTW, I used old packing material and leftover plywood I had for a "zero cost" upgrade. I'm very pleased with the changes. Oh, I also raised the height by adding 4 X 4 base and cutting 3/8" off the middle of the 4 X 4, creating feet so everything is stable on an unlevel floor.

On the other hand, a real nice bench/cabinet is tough to beat and if I had more space.....

[Mike Ramsey]

Rich, I have never heard of a diamond scraper. I do have a diamond
tool for my grinding wheel...

David, I posted that a few months back and have replaced the tool rest.
I have also replaced the HF lathe since then also, haven't broken anything
lately :D .

[John Hart]

Maybe the reference is for a Diamond Parting Tool?

[David Dixson]

Dang, that's what I get for not reading the posting date. What did you replace the HF lathe with and what motivated you to upgrade?