On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:05:15 -0500, tom koehler
wrote:

Tom..
As a long-time SS user, I'll advise something that you probably don't want to
hear:
Buy a Jet Mini to play with.. I'm on my 3rd or 4th lathe now, and really thought
that the SS was a nice lathe until I spent $250 for the mini..

It's so quiet that I used to turn at 5 am and the family never heard it.. Lovely
little (10" bowl max) lathe..quiet, very stable, etc.

I'm a professional turner now and still use the SS a lot, just not for a
lathe... Can't beat in, IMO, for a drill press, especially in the horizontal
setup, with the 12" sanding disk on the other end..
There's no other machine in my shop that I'd drill pen blanks and stuff on, and
I love the routing capabilities on the beast..
I've been trying to wear out or kill the SS since 1981 and it just keeps roaring
along..

On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:57:03 -0500, Ralph wrote
(in message PRQLk.3278$%%2.1015@edtnps82):


Hi Tom, Welcome. You Got a lot of replies to CA - So 'nuf said. I've
turned on a SS for 20 plus years and although it has its limitations
it's a good all round machine. I've turned green wood to its max
diameter (15in + or -) The one thing that helped me was SS's speed
reducer. It still wanted to dance but it was manageable(it ALMOST taught
me to dance, but no luck) AS far as "grinds" are concerned find what
you can comfortably work with. There are many different "grinds" touted
by Different "Professionals" but they don't work for everybody. I
bought a SS sharpening guide and it worked great. I'm now on a new
lathe and trying to learn a new grind,but am seriously thinking to go
back to the SS. Whatever you do have fun with your turning.

Thanks, Ralph. Yeah, I have enough material to study now for awhile. Only bad
thing is it will keep me out of the nasement for awhile. The good thing is it
will arm me with new information to try out and practice.
Yeah, I have the speed reducer, too, but there is enough shake in that setup
that I have to pay close attention to the geometry of my work.
I want to check out what kind of motor the SS has. If it is a brush type
motor I should be able to come up with an electrical speed control that
should work pretty good. If it is a split-phase motor, something a bit more
sophisticated and expensive will be required to get rid of the add-on speed
reducer setup.
tom koehler


mac

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