24" bowl turner ...buy or build?

[dcmguy]

While my Record dml320 is great, it has it's limitations..primarily the 10" max diameter over the banjo and insufficient power& spindle strength to take a 35kg oval device.

I cant see any realistic situations where I'm going to want to turn anything more than 20" diameter, so a 24" over the bed (ie 20" over the banjo) lathe will be enough.

The Axminster 2030 can turn the size on the outboard and is £3k (or less) but unclear if it can take a 35kg oval device
The Vicmarc 300 can turn the size and take the Oval device but its £5k (or more)

So, for that kind of money..how hard is it to make my own?

I think all I need is :

Headstock frame (ebay or fabricate)
Tailstock & frame (or just a stand) (ebay or fabricate)
Motor ( eg http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/ac-motors/7689619/ )
Inverter ( eg http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/inverter-drives/8874705/ )
Spindles & bearings (will a lathe manufacturer sell a new spindle & bearing set?)
Pulley & v-belt (from a lathe manufacturer?)

In terms of cost it seems better to make one, but in terms of safety maybe not so much.

Has anyone on here made their own lathe from components?
How difficult is it?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I know our club pro and one other member built theirs - One was about £1500, the other top side of £2000, iirc.

 

[graduate_owner]

Rather than trying to fabricate the entire Headstock, could you perhaps buy a heavy duty one and just fabricate the stand for the tool rest?
I bought a union graduate bowl lathe with only outboard turning facilities for £150. Came with a sanding table too. I have been thinking of making a stand to allow inboard turning of greater diameter than the existing outboard. Thinking of welding box section steel for it.
Alternatively could you get hold of a metal working lathe and use the headstock from that? A metal lathe will have lower speeds which will suit you, and will be very solid.
The advantage of a wood lathe is the likelihood of having suitable threads and Morse tapers.
Finally, could you just buy a lathe spindle and fabricate the remainder? Again you would have suitable threads. A headstock spindle for my graduate cost me £15 off eBay.

K

 

[hodsdonr]

Build your own. It is quite simple. I built mine using old railway sleepers, and a club member Fred, built his (basically a Mk 11 version) based on lessons learnt from mine using concrete for the headstock support. I don't have a tailstock and have never felt the need for it either. You get a vB 36 without any tailstock.
Think about it all you need is a shaft , threaded for your chuck, two plumber blocks with bearings, pulleys and a variable speed motor. All mounted on a pedastal , A stand alone toolrest and you have your lathe.
I use a screw chuck to start roughing out my bowl blanks. (use a Oneway Talon) from a safety point of view I have a sand alone toolrest and as it is between me and the spinning chunk it acts as a safety barrier, .
I regularly turn 350 mm to 500 mm diameter bowls
Also you are working from in front of the bowl and not the side.
main cost are the motor, VFD, , the shaft 50mm and bearings are relatively cheap. Rest is angle Iron and welding.
Richard

 

[dcmguy]

Thanks ...there are a few old heavy headstocks on ebay at the moment, Graduates, Wadkins and Dominions ..so that might be a start!

I hadnt thought of concrete blocks ...seems somehow worrying but that might just me and an irrational concern of mine based on ignorance.

I dont understand the way the driving spindle sits in a headstock well enough to know of two decent skf plummer blocks and a shaft are all thats needed...but that might again be me just not knowing enough yet.

I reckon that sourcing an inverter and motor (if needed) shouldnt be too difficult

Maybe I'll low bid some ebay headstocks and see if I'm lucky! ...there a graduate headstock with a bed at only £125 at the moment!

 

[hodsdonr]

To have a look at a simple concrete lathe have a look at http://www.fredwilliamson.com/Pages-Methods
He has the shaft mounted in two plumber blocks on top of a concrete plinth.
here are some photos of it
This is a simple lathe when you take off all the safety covers

 

[dcmguy]

Now that's a home made lathe alright!!

How did he decide in advance it would be safe ?

Obviously he makes some pretty nice bowls & hollow forms on it ...so it must be absolutely fine (I guess)

I get the feeling I'd need to pay an engineer to specify it for me!!

Thanks for posting the pics ...definitely food for thought!

 

[hodsdonr]

From a safety point of view , remember when you are building your own lathe, all the parts you will use are industrial parts so are way in excess strength of those supplied for home hobby lathes. Industrial motors, bearings etc are rated for continuous use measured in years rather than being used for a couple of hours once or twice a month.

Richard

 

[dcmguy]

Found what looks like a nice headstock, bed & tailstock. The motor pulleys & spindle might be ok too ...but thats not very clear to me.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WADKIN-RS-260 ... 0011.m1850

There were some threads about refurbing these RS lathes but the pics have mostly gone.

Anyone on here know mich about the reasons not to buy one of these. At over half a tonne I guess vibration wont be much of a problem? Heaven only knows what to do about pulleys and spindles if they arent right though!

 

[dcmguy]

over £800 now and the bidding seems to have dried up .... and I'm still winning! ... two days to go!

 

[TFrench]

Looks a monster! Don't get drawn into a bidding war - I always use a snipe program, think what I'd be willing to pay for it and leave it to do its thing.

 

[dcmguy]

Thanks ..good advice. I dont understand bidding on ebay too well. I thought you just bid the max you'd pay and wait and see. I'm probably just naive! but never mind!


edit.. just realised ... snipe bidding means no one-knows what you've bid until the last second ...so it stops bid chasing by others ... doesnt change what your max price is ...but it can, in some cases, increase your chance of winning at your max price. I've agreed a delivery cost with seller ... so now I know what final bid to snipe with ...thanks ...much appreciated!

 

[helphil]

dcmguy

Not sure if you have seen an ad on gumtree for a Colchester Graduate in Wyke, West Yorkshire but its on for £400. Not sure if it would suit your needs if you fail to get the one off ebay.

Phil

 

[Inspector]

As I understand things you want a new lathe so you can use the Vicmarc Oval device. Will it even fit that lathe and give you the room for bowls etc.? Or do you plan on modifying it to lower the bed? Is the shaft thread comparable with the oval device or will you need to have an adaptor made?

 

[dcmguy]

Inspector ..you're quite right ... I've two objectives in a bigger lathe (my cuurent one, which I'll be keeping, is great for anything up to 10" diameter)

objective 1 : have the power and capacity for theVOD (vicmarc oval thing) or the PicOval (steinert one)
objective 2 : be able to turns bowls/hollow forms up to 20" diameter

With thread adapters, new motor, new inverter, new toolrests and gap bed removed and maybe striping back the fresh paint to see how things are (but hopefully without need to change pulleys, spindles or bearings ..but who knows!) then the 660kg Wadkin RS probably could do that.

Seems to me that the max likely cost range to add high quality components to the RS is £700 -£1500 ..hopefully not too much more! So it's potentially expensive ...but in a similar way that you like OneWay, the old industrial English machines have an appeal to me. Doubt I'll be bidding above £1500 though as its bound to be noisy with the long distance between pulleys (and if it's too noisy for those in the house / neighbours, I might have to sell it on!)