On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:17:22 -0400, "Stephen M"
wrote:

Mac,

FWIW, I pushed my 1442 to about capacity for the first time this weekend. I
had 2 black locust crotch blanks almost 15" diameter and about 5" thick,
very wet. Since it was a tad greater than the 14" swing, I just rotated the
head and 90 degrees and did it all outboard (no tailstock assist) with the
banjo on the left of the headstock.

I has careful to get it as balanced as possible at the BS first. I thought
that was a lot of wood for a mid-sized lathe but it handled it pretty well.
450rpm was surprisingly unscary. The only thing that was a bit anoying was
that the tool rest would not stay locked (it would rotate a bit) when I
worked with a downward angle on the interior.
I'm sure that I could fix that by tweaking either the tool or my technique
if i did that on a regular basis.

Anyway, my lathe is a supplement to my flatwork, not the center of my
woodworking world. I was pleasantly surprised that the tool could function
reasonably well at it's theoretical capacity. If I am limited to 15" or so,
that seems pretty reasonable for a less than "pro" lathe.

regards,


Steve

WOW! That would scare the hell out of me, Steve..

Both the idea of something that big hanging off the lathe, and possible side
force on the headstock bearings..

I was told here to use the tailstock whenever I could on stuff like that to
minimize side thrust of whatever..

Actually, as I remember it now, it was when I posted pictures of a 10" round
chunk of plum about a foot long mounted on my poor old Jet mini..

Was the tool rest itself rotating, or the tool rest holder/banjo moving?

I've had to adjust the bolt under the bed rails a few times to keep the banjo
locking tight..

You weren't using that POS tool rest extension, were you?


mac

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