I bought a re-conditioned Startrite 352 recently. As it came with a price list dated april 1986 I assume it is some 20 years old. I have never used one before but it seemed to coping well with whatever I tried to put through it. However,I am now having problems with logs.
I enjoy making bowls on my lathe. Every time I found or was given logs, I would cut them down the middle with a chain saw and then remove the rounded part with an electric planer. This gave me two flat sides and I could then cut round blanks up to say six inches thick on the bandsaw. I soon discovered that this is a time-consuming and wasteful process.
I thought it would be easier to build a sled and anchor a half log to it. I could then take two cuts from each half, say about three inches thick, and get two platters per half log rather than one bowl. I thought there would be no problem so long as the overall diameter of the bowl was 11 inches or less so that it would go under the guard on the chainsaw.
In practice, I am struggling. The blade wanders a lot, gets very hot and the logs have to be forced into the blade to get a cut. This leads to the machine cutting out. New blades begin well but seem to barely do a couple of logs despite my cleaning them frequently.
I have assumed that to get the logs cut I should use a blade about 3 skip with the machine speed set to high. There doesn't seem to be a great difference between using a 5/8 blade or a 3/4 blade. I am not sure about the motor, which is 1 HP, and wonder if an upgrade to 1.5 HP would be better or if this would just allow me to put even more pressure on the machine and damage the frame.
As far as I am aware, I am setting the guides correctly. Can anyone suggest how I might get the logs cut ( I am struggling with a pear tree which was felled in my garden a few weeks ago ) or is it just a case of the machine not being designed to handle wet wood of this size?
Many thanks.
I enjoy making bowls on my lathe. Every time I found or was given logs, I would cut them down the middle with a chain saw and then remove the rounded part with an electric planer. This gave me two flat sides and I could then cut round blanks up to say six inches thick on the bandsaw. I soon discovered that this is a time-consuming and wasteful process.
I thought it would be easier to build a sled and anchor a half log to it. I could then take two cuts from each half, say about three inches thick, and get two platters per half log rather than one bowl. I thought there would be no problem so long as the overall diameter of the bowl was 11 inches or less so that it would go under the guard on the chainsaw.
In practice, I am struggling. The blade wanders a lot, gets very hot and the logs have to be forced into the blade to get a cut. This leads to the machine cutting out. New blades begin well but seem to barely do a couple of logs despite my cleaning them frequently.
I have assumed that to get the logs cut I should use a blade about 3 skip with the machine speed set to high. There doesn't seem to be a great difference between using a 5/8 blade or a 3/4 blade. I am not sure about the motor, which is 1 HP, and wonder if an upgrade to 1.5 HP would be better or if this would just allow me to put even more pressure on the machine and damage the frame.
As far as I am aware, I am setting the guides correctly. Can anyone suggest how I might get the logs cut ( I am struggling with a pear tree which was felled in my garden a few weeks ago ) or is it just a case of the machine not being designed to handle wet wood of this size?
Many thanks.