Is Not cheatin-Is production

[Bobby Hatfield]

I know it looks like cheatin a little but in production, its how fast you can finish the job and how quick the check comes from the customer, right ? Right ! Here is one of the wicked leg sisters from the same side of the scrap pile. I don't care for turning Yellow Pine too much chipout, but the inside of the cabin where the table is going is tongue and groove yellow pine and country style so it calls for a yellow pine table with turned legs and 1 1/4" yellow pine top.

[Paul Geer]

This kind of reminds me of a ShopSmith I once seen running in lathe "mode" with the duplacating attachment.

[Bill Grumbine]

Bobby, I can't tell what it looks like from the picture, but if you grind that cutter to a 30 deg bevel, it will cut a lot smoother for you.

I'm not a big fan of duplicators, but if it works, it's legal. :D

Bill

[Bobby Hatfield]

Bobby, I can't tell what it looks like from the picture, but if you grind that cutter to a 30 deg bevel, it will cut a lot smoother for you.

I'm not a big fan of duplicators, but if it works, it's legal. :D

Bill


Yeah Bill, that tool holder stand came from a guy in Florida years ago touted to be a duplicator and I had to modify it on my original lathe and then again on this one, the cutter is tool-steel (round) and sharpened to a long point and in resharpening has changed and I need to reshape it again and sharpen it, just didn't take time yet. Have you used those replaceable cutter tips, are they any good. I really would like to have a holder for square tools, I can sharpen (metal) lathe tools(by hand) ok but have trouble with this round tool.

[Sam Chambers]

This kind of reminds me of a ShopSmith I once seen running in lathe "mode" with the duplacating attachment.

Paul, it does look a bit like the ShopSmith lathe duplicator. I had a SS when I started a few years ago, and had that attachment. Nevevr used it, mind you, but I had it, and that's half the battle!

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Bobby

I've used square cutter tips in my hollowing tools, but never in a duplicator. I hold them in my finger tips, but they get pretty close to the wheel that way. A vice grip does a good job too. The square cutters do a good job of cutting.

Bill

[Jim Becker]

I hold them in my finger tips, but they get pretty close to the wheel that way. A vice grip does a good job too. The square cutters do a good job of cutting.


I picked up a "boring bar" from Enco that I use to hold the square cutter stock during sharpening. It was inexpensive and is quite effective at keeping precious fingertips away from those spinning wheels!

[Bobby Hatfield]

I picked up a "boring bar" from Enco that I use to hold the square cutter stock during sharpening. It was inexpensive and is quite effective at keeping precious fingertips away from those spinning wheels!

Jim I can understand about the fingertips, sharpening square metal lathe tools to turn a part just so, sometimes gets the fingers a little warm, but your gotta cool them in the water cup when you cool the tool. Blisters and metal splinters in the fingers are a way of life in the machine shop. Red hot little chips and steel strings coming off the lathe are fun also, when they land on your hand or arm, you can't stop till you get to the end of the cut, just grit your teeth and bare it, you learn quickly how to avoid them.

[Bobby Hatfield]

This kind of reminds me of a ShopSmith I once seen running in lathe "mode" with the duplacating attachment.

Paul and Sam, that attachment may have been a copy of a SS, some guy down in Florida advertised it in a wood mag back in the 80's, it had a useless set of brackets and a following attachment with it that have been missing since the first time it didn't work, then I modified it with a much larger and longer base that it needed because the cutter was so high on the post, that stabilized it enough to use it, I just drilled and tapped a hole in the base for a following pin bolt.

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Bobby, I know what you mean about turning that yellow pne. I have turned half a hundred three and four legged stools from that stuff. I make the seats fifteen inches in diameter. The legs are 1 and 1/2 inches and the spindles are one inch. Sure have to leave a little extra to be able to sand some of the tear out down and still have enough wood left. I use it because people seem to really like that yellow pine in stools. Would much rather turn them out of walnut. My shop stool is made from claro black walnut and still looks good after forty years.

[Bruce Page]

Bobby, when I got my Logan, I had a choice between it and a much larger LeBlond gap lathe with a tracer attachment. The LeBlond needed a total rebuild and I just didn’t want to deal with it at the time. Sometimes I wish I had taken the LeBlond but I had just finished a yearlong rebuild on a SIP jig-bore and was totally burned out. :(
I'm not sure that I would have had enough amps anyway, the LeBlond had a 10hp Century motor in it.

[Bobby Hatfield]

Bobby, I know what you mean about turning that yellow pne. I have turned half a hundred three and four legged stools from that stuff. I make the seats fifteen inches in diameter. The legs are 1 and 1/2 inches and the spindles are one inch. Sure have to leave a little extra to be able to sand some of the tear out down and still have enough wood left. I use it because people seem to really like that yellow pine in stools. Would much rather turn them out of walnut. My shop stool is made from claro black walnut and still looks good after forty years.

