Well....No thanks to the turners here........

[Curt Fuller]

C'mon Ken, without any shavings on the floor it might as well still be in the box. Make a mess!

[Raymond Overman]

The lathe looks great Ken. Of course, I can't say much for that feller holding it down on the floor so it don't float off.

Get to spinning...

[Tom Sherman]

Come on Ken the suspense is too much...show us some curlies coming off Melba.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My day and night job is calling this week. It'll probably be next weekend before Melba gets a test drive.

[Brian Weick]

Well.......today was the day. Yesterday, I got the "stuff" moved back over to the east side of the shop and I unboxed the new blonde in my life.
Then I hit a stumbling block. It was too late to rent an engine hoist and this new blonde was 626 lbs.......So I spent the evening figuring out how to assemble the lathe by myself. This morning I got some chains, a come-along and took them into the shop to warm up. I removed the tailstock and banjo from the bed of the lathe to lighten it. Still, I was a little nervous with my intended technique....but I did it. I slid the lathe on the double pallet across the shop to it's permanent location and placed the ladder over it. I took a piece of an old header I had replaced on my carport roof and put it on the top rungs of the Little Giant ladder and wrapped a short chain around it. Hooking the come-along into the chain, I lowered the cable down and hooked that end into one of the braces near the end of the lathe bed. I tipped the lathe up high enough to screw on one leg assembly and then moved the headstock to the end of the lathe with the legs attached. Then I repeated the process for the other leg assembly. In short, I never did actually hold the entire weight of the lathe on the come-along.

Later I wired the outlet and the cord on the lathe.........assembled all of the attachments. Turned it on .....it spins......YES!

Here's photographic proof..........

Attachment 76379

Here it is in the wrong end of the shop.....

Attachment 76380

Here's where it's new home was going to be


Attachment 76381

Here's what was inside that large cardboard box.....
Attachment 76382

Here she is.....Her name is Melba........in her new home and all gussied up.......ready to play.....

Hey Ken,
alright - we finally get to see Melba out of that box- looking good, so when are you going to get the chance to enter into the vortex again?
Brian

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Yesterday I uncrated the MM-16 and then ran into a problem. I had already checked with the local rental places and nobody had an engine hoist that would reach high enough to lift the b/s off the double pallets. So I enlisted my Little Giant Ladder again....one small snag....even when fully retracted my come-along was too long to lift the b/s off the pallets. I got a little jacked and just piddled and stewed the rest of the day. Didn't sleep good last night trying to figure out how I'd get it off.

About 1030 this morning I got a idea. I checked and sure enough...my little ratcheting chain hoist was rated at 550 lbs. working load and it was short enough. My neighbor came over and we got the MM-16 off the pallets! I cleaned it up, wired it and checked the motor for proper rotation direction. Then my oldest son came over and I enlisted his help. We removed the two crates (b/s and lathe) from the shop and moved my table saw and thickness planer from the unheated shed into the heated shop. I thought I'd quit for the night ....

Then I remembered I had the adapter for the SN2 so that it would fit the PM so back to the shop. I changed adapters and verified the SN2 fit the new lathe........Well....why not..........I grabbed a piece of scrap hardwood from the burn box and put it between centers. I located my skew and took Melba for her first ride. I am happy to announce the skew works as well on the PM3520B as it did on the Jet VS Mini!

I quit while I was ahead.

[Tom Sherman]

Ok Ken you know the drill .... No pictures it didn't happen

[Brian Weick]

glad to see you got her up and running- so what do you think of Melba~ pretty sweet I bet- glad you can finally get back to turning-congradulations on getting that beast out of the crate box and on the shop floor~
Brian

[Dan Forman]

Well it's about time!!!

Dan

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well........after all the nasty, snide remarks about me not posting photos, being slow, etc,........

This morning I went to the shop with the camera. Here's the proof........


ws1.JPG

Here's what I waded through to get to the shop

ws2.JPG

Here's the lathe ....look close......shavings under it......a turned cylinder stll between centers....

ws3.JPG

Here's the MM-16 sitting on the floor uncrated.....

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Here's the table saw.....first time it's been in the shop......before it resided in my unheated shed...

ws5.JPG

Here's my planer.....it too hasn't seen the shop before.......

[Bernie Weishapl]

Well Ken glad to see it is all coming together. Shop looks mighty fine.

[Raymond Overman]

Good Job Ken! It's about time someone lit a fire under your butt and got it in front of that lathe. Nice looking space you have there. Thanks for sharing.

[Ed Scolforo]

Looks great, Ken. Is that a Bonker you're turning?

[Pete Jordan]

Looks like you sharpened a pencil!

[Paul Heely]

Nice looking shop Ken. Glad to see you finally got to spin some wood on the new lathe. Now you have to chuck up some serious wood and see what it can do