Arch, it took me a lot of years to get the big lathe that I had wanted
all along, I started out (in 1936) with a small sears lathe, about the
size of todays mini-lathes. Over the years I went through a series of a
larger Sears lathe and several Delta lathes. Each one a bit larger and
heavier than the one before. I did some spindle turning but turned
mostly bowls. A lot of turners don't realize it, but the standard lathe
is designed for spindle turning, not bowl turning. Until you've
experienced turning bowls while facing the piece you don't how much
better and easier it is. When I got into hollow forms a bit over 20
years ago, I needed a lathe where I could stand facing the piece while
using a Stewart tool. Because I'm left-handed I also wanted a lathe
that had a left-hand thread and turned clockwise. I got the General 260
and turned outboard on it. Made to order. There were some drawbacks
however. The outboard bed was only 11 inches long. and it had a 1-horse
motor. Not enough for the big stuff I wanted to turn. Then I met John
Nichols. After a lot of discussion I ordered a custom left-handed
Nichols lathe. 26-inch swing (38 with the bed pulled back). 3 horse
motor, 800 lb., and a capacity for at least 800 lb. of sand. Ten or
eleven years later it's still doing what I want it to do. I don't turn
the big stuff anymore but it handles small and even tiny things as well
as it does the big ones.

It'll be interesting to see what the next generation of lathes brings.
We won't need big heavy lathes because there'll be a balancing system
built-in. There'll be better ways to fasten a piece to the lathe than
we have now. Hopefully, we won't be using a system that does away with
hand-held tools. That'll take away some of the fun and skills needed.

Wally
Arch wrote:
There are many reasons why we post so seldom about maxi lathes and so
often about minies & midis. The little ones are affordable and
preferable for beginners and beginners post many questions that start up
discussions. Big lathe owners have their own net groups and their best
discussions unfortunately never appear here. It makes sense that as the
lathe gets bigger and more expensive and the owners as a subset more
expert, the less they need to post here.

In other venues however, we enjoy laughing and scratching about big
things even as we pursue smaller. We drive Chevvies and talk about
Mercedes, we support Little League and argue about major leagues. How
bout them ----'s!

There are occasional threads here about the big Generals, Powermatics,
Vicmarcs, Stubbies and Oneways. Less often a comment about V.Bs, Nichols
and Poolwoods, but almost never about Lacuna, Serious, Robust and big
customs. No doubt there are many others that I know nothing about.
Probably most of you don't either.

So what! Why should we care? Few of us could or would afford them and
the two turners who read my drivel know that I remember the great
depression and am too thrifty (aka stingy) to indulge a hobby to such an
extent. OTOH, I like to know about all facets of the craft and the
unattainable interests all of us. so I wonder if some of us could and
would share their personal experiences and opinions about the big 'other
end' lathes.

There is a world of info scattered on the net, Marshall Gorrow's links
one of the best, but I thank you in advance for not giving me a good
switching and sending me to the Google Room.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



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