Don,I don't know what it is about the south and yellow pine, I guess everyone thinks because thats what they made so many houses out of back from the 20's to the 50's that its country, and that's what many seem to want. I would rather have made it out of southern maple, even as soft as it is, it would have been country enough.

[Bobby Hatfield]

Bobby, I can't tell what it looks like from the picture, but if you grind that cutter to a 30 deg bevel, it will cut a lot smoother for you.

I'm not a big fan of duplicators, but if it works, it's legal. :D

Bill

Hey Bill, how about a router with a corebox bit in it following a pattern while the lathe is turning, you ever see one used for turning something like table legs, is the finish a lot smoother than I'm getting ? Is the Legacy almost like that, or does it not rotate the part that fast.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Say Bobby
That tool looks like the one that I purchased one time to teach "new lathe students" without the fear of having a long tool under their arm pit. It was planted on a piece of 3/4 ply as yours with the top movable (in and out). If I remember correctly, the purchase was from a company in Washington state but then again my mind is going and it's been too long ago.

Secondly: One of the HGTV or somewhere I saw a program concern the turning of extremely large bowls using a router instead of a hand tool. It seems to me that the gentleman who had the setup was in the northwest. He was turning tree stumps or BIG chunks of wood like that. The router was mounted on an articulated swinging arm, if my memory is any good.
Daniel :cool:

[Jim Becker]

Secondly: One of the HGTV or somewhere I saw a program concern the turning of extremely large bowls using a router instead of a hand tool. It seems to me that the gentleman who had the setup was in the northwest. He was turning tree stumps or BIG chunks of wood like that. The router was mounted on an articulated swinging arm, if my memory is any good.

I believe this was from a NYW episode last year on PBS that Norm did on turning bowls...the only disappointing episode of that show I've ever seen. The fellow with the router system is located in the far northwest of the US.

[Steve Clardy]

and I don't consider it cheating either.
1965 model CH-12 Hempel semi-automatic.
Weighs in around 2500#s. I've moved it twice now. Is a bugger to move, pipes and bars and a flatbed trailer.
The tooling cost will make you cry.
Steve :D

[Bobby Hatfield]

and I don't consider it cheating either.
1965 model CH-12 Hempel semi-automatic.
Weighs in around 2500#s. I've moved it twice now. Is a bugger to move, pipes and bars and a flatbed trailer.
The tooling cost will make you cry.
Steve :D

I love it Steve, I'm a lot like Tim the Tool Man about machines, looks like a production improvement to me. Sharpening tools looks like full time job. How many parts out of a hundred chip out and are not usable ? Do you turn for other shops or just yourself ?

[Bruce Page]

and I don't consider it cheating either.
1965 model CH-12 Hempel semi-automatic.
Weighs in around 2500#s. I've moved it twice now. Is a bugger to move, pipes and bars and a flatbed trailer.
The tooling cost will make you cry.
Steve :D

Way cool machine Steve! I'd love to see it in action.

[Steve Clardy]

I love it Steve, I'm a lot like Tim the Tool Man about machines, looks like a production improvement to me. Sharpening tools looks like full time job. How many parts out of a hundred chip out and are not usable ? Do you turn for other shops or just yourself ?

Bobby, I usually loose probably 2-3 out of a hundred due to chip out, but it depends on the grade of material also. I used to turn country style legs, [similiar to the 4 you are turning] for a furniture co. out of white pine with small knots. I'd probably loose 1 in 20.
I haven't turned for any others for a couple years now as time hasn't permitted it. I haven't pursued work for it either due to time.
With this machine I usually have to specify a minimum to turn as I have to make the alum. pattern, spend lots of time setting it up. Even after thats all done and I break it down and have to setup again, it takes 1-2 hours to set it up again. But once its set, it'll turn em out.
When I first got it I turned some oak stakes for a guy and I could turn 240 of them an hour. They were only 1 1/4 sq. x 12" long though, no details, just a sq. top, tapered down to a point.
I understand the Tim the Tool Man. My wife usually calls me that when I drag something like this home. lol Steve

[Steve Clardy]

Way cool machine Steve! I'd love to see it in action.
Bruce, I'll have it fired up in a couple days when I get these other balister blanks ready. I'll take a few pics when its running and post them. On these particular blanks I just do the basic turn, no details as the tooling cost is too high to do all of it. Those cutter holders in the back do the details, it will hold up to 12 cutters back there for the detail work. The main cutter in front under the dust hose is the roughing cutter, to get the blank to basic size.

[Steve Clardy]

Bruce, Bobby, heres a couple more pre-run shots. Will try to post some more today when I get it running.
First pic shows the main cutter, this one does the major roughing of the blank. Second shows a blank installed. Third shows the back cutters, which do the detail work. These cutters are operated by hand, just pull the lever. Steve

Looks like my pics are still dark. Will have to work on that.