Hi Bridger
Some of my thoughts interspersed with yours

Bridger wrote:
I lurk here a little, but I usually don't post. however, I have a
question that I haven't seen answered. it might turn out to be one of
those things covered in a FAQ somewhere... if so, please point me in
the right direction.


I inherited a south bend 9x36. it's a model A with the quick change
and the bench mount motor hanging off of the back. Grampa built a
pretty beefy bench for it with lots of room to bolt stuff to if
necessary.

What HP rating is your motor and what speeds on your lathe Bridger ?
My lathe is a 12by36 with a gap bed swing of 18" only good for
platters.

what I want to do with it is set up a tool rest for woodturning
chisels. I'll pull the cross slide when working wood to get it out of
the way. it has the south bend prismatic ways, so the banjo from
another wood lathe is unlikely to work.


What makes you think that ?
I use a standard banjo if I turn small bowls, candle sticks or small
boxes inboard
on my lathe, the banjo rides and clamps down on top of the ways and
not on the sides of them like the tool carriage, so no damage is being
done to them.


I have thought of making something that sits on the bench and
cantilevers over to the lathe center. If it were heavy enough It might
not even need to be bolted, which could be convenient for flexibility
of positioning.

What do you want to turn on your lathe, bowls or spindle work ?
If you park the carriage al the way back, pull your tailstock off, and
position it in front of your carriage, you can turn some bowls between
centers and also do spindle work, and yes you loose some length that
way, if you use a face plate you can use the 9" swing of your lathe
if spindle work, only whatever room there is over your banjo or tool
carriage. I wanted to turn mostly bigger bowls and did not like
leaning over the lathe, that was the reason I build a outboard turning
setup.


another solution would involve machining a block to allow a generic
banjo to fit the ways. I'd lose a little of the 9" diameter, which is
a bit scant for a wood lathe to begin with, so I'd consider this a
less desireable solution

You have the means to turn metal and wood, and maybe even the means
to
build a wood turning only lathe,


any thoughts?

Yes have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo