Anyone Ever Used a Sears Lathe Duplicator?

[Gil Jones]

I am helping a friend (who has very little lathe experience) turn 40+ vertical spindles to replace rotten ones on his antique home porch rail. He has a 12" Sears wood lathe, and purchased a Sears duplicator (new). We assembled it yesterday, and tried to turn a 22" long by 2 1/4" square, cove/bead spindle. Maybe I was expecting too much, but this tool cuts so rough a surface, it could be used as a rasp. I reground the cutter, and got a smoother surface, but unless I am missing something, the pattern follower roller is so big that it will never go into a narrow cove or vee, hence it cannot duplicate anything but open tapers and wide coves and beads. Any help would be great, as I am about to advise he return the duplicator, and I will turn the spindles by hand/eye. The duplicator seems to be working as designed, and if that is the case, it is not a great buy. There is one for sale on EBay (Picture)
) http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-Copy-Crafter-for-12-in-Wood-Lathe-24952_W0 QQitemZ6060787359QQcategoryZ42282QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewI tem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-Copy-Crafter-for-12-in-Wood-Lathe-24952_W0QQitemZ6060787359QQcategoryZ42282QQrdZ1QQc mdZViewItem)

[Lars Thomas]

Gil, when faced with a similar situation, this is what I did . . .http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=35341. Each piece DOES need some minor clean up when done, but it gets it to rough shape in a hurry. This solution would have the same problem reaching into coves. The price is right.

If you have a lot of spindles to do, you might want to look at what Adams Wood Products stocks.

[Gil Jones]

Thanks Lars!!
This is a fine idea, and each piece could be finished up with a skew. I looked for Adams Wood Products, but there must be a 100 of them with the same name. Anyway, his home is one of those registered old homes, and when parts are replaced, they need to match the original ones as near as possible. His lathe looks just like the one in the picture.

[Andy Hoyt]

Accurate repeatablity with a duplicator is achieved by sacrificing skill and time.

Yup, it takes longer; and you just became a machine operator.

And the sanding and prep time is far longer.

Plan on making 45 or so, turn 'em by hand, and pick the best 40.

Chalk it up to practice and skill acquisition.

[Bryan Cowing]

I use a duplicator, either a Vega pro 36" on my General or a dedicated mini max T-124 copy lathe. Just rough them all out first , then go back and add the sharp details with lathe chisels and a final sanding later.

[Gil Jones]

Thanks for the fast replys!! It seems that these tools are not for finish work.