Outboard turning of a bigger bowl

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Simon_M

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Awbridge, Hampshire
I'm looking at trying outboard turning e.g. putting the headstock in the middle of the lathe bed facing forwards and using a freestanding tool rest to turn (bigger than the normal swing) bowls.

I was going to make one from 2x4 timber (12" wide frame and required height) and a 3/4" plywood foot. Has anyone tried this and what would you suggest?

Or I could move it towards the LHS and add a brace to the extension mount points. There might be advantages for either?

I looked at videos and it's using either a bed extension at right-angles or (surprisingly) a free standing rest as well. I was going to try it on a small e.g. 8" bowl before going bigger.

On an AT1628VS, the bed extension can also be mounted lower on the RH leg, but I don't really have the space to try this. BTW, There are no mounting points to put it in the middle of the bed.
 
I'm not convinced plywood will do the job. Google outboard toolrests and you will see that homemade they are heavy, I assume because they need to be.

Brian
 
I agree about plywood. I was going to use oak/cherry for top, softwood for verticals and plywood only to spread weight for a square on floor. I have everything already.
 
Go for a simple steel construction, the material are very cheap and there is bound to be someone local who would weld it up for you - if you do the cutting and prep may even be done for free. You should be able to find a local welder or hobbyist via the below.
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/
 
With a free standing tool rest you need lots of weight in the base. As you drop the handle of the tool (like a bowl gouge) the forces push the tool rest towards the bowl tipping the rest into the bowl. It gets worse with a deeper bowl. Less of this happens with scraping and light cuts but if you want to do any amount of large turning you'll want a tool post/rest that is tied back solidly into the lathe. Frustrating to say the least.

Pete
 
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