A Good Banjo Replacement for 18" Swing lathe

[Joe Frank Porter]

What is A Good Banjo Replacement for 18" Swing lathe

The cam rod in my banjo has become deflected in the center, and the banjo is a pain to move around. As you slide it back and forth across the bed, it has different handle positions for the tight or loose spot. I like the ONEWAY banjo, but they don't have one for 18" swing lathe. ONEWAY says their cam rods will not become deflected with heavy use because they use a different system from others, which they explain on their website. I don't want to replace the parts on my Laguna banjo because the tool rest holder is too wide to the left and often bumps a large bowl when trying to position. It clamps the tool rest post instead of a set screw type.

Thanks
Joe Frank Porter

[Roger Chandler]

The Oneway 16” “outboard” banjo is what you want. It is long enough to give you way more clearance than an 18” swing lathe needs. I got one for my 22” swing lathe and it works great, has one of the best post lock mechanisms in existence, and you will need to get the clamp block that fits the gap in your bed ways, but Oneway carries all the sizes for most lathes. Make sure to speak with the tech guys, and tell them what you are trying to accomplish...they will be very helpful.

Remember, the “outboard” 16” rest is what you want, as the banjo neck will be the right height for you to put your toolrests in to achieve center position and a little +\- for correct positioning of tools. Confirm with tech guys for your particular lathe.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

The Powermatic 3520 banjo may also work. But before you buy a new banjo, try checking if your banjo is flat before you invest in a new one. My Rikon 12" had that symptom and it was because the banjo bottom was not milled flat. Make a flat sanding board (same way as would flatten a plane sole) and sand the banjo flat if it's not milled flat.
I'm curious how your rod got bent. I have never heard of that before. Not that I'm all knowing.....

[Joe Frank Porter]

Roger,
Thanks, I just wanted to be sure that the height is right. The online description says 16" banjo is 5 1/2" high and my Laguna is only 5 3/4" So the OneWay should do fine. I will talk to their tech folks.


Kyle,

The following is a Quote from The OneWay description of "cam shaft deflection". It is merely a part of their banjo description, and I just saw it while looking at their banjos. It helped me understand the problem I was having. The bottom of my banjo is flat and has been fine for 2 1/2 years and recently has begun to be problematic.
"Conventional long cam shafts suffer from cam shaft deflection when clamping pressure is applied in the middle of the shaft (the center of the banjo). This causes non-uniform clamping over the range of the toolrest base. Cam shaft deflection also causes the clamp handle to tighten in different positions. Oneway has solved this problem by replacing the regular long cam shaft with a sliding cam assembly"
The link below is a ONEWAY video about their banjo

youtube.com/watch?v=xI2uwTZXeRk

A banjo is a banjo, is a banjo, is a banjo. Maybe not always.

Thanks
Joe Porter

[Joe Frank Porter]

I got a GREAT banjo. The OneWay. Thanks to Roger Chandler's suggestion above.
It is truly different from all the rest. All banjos are not the same.
The lock down and the tool post tightening mechanisms are different from all the rest.
To see the difference view the following OneWay link:youtube.com/watch?v=xI2uwTZXeRk

[Roger Chandler]

I got a GREAT banjo. The OneWay. Thanks to Roger Chandler's suggestion above.
It is truly different from all the rest. All banjos are not the same.
The lock down and the tool post tightening mechanisms are different from all the rest.
To see the difference view the following OneWay link:youtube.com/watch?v=xI2uwTZXeRk

I knew you’d be pleased! ;) Congrats Joe!