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Thread: New lathe

  1. #1

    New lathe

    So I have done some turning of random things at my local woodworking shop from handles to duck calls to bowls. My skills are basic novice as I have my own tools etc. But they are basic hss Benjamin. last week I purchased a Powermatic 45 Variable speed lathe in great shape. It spins clean is a little noisy at fast speeds but with something built or last inspected in 1973( what inside panel cert says). The guy I purchased it from said he replaced the motor last year with a 1 hp motor. Dumb question is on the back side of the head the thread opposite where you mount your chuck looks like it might have been set up since he added what appears to be another bed with mobile tool rest. I can’t figure it out as the nova chuck purchased won’t fit on that side or will any of the faceplates I have. Thread looks the same? Any help would be appreciated also I got the lathe which looks like it came out of a school shop class for 350 bucks which I thought was pretty good since everything was with it banjo tool rest and tail stock and it works.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
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    San Diego, Ca
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    1,647
    I had a craftsman lathe with a spindle that was threaded on each end. The right hand side where I would screw on a faceplate was right-hand threads. The left side were left-handed threads.

    Take a look at it and see if that is the issue.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Haubstadt (Evansville), Indiana
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    I had a PM 90 and it had the left hand threads as Brice described. Most likely there is a faceplate for the outboard side that could be used as a hand wheel. The challenge you will face is getting the speed low for bowl turning. The OWWM form has a lot of information and also spare parts for sale.
    When working I had more money than time. In retirement I have more time than money. Love the time, miss the money.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Trenton SC, in the CSRA
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    510
    I've got an old Rockwell lathe, circa 1940's. Inboard, the spindle is right hand thread. Outboard the spindle is left hand thread. I have a 6" face plate that will screw on either side. Yep it has both thread hands in one hole. Had a retired machinist flatten it for me a couple of years back. He had never seen (or heard of) a dual threaded anything.

    Haven't heard of a left hand thread adapter for any chuck, OBTW.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Meinert View Post
    ...on the back side of the head the thread opposite where you mount your chuck looks like it might have been set up since he added what appears to be another bed with mobile tool rest. I can’t figure it out as the nova chuck purchased won’t fit on that side or will any of the faceplates I have. Thread looks the same?...
    Some outboard spindles are left-hand threaded to keep the chuck from unthreading when turning aggressively.

    Nova sells insert adapters for their chucks with right-handed and left-handed threads, and one with both in the same adapter. https://www.teknatool.com/product/no...sertsadaptors/

    JKJ

  6. #6
    Firstly I would just like to day thank you to everyone who responded! That being said it was left hand threads and I bought the nova adapter and can now use the other side of the head stock to spin very large bowls since the previous owner had bolted a tool bed with a moveable rest etc to that side. also thanks to the comments on where to get parts I bought a tail stick for 30 bucks on eBay yesterday that was brand new and a new tool rest (smaller). Thanks for all the advice!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Meinert View Post
    ...and can now use the other side of the head stock to spin very large bowls since the previous owner had bolted a tool bed with a moveable rest etc to that side. ...
    If you haven't turned outboard before there is one thing to be aware of since it may let you mount larger blanks. A heavy blank, especially one that is irregular and not yet turned round, can be so out of balance it may be difficult to manage. Besides the stress on the lathe, the imbalance can cause the lathe itself to move and "walk" across the floor. Worse, a heavy out-of-balance blank can be be dangerous. Severe vibration can damage the spindle and headstock of the lathe. Best to start small and gradually work up to larger sizes.

    A friend of mine turned many large bowls outboard on a smaller lathe than yours. He used several long pipe clamps and clamped the lathe to the wall of the garage that was his shop. He made a heavy free-standing tool rest for outboard turning.

    JKJ

  8. #8
    Kyle, I recently rebuilt a 1973 PM model 45. I bought a nova adapter but I was wondering if you could show which one you got and which Nova chuck, all of which works on the outboard. I'm having a little difficulty getting it all to work on the left hand thread outboard. Thanks.

  9. #9
    As John said, be wary of turning large diameter pieces outboard at the available rpms. You can add a variable speed drive to your lathe to slow it down, just be aware that it is not designed for heavy unbalanced work. If you get serious about turning larger pieces you will probably wind up with a heavier lathe.

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