Wood or metal lathe?

[alexanderfrese]

I know there were some parts of info on this subject spread around here. I don't find them all, and as far as I remember, they didn't quite make it clear to me.
I thought I made a bargain today (small lathe on ebay, cheap, and in a town right next to my place), but it turned out to be some self-made crap. But it kind of brought me on the trail…

I don't get behind the need for two lathes – one for stem and one for stummel work. Smaller metal lathes don't have enough height to turn on a stummel. That’s obvious to me. But all the other questions?
Are smaller wood lathes not precise enough for stem work?
Can it be true that working condidtions will be bad for a metal lathe motor used for stummel work (this is what I read somewhere around here…)?

Maybe I am completely on the wrong way looking for that one-size-fits-all. Since I don't have the experience, every tip is appreciated. I don't want to make some expense (even if it is a real bargain) that doesn't make sense in the end. Or even worse, I don't see it not making sense when working with it, but still having some trouble then caused by the wrong tool…

Thank you

Alex

[bscofield]

Are smaller wood lathes not precise enough for stem work?

It's not that you cannot be precise on a wood lathe. It's that with a metal lathe you have are not advancing the cutting surface by hand, with a wood lathe you are.

Can it be true that working condidtions will be bad for a metal lathe motor used for stummel work (this is what I read somewhere around here…)?

I've never heard this. I am pretty sure there is more than one person on this board that uses a metal lathe for everything.

Incidently, I don't have a lathe but do plan on purchasing one. For that reason I've done a decent amount of reading about them. But having said that, I could be wrong.

[alexanderfrese]

It's not that you cannot be precise on a wood lathe. It's that with a metal lathe you have are not advancing the cutting surface by hand, with a wood lathe you are.

I agree, I would not want to shape a bowl with a cross slide. Or even better – CAPD (compuer aided pipe design) :naughty:. BTW: Has any weird computerkid ever tried this? I remember a guy at a Berlin university developping a laser CAD-System that was virtually capable of bringing out any desirable shape (even in a metal block, though possibly no stainless stell…), as long as there were no surfaces hidden behind anything else in the shape. Sell something like that along with »Easypipeshaping 2.0, 150 shapes included on CD« and you have the perfect offer for rich man's sons wanting to make something really beautiful and really boring…
Now back to he serious part. I think about something interchangeable for that part. I had to wikipedia some terms, hope I got it right. It should be possible to fit some kind of a precision carnk driven cross slide toolpost to a wood lathe or in reverse some kind of a simple wood-lathe-style hand tool rest to a metal lathe. Exchangeable depending on what piece you want to work on.

Alex

[Nick]

Putting a cross slide onto a wood lathe is possible, and somthing I'd done a bit of digging into, but its not all that easy. There was one lather, a Craftsman made in like 1910 or somthing, that had a kit to do this. The issue is the accuracy involved. The big advantage of the metal lathe is the accuracy. If you put on a cross slide that isn't as accurate, well then whats the point?

Here are some plans to do just that: http://metalwebnews.com/poorman/wood.html

Its plan number L-48, about 1/3 of the way down the page. Let me know if you're interested in this. Perhaps we can go half-zies. Not that its expensive - $10.00.

[alexanderfrese]

Should be some time spent on thinking – saving some money – buying some tool before. Should be easier to attach a simple tool rest to a metal lathe than then the other way round though. Seems the preferrable way to me. But I can't ged rid of the thought that someone said a metal lathe would be not suitable for the stummel work – besides not using the cross slide for that kind of work.

:dunno:

Thanks anyway for your tip so far.

Alex

[Nick]

I know its been mentioned a couple of times that the taig or sherline metal lathes are not good for stummels. Could that be what you're thinking of?

[WBill]

I don't know about a Taig or Sherline lathe but I have a Homier Chinese made 7"X12" metal lathe that I bought a 6" four jaw wood chuck for that I use to drill all the holes in the briar and stem, also use it to turn the tenons, shank extensions etc.

The lathe comes with a 4" three jaw self centering chuck that I mount the 6" wood chuck in with adapter. The lathe also has a tailstock that you can buy a 1/2" No. 2 MT chuck for mounting your drills, cost $9.00 and the wood chuck is $18.00.

This lathe, which is carried by many companies under their own brand name, is very well built and comes with most everything you need. The Homier version is $299.00 plus shipping. You can find more information at http://www.mini-lathe.com/.

Bill

[alexanderfrese]

Yeah, I know that mini lathe…

One thing: If I would want to do some classic wood turning on the bowl (top of tob. chamber for instance), is the height below the chuck not too small?

And you know what: I've seen it in a diy-store here in GER. It's Euro 435, which is roughly $ 550 8O . I think I could order one in the states and even the shipping would not eat the difference…

Alex

[WBill]

Alex, the 7"X12" lathe, 7" being the largest diameter you can mount in the chuck without touching the ways, 12" being the longest length you can mount between centers.

If you want to turn bowls get a wood lathe.

Bill

[alexanderfrese]

I understand 7" beeing on the narrow side…

I shure am not in a hurry about that. I plan to get a used lathe – if I can catch one. I just want to make sure, what details (besides it not beeing too old and sloppy) I should check in case I find one.

I still would be interested in why the two metal lathes mentioned are not suitable, since this might be a clue as to what details I would have to pay attention to.

Thnx anyway so far