Tail Stock Parking Space Update

[James Combs]

This is mostly dress up but I received the star knobs today and installed them on the 3/8" all-thread clamping rods. The rods engage the existing holes in the end of the lathe bed to hold the swing-away(SA) in place while sliding the tail-stock(TS) onto it.

The overall length of the SA is about 7". I have also stained the plywood. The lighter spots on the wood is where I filled some gaps in the ply and the filler sealed the wood, should have stained first. Even with the blotchy-ness it still looks decent I think. BTW the end cap is a piece of 1/2" Corian counter top. It is not notched so it acts as a stop as well as a clamping plate when sliding the TS onto the SA.
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I also add a retaining post to help keep it back out of the way. I coiled a springy hook out of an old cloths-hanger and shaped it so that it snaps in place over the post when the SA swings around into it. It is released by pushing the SA a little farther and lifting up the spring-clip by hand.
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These two pics show the clearance at the end of the lathe when the SA is stowed out of the way. The only thing still sticking out the back of the lathe is the lock-down handle and about 3/4" of the two all-thread rods. Both can be push and swung out of the way. I have my lathe with it's head-stock to a wall and the area behind the non-stowed TS is a walkway. Any thing that sticks out beyond the end of the lathe is a cloths catcher, including the hand crank on the TS. Because of the crank the TS may stay in the stowed position quite a bit especially when the lathe is not in use.
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Thanks for looking and I hope this gives more folks ideas on making their own.

As before, all comments are appreciated and will be acknowledged.

[John K Jordan]

Nice job. Has anyone figured out how to make a tailstock swing away to work with the bed extension of a PM3520b? Fortunately the extension lets me put the tailstock way down but occasionally it would be nice to move it. It's kind of heavy to take off.

JKJ

[James Combs]

Nice job. Has anyone figured out how to make a tailstock swing away to work with the bed extension of a PM3520b? Fortunately the extension lets me put the tailstock way down but occasionally it would be nice to move it. It's kind of heavy to take off.
JKJ

Thanks for the comments John. As to a swing-away for a PM3520b with extension I can't help you. BTW this is my second post on my shop-made swing-away and I am sure it will not get the number of "views" that the original got. You may have better luck or at least get more views by asking your question in a separate thread with a title like "Looking for Swing-Away for..." or something similar to that. Good luck on the research.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks for the comments John. As to a swing-away for a PM3520b with extension I can't help you. BTW this is my second post on my shop-made swing-away and I am sure it will not get the number of "views" that the original got. You may have better luck or at least get more views by asking your question in a separate thread with a title like "Looking for Swing-Away for..." or something similar to that. Good luck on the research.

I think the more clever people read most of the posts! That's probably why they are so clever...

I might engineer something to flip it downward off the end. My PM is close to the wall with a small shelf behind and I'm not sure there would be room there. The extension doesn't have pre-drilled holes but I can fix that along with some means to align. Since the weight will be an issue if rotating it downward instead of sideways, I'm thinking of a way to add a counterweight.

JKJ

[Glenn C Roberts]

Can you go up with it? Then when needed, lower it on alignment pins that are hinged to the lathe?