"Jimbo" wrote in message
...
After getting into turning I wish I would have bought a lathe that
goes slower for larger pieces.


450 appears to be the limit on 60 Hz. You can do a few things in
preparation for turning which will help you use this speed even at
over-the-bed capacity. Cutting a good circle to begin with, then nibbling
away irregularity at the bandsaw is the best route to go. If a log section
curves up on either side, there's little reason to have those lumps on the
end to beat your bearings to death, eh? It is mass times velocity squared,
so equalize mass difference as best you can, even though it's the lesser
value.

Be careful if you're making your blanks from green wood to avoid the
imbalance that comes from cutting 90 degrees to the ground as found. Water
gravitates to the bottom half of the log, and you'll end up with a couple of
one-side wet pieces instead of one wetter, one dryer if you don't take care.

Always use the tailstock, and make best use of your headstock hold by going
with a faceplate, pin chuck or at the very least a counterbore for your spur
center to keep it from throwing.

There are a bunch of folks who wish they had the capacity of your lathe, so
think of them, not the ones who look down from their Oneways and Stubbys as
you put it to best use.

Slow is not without cost. Below the 360 on my lathe I find myself reacting
and running in and out on rough surfaces. Impatience perhaps, but certainly
because the rotation brings things around slower than I can react to changes
in the surface.