Lathe

[Allen Murphy]

I rebild farm wagons, I am looking for plans for a large lathe to turn axels. The axels average 60" in length.

[Jim Becker]

Allen, for your purpose, it might be nice to find some old-iron that you can adapt to the purpose. The main issue is bed length. Building either a bed extension (requires welding) or finding a second identical machine (doesn't have to work) so you can use it as an extension is one way. Another thought is to find a Conover setup since the ways are wood and can be made to any length you need, within reason. One SMC member recently posted about his "new" Conover, which he actually had to shorten slightly to fit in the shop...it had a very long setup when he bought it.

If you go new, you do have options, but they are not inexpensive since you need to get to a 60"+ capacity.

[Frank Drew]

I wish more lathes could take 60-65" between centers -- that's ideal for medium length bed posts, and any longer than that I'd probably want to turn in two pieces anyway because of whipping.

[Curt Fuller]

You could buy one of these....
http://www.amazon.com/708358K-JWL-1442VSK-Horsepower-Woodworking-230-Volt/dp/B0000789HF/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1223820035&sr=1-1

and bolt on one of these....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009H58VA

and that should give you 62".

But I'm guessing that if you rebuild wagons you're already pretty handy at making things and could build an extension for just about any lathe if you sat and thought about it for a bit.

[David Walser]

The "big" Powermatic lathe (4224) plus the bed extension would give you 68.5" between centers. The Powermatic is beefy, so I'd think it could handle the weight involved.

Here's a link for more info: http://www.powermatic.com/Results.aspx?cat=332178

[Allen Neighbors]

Try to locate Bill Grumbine, and pick his brain. He mentioned one time, putting the tailstock on another bench, in order to turn something longer than his lathe would handle.
('least I think it was Bill.... ) :D

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Allen I just send you a private message.

[Allen Murphy]

I did not get the message.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hi Allen
Must have gotten lost in Cyberspace :-((, so I send you another, let me know if you got it please, else I can try an E-mail.

[Reed Gray]

Most people don't turn things that long so they don't make standard lathes to that length. That is why there are lathe bed extentions, and just about all lathe companies have them.
robo hippy