Rebreather World - View Single Post - Can a wood lathe be used effectively for plastics?

Skipbreather · 13th April 2008, 14:04

Quote: (Originally Posted by onetime)

Alright, I got a small wood lathe as a gift (in laws like to get me stuff for my "hobbies" and the wife knew I was looking at lathes so...) and haven't set it up yet. It's a Jet 10x14 variable speed indexing lathe. Is this a decent starter lathe by chance?

Thanks.

--Paul

Hi Paul-

In a word, no. I’ve spent many hours at a wood lathe in the past. It’s very enjoyable, but also very free form.

There are basic elements in any metal lathe- from the cheapest small hobby lathe to the one w/ a 15 foot long bed I worked at during summers when I was in college- that realistically cannot be duplicated in a wood lathe. Chief among them are the carriage & cross slide and the rack and lead screw they engage. Those allow the tool bit to be *precisely* maneuvered in three dimensions relative to the rotating work. In addition, the lead screw allows some of the motors power to be delivered to the carriage. This allows powered forward motion of the rigidly held tool bit in an exact ratio to the work’s rotation. In all but the cheapest of lathes this ratio is adjustable to permit the cutting of screw threads.

Interestingly, the opposite was once done. At one time South Bend sold an accessory for their smaller lathes that approximated the tool rest used on wood lathes to allow owners to turn wood on their metal lathes.

There are countless books on metal turning, but the best reference for the newcomer that I’ve ever seen is the classic ‘How To Run a Lathe’ from the South Bend Lathe works. It’s an 80+ year old classic that is still reproduced, sold, & read today. Free on line: http://www.wswells.com/data/htral/htral_index.html This is an older version that can at best be called “antique”. It has since grown to 128 pages in the 1966 printing of the 56th edition I bought from South Bend directly about 15 years ago. It was constantly updated for decades.

Ken

13th April 2008, 14:04	#2 (permalink)
Skipbreather Reads the fine print Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet MK 15.X Home Build Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA Posts: 557	Re: Can a wood lathe be used effectively for plastics? Quote: (Originally Posted by onetime) Alright, I got a small wood lathe as a gift (in laws like to get me stuff for my "hobbies" and the wife knew I was looking at lathes so...) and haven't set it up yet. It's a Jet 10x14 variable speed indexing lathe. Is this a decent starter lathe by chance? Thanks. --Paul Hi Paul- In a word, no. I’ve spent many hours at a wood lathe in the past. It’s very enjoyable, but also very free form. There are basic elements in any metal lathe- from the cheapest small hobby lathe to the one w/ a 15 foot long bed I worked at during summers when I was in college- that realistically cannot be duplicated in a wood lathe. Chief among them are the carriage & cross slide and the rack and lead screw they engage. Those allow the tool bit to be precisely maneuvered in three dimensions relative to the rotating work. In addition, the lead screw allows some of the motors power to be delivered to the carriage. This allows powered forward motion of the rigidly held tool bit in an exact ratio to the work’s rotation. In all but the cheapest of lathes this ratio is adjustable to permit the cutting of screw threads. Interestingly, the opposite was once done. At one time South Bend sold an accessory for their smaller lathes that approximated the tool rest used on wood lathes to allow owners to turn wood on their metal lathes. There are countless books on metal turning, but the best reference for the newcomer that I’ve ever seen is the classic ‘How To Run a Lathe’ from the South Bend Lathe works. It’s an 80+ year old classic that is still reproduced, sold, & read today. Free on line: http://www.wswells.com/data/htral/htral_index.html This is an older version that can at best be called “antique”. It has since grown to 128 pages in the 1966 printing of the 56th edition I bought from South Bend directly about 15 years ago. It was constantly updated for decades. Ken __________________ "Entropy RULES! Enjoy the interim." Last edited by Skipbreather : 13th April 2008 at 17:04.
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