Wanna Buy a Lathe?

Vaughn McMillan

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Some weekends it just doesn't pay to go out into the shop. :bang:

After waiting a week to get the replacement belt for my Sears lathe, it showed up Saturday, so the weekend started out on a positive note.
Then it went downhill from there. I installed the new belt, buttoned up the headstock, and mounted a roughly 10" x 5" chunk of red eucalyptus. As I was roughing it out, I thought I could hear the new (toothed) drive belt slipping a little bit. I stopped, opened things back up again, and made sure I had as much slack adjusted out of the belt as possible. I went back to turning, and for a little while the adjustment seemed to have helped, but before long it was slipping again. In the meantime, I got the red eucalyptus hollow form roughed out, plus a nice spalted hackberry HF.

Next, I decided to try out my newly-finished Longworth chuck to revise the bottom of one of my earlier bowls. One quick catch later, the bowl was launched, minus a big chunk from the rim. OK, says I, it'll just be a shorter bowl. I managed to reshape the bottom and cut a tenon, then re-turned the inside of the bowl. As I'm sanding the bowl, I'm hearing more and more belt slipping. I opened up the headstock again and tried more adjustment. No real improvement, and I quit for now on the bowl, because I didn't feel like sanding out the few deep tearouts inside the bowl, and the more I tried to clean them up with sharp chisels, the worse they got.

Monday comes along. I had the day off, so I decided to limp the lathe along enough to finish turning a 9" walnut bowl that's been drying. Despite a few catches and more tearout than I'd like to admit, I got it sanded nice and smooth, and flipped it around to cut the tenon off. (All along the drive belt was getting worse and worse.) Dummy me, I ended up making my first funnel. :doh: It's made of beautifully figured walnut, but it's a funnel nonetheless. Then when it launched from the Longworth chuck as I tried to trim up the hole in the bottom, it whanged me in the forehead as a parting shot. Fortunately, it was spinning relatively slowly, so no blood, no foul. You don't have to beat me on the head more than once or twice for me to take a hint. I decided I was done for the day.

Bad words were said. Repeatedly. All weekend. Culminating in this:

CIMG0581 800.jpg CIMG0578 800.jpg

I'm seriously trying to figure out the quickest way to pay for a better lathe. (And also how to convince LOML that I should spend that much money.) :rolleyes: I'm tired of spending more time messing with belts than turning. In the meantime I'll try to get in touch with the guy at Palmgren that Bernie recommended last week and see if he has any suggestions for how to keep my lathe from eating belts. I bought the lathe used, so I have no warranty, but hopefully he can steer me in the right direction.
 
Vaughn, don't mind me if I laugh "WITH" you, because, as funnels go, that is spectacular! :clap:

My lovely wife just saw it and she said it was a "Lamp Shade" not a stupid funnel :D

Now just go and turn a nice lamp base, and you will have a nice little lamp there!

I did one today too, but I was not trying to make anything nice, I had one piece of junk Keyaki sitting here, so I tried to go as thin as I could, this stuff is wet wood, I got down to just about 3mm or less....... then it went POOF and a chunk of the rim came off.... :rolleyes:

Oh well, now I know I can get this stuff REAL thin.

For an upgrade, how about that new Nova lathe, with a stand and the G# chuck $999...... not a bad deal!!

Cheers!
 
Vaughn, if your lathe is eating belts there it obviously something wrong. But you knew that didn't you.:doh: First thing that comes to my mind and you maybe discussed this and missed it. Are the pulleys smooth? Any roughness at all on the faces?

Next thought is where and what brand belts are you buying? Have you tired to find another brand? If it is not the pulleys they I would suspect the belts are badly made.

Just tossing out ideas here.

Nice lamp shade BTW.

Jeff
 
Here you go Vaughn, just to be fair...........


lampshade_inside.jpg
Here is the inside of my lampshade.......

lampshade_outside.jpg
The outside, you can see I got the bottom a little too thin :rolleyes:

oh_well.jpg
And you can see the chunk that went missing.....

No bonk on the head for me, the Triton Orange Monster did it's job :thumb:

No belts on the DVR either :rolleyes: :wave: :D

Cheers!
 
Some weekends it just doesn't pay to go out into the shop. :bang:
I'm seriously trying to figure out the quickest way to pay for a better lathe. (And also how to convince LOML that I should spend that much money.) :rolleyes: .

Vaughn,

VERY sad about your lamp shade.:(

VERY happy to hear that bonk on the head was not serious.:eek:

HOWEVER........a little hemoglobin dripping down the forehead may have been just the thing to convince the LOYL that a new lathe was a 'justifiable' expense.:rofl:
 
Vaughn,
I agree with Jeff about something being wrong, My first thoughts would be alignment. If the pullies are not aligned that will eat belts. As I recall this is the drive belt not the reeves drive but the one that powers the reeves drive. Maybe when you replaced the reeves drive belt you somehow got these pulleys out of alignment. Take a streight edge and check the alignment.

