I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

--
Woodworking and more at http://www.woodenwabbits.com

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:22:29 -0600, Dave Balderstone wrote:

I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

Assuming you meant "tool rest" and not "tool test":

I've got that lathe. It comes with a tool rest extension that works
reasonably well for me.

One suggestion. The ways extension for outboard turning only fits on one
end of the bed - the headstock end. I turned the bed around (it's
symmetrical) so the extension is on the tailstock end. That way I don't
have to turn the head 180 degrees, I just slide it down. When I turned
it the cord was always getting hung up somewhere.

While I haven't done it yet, I've also considered making a block of wood
to fit between the bed and the extension to move the extension out
further.

Enjoy the lathe - everyone I know that has one, including myself, thinks
it's the greatest. They initially had a problem with the speed control
but that appears to have been solved a while back.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

In article , Larry Blanchard
wrote:

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:22:29 -0600, Dave Balderstone wrote:

I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

Assuming you meant "tool rest" and not "tool test":

Indeed.

I've got that lathe. It comes with a tool rest extension that works
reasonably well for me.

We'll see if it's included with mine... I don't see it listed on
General's site.

One suggestion. The ways extension for outboard turning only fits on one
end of the bed - the headstock end. I turned the bed around (it's
symmetrical) so the extension is on the tailstock end. That way I don't
have to turn the head 180 degrees, I just slide it down. When I turned
it the cord was always getting hung up somewhere.

Nice tip, thanks! I am getting the bed extension so have to move stuff
around in the shop. I'll take that trick into account as I plan...

While I haven't done it yet, I've also considered making a block of wood
to fit between the bed and the extension to move the extension out
further.

What will that gain?

Enjoy the lathe - everyone I know that has one, including myself, thinks
it's the greatest. They initially had a problem with the speed control
but that appears to have been solved a while back.

That's great to hear. My little Delta Miidi has done me well, but I had
to turn down a really interesting commission simply because I can't
spin a piece of wood big enough. It would have paid for 1/3 of the
General.

--
Woodworking and more at http://www.woodenwabbits.com

Irresspective of the size of your lathe. When you turn outboard, EVERYTHING
is in its weakest position. As long at the piece is balanced, you are okay.
Rough turning is OUT.

Forget turning something heavy outboard, unless you life insurance is fully
paid, or you really like pain.

I have a JET 1442, which allows the same outboard turning. On my JET, all I
do is slide the headstock down far enough to allow me to move the banjo to
the back side of the head stock and I am in pretty good shape. I also have
an extension left over from an old Harbor Freight lathe that allows me to
get around to the the face of the piece.

All that being said, remember, you are turning OUTBOARD for a reason - i.e.,
the piece is too large in diameter to turn between centers. That mean you
"rim speed" is going to be rather high, so keep you lathe set to one of the
lowest speed settings. Even then, that rim speed, depending on the size of
the piece (my largest, so far, has been about 24 inches) can be a lot faster
than you turn between centers.

Deb



Dave Balderstone wrote:

In article , Larry Blanchard
wrote:

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:22:29 -0600, Dave Balderstone wrote:

I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

Assuming you meant "tool rest" and not "tool test":

Indeed.

I've got that lathe. It comes with a tool rest extension that works
reasonably well for me.

We'll see if it's included with mine... I don't see it listed on
General's site.

One suggestion. The ways extension for outboard turning only fits on one
end of the bed - the headstock end. I turned the bed around (it's
symmetrical) so the extension is on the tailstock end. That way I don't
have to turn the head 180 degrees, I just slide it down. When I turned
it the cord was always getting hung up somewhere.

Nice tip, thanks! I am getting the bed extension so have to move stuff
around in the shop. I'll take that trick into account as I plan...

While I haven't done it yet, I've also considered making a block of wood
to fit between the bed and the extension to move the extension out
further.

What will that gain?

Enjoy the lathe - everyone I know that has one, including myself, thinks
it's the greatest. They initially had a problem with the speed control
but that appears to have been solved a while back.

That's great to hear. My little Delta Miidi has done me well, but I had
to turn down a really interesting commission simply because I can't
spin a piece of wood big enough. It would have paid for 1/3 of the
General.

In article , Dr. Deb
wrote:

Irresspective of the size of your lathe. When you turn outboard, EVERYTHING
is in its weakest position. As long at the piece is balanced, you are okay.
Rough turning is OUT.

Forget turning something heavy outboard, unless you life insurance is fully
paid, or you really like pain.

I have a JET 1442, which allows the same outboard turning. On my JET, all I
do is slide the headstock down far enough to allow me to move the banjo to
the back side of the head stock and I am in pretty good shape. I also have
an extension left over from an old Harbor Freight lathe that allows me to
get around to the the face of the piece.

All that being said, remember, you are turning OUTBOARD for a reason - i.e.,
the piece is too large in diameter to turn between centers. That mean you
"rim speed" is going to be rather high, so keep you lathe set to one of the
lowest speed settings. Even then, that rim speed, depending on the size of
the piece (my largest, so far, has been about 24 inches) can be a lot faster
than you turn between centers.

Deb

Thanks for the tips, Deb.

--
Woodworking and more at http://www.woodenwabbits.com

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:22:29 -0600, Dave Balderstone
wrote:

I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

I don't outboard turning anymore (No big logs in Baja) but when I was,
I tried all 3 methods..

Rest extension that came with my late - sucks big time and IMHO
dangerous..

Optional outboard setup made by manufacturer.. Better and safer, but
vibrates a lot because it transmits any vibration the lathe gets..

Shop made free standing rest - The way to go, IMO.. More adjustable,
less vibration and a lot beefier..
If I made another one, it's make foldable tri-pod or detachable legs
to save shop space..

As others have said, BE CAREFUL.. I looks easier than over the rails
turning, but it has a lot of new torques and vibration involved..
My Nova has a 16" swing and that's more than I really need.. If I'm
not using the tailstock, I usually rotate the headstock to 45 degrees
and use my normal rest.. Just a better position for my old bones than
leaning over the rails..

wrote:
On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:22:29 -0600, Dave Balderstone
wrote:

I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

I don't outboard turning anymore (No big logs in Baja) but when I was,
I tried all 3 methods..

Rest extension that came with my late - sucks big time and IMHO
dangerous..

Optional outboard setup made by manufacturer.. Better and safer, but
vibrates a lot because it transmits any vibration the lathe gets..

Shop made free standing rest - The way to go, IMO.. More adjustable,
less vibration and a lot beefier..
If I made another one, it's make foldable tri-pod or detachable legs
to save shop space..

As others have said, BE CAREFUL.. I looks