Nice looking funnel BTW..:D
 
.... "Bad words were said. Repeatedly. All weekend." Well put, I had to laugh at that. Nice way of putting it :rofl:.
.... Without hands on, the best I can do is what has already been suggested so far. Yes, new ones are expensive but if you go that route, be sure it is really the one you want and not pay so much attention to the price if at all possible.

.... Best I can do for now, wish you the best.

.

Some weekends it just doesn't pay to go out into the shop. :bang:

After waiting a week to get the replacement belt for my Sears lathe, it showed up Saturday, so the weekend started out on a positive note.
Then it went downhill from there. I installed the new belt, buttoned up the headstock, and mounted a roughly 10" x 5" chunk of red eucalyptus. As I was roughing it out, I thought I could hear the new (toothed) drive belt slipping a little bit. I stopped, opened things back up again, and made sure I had as much slack adjusted out of the belt as possible. I went back to turning, and for a little while the adjustment seemed to have helped, but before long it was slipping again. In the meantime, I got the red eucalyptus hollow form roughed out, plus a nice spalted hackberry HF.

Next, I decided to try out my newly-finished Longworth chuck to revise the bottom of one of my earlier bowls. One quick catch later, the bowl was launched, minus a big chunk from the rim. OK, says I, it'll just be a shorter bowl. I managed to reshape the bottom and cut a tenon, then re-turned the inside of the bowl. As I'm sanding the bowl, I'm hearing more and more belt slipping. I opened up the headstock again and tried more adjustment. No real improvement, and I quit for now on the bowl, because I didn't feel like sanding out the few deep tearouts inside the bowl, and the more I tried to clean them up with sharp chisels, the worse they got.

Monday comes along. I had the day off, so I decided to limp the lathe along enough to finish turning a 9" walnut bowl that's been drying. Despite a few catches and more tearout than I'd like to admit, I got it sanded nice and smooth, and flipped it around to cut the tenon off. (All along the drive belt was getting worse and worse.) Dummy me, I ended up making my first funnel. :doh: It's made of beautifully figured walnut, but it's a funnel nonetheless. Then when it launched from the Longworth chuck as I tried to trim up the hole in the bottom, it whanged me in the forehead as a parting shot. Fortunately, it was spinning relatively slowly, so no blood, no foul. You don't have to beat me on the head more than once or twice for me to take a hint. I decided I was done for the day.

Bad words were said. Repeatedly. All weekend. Culminating in this:

View attachment 4947 View attachment 4948

I'm seriously trying to figure out the quickest way to pay for a better lathe. (And also how to convince LOML that I should spend that much money.) :rolleyes: I'm tired of spending more time messing with belts than turning. In the meantime I'll try to get in touch with the guy at Palmgren that Bernie recommended last week and see if he has any suggestions for how to keep my lathe from eating belts. I bought the lathe used, so I have no warranty, but hopefully he can steer me in the right direction.
 
Vaughn, if your lathe is eating belts there it obviously something wrong. But you knew that didn't you.:doh: First thing that comes to my mind and you maybe discussed this and missed it. Are the pulleys smooth? Any roughness at all on the faces?
The faces are toothed to match the belt, but no rough surfaces that I can find.
Next thought is where and what brand belts are you buying? Have you tired to find another brand? If it is not the pulleys they I would suspect the belts are badly made...
The only source I've been able to find for these belts is Sears Parts. It's a specialty belt and so far I've not found anyone else who carries one like it.

Don Baer said:
If the pullies are not aligned that will eat belts. As I recall this is the drive belt not the reeves drive but the one that powers the reeves drive. Maybe when you replaced the reeves drive belt you somehow got these pulleys out of alignment. Take a streight edge and check the alignment.
The two wheels are coplanar and in alignment as far as I can measure. There really is no adjustment side-to-side, and only a little bit up and down.

Stuart Ablett said:
For an upgrade, how about that new Nova lathe, with a stand and the G# chuck $999...... not a bad deal!!
Nope, my next lathe will have variable speed as opposed to step pulleys, and it won't be a Reeves drive, either. As much as I'd like to just get it over with and buy the PM 3520B, I'm leaning heavily towards the DVR XP. First, it runs on 110v power, which is a key factor for me. (Getting 220v to the shop would cost me more than the DVR.) Second, it has no belts. :thumb:
 
Matt, I think those two occasions are the only time I've ever launched something completely off the lathe before. :eek: But then again, I'm still a beginner. I've still got plenty of time for more launches. I did learn the value of wearing facial protection. (Or more accurately, the problem with not wearing it.) I generally wear a face mask when using the chisels, then take it off while sanding. When I got whacked, I was not wearing the mask, thinking it was a quick, light cut, and not thinking about the bowl jumping out of the chuck. :doh:

BTW, I've run across another interesting 110v lathe that's in my price range. The General 25-650 looks like a serious contender. (Plus, I believe Eagle Machinery in Glendale sells that lathe, so I could purchase it locally.) Gary DeWitt has one and he lives in my neck of the woods. I think I'll see if I can get his impression of it.
 
The faces are toothed to match the belt, but no rough surfaces that I can find.

Didn't you post some photos of the belt replacement once? I am having a hard time picturing what your talking about.

As for belts, I bet there are a standard item. Just not common. Sears usually buys someone else's parts/machines and rebadges them.
 
Didn't you post some photos of the belt replacement once? I am having a hard time picturing what your talking about.

As for belts, I bet there are a standard item. Just not common. Sears usually buys someone else's parts/machines and rebadges them.
No photos handy, but picture an automotive timing belt, about 3/4" wide by 3" or so in diameter. I know in the case of the Reeves drive belt (the other belt I've replaced on this thing), it is a Bando brand belt, but when I called a big Bando distributor, they couldn't find that belt in their catalog. That makes me suspect that it's a proprietary belt, although Palmgren surely uses the same one, so there's gottta be another source for them. (I didn't have a good chance to call Palmgren today...I'll try tomorrow.)
 
Vaughn, if it is going to make it any easier on the wallet all you have to do is get a lathe. For most jumping in means getting the lathe and all the accesorries. And as you know those accessories are the real killer. Maybe you can break it to the lovely gently by telling her you are going to buy a new lathe in six months and you are saving for it now. Just make sure you get one you are totally happy with. :)
 
Ok, I'm not a spinning type, but that did sound just a little nonchalant.

I guess launching the first one didn't faze you at all. Took getting whacked in the head to learn? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

You spinning types scare the heck out of me sometimes with your stories of launching bowls and whatnot. But at the same time I must admit to :rofl: . Sort of like watching a car wreck.... ouch but funny as heck!

Vaughn

I think we need to shackle Matt to a good lathe by his ankle so he can start learning to turn & launch a few bowels.
of his own. Sooooo..............................
 
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Evening Vaughn. I haven't taken the time to read ALL the replies to your post. Sorry for the funnel, but, HOW IN THE HECK DID IT HIT YOU IN THE HEAD? Where was your FACE SHIELD????????????????????????

I can't talk for the others here, but I for one don't want to hear of your demise due to catching a mean piece of wood in the head.

I KNOW you KNOW BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for playing "grumpy OLD Man" but you're too important to too many people!

Bruce
 
Evening Vaughn. I haven't taken the time to read ALL the replies to your post. Sorry for the funnel, but, HOW IN THE HECK DID IT HIT YOU IN THE HEAD? Where was your FACE SHIELD????????????????????????

I can't talk for the others here, but I for one don't want to hear of your demise due to catching a mean piece of wood in the head.

I KNOW you KNOW BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for playing "grumpy OLD Man" but you're too important to too many people!

Bruce
Point taken Bruce, and trust me, I've been doing a fair amount of self-induced butt-kicking because of my own carelessness. :eek: (See post #11 above for a bit more explanation.) Definitely a lesson learned.
 
... launch a few bowels of his own.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Now I'm usually pretty quiet about misspellings around here, but this one deserves special recognition. Bart, I hope you meant to say bowls. :D

That said, you do have a good point. It's obvious that Matt hasn't stood close enough to the edge of the Abyss to get sucked in. I'll bet after about a pen or two he'd be hooked. :p
 
Vaughn if you talk to Mark at Palmgren tomorrow ask him about a modification that they had for their lathes that were Lot #2003. I think he told me these lathes were made in 2003 to 2004. They had new pulley's and belts I think. I can't remember as he just sent me a new headstock and knock on wood seems to be fine.
 
Vaughn if you talk to Mark at Palmgren tomorrow ask him about a modification that they had for their lathes that were Lot #2003. I think he told me these lathes were made in 2003 to 2004. They had new pulley's and belts I think. I can't remember as he just sent me a new headstock and knock on wood seems to be fine.
That's my plan, Bernie. My lathe was sold to the original owner in May 2003. They surely don't owe me a new headstock, but if I could buy the modified parts I'd probably be money ahead in the long run. (At $27 + tax & shipping, these belts are gonna break me.) :rolleyes:

Many thanks for the tip. :thumb:
 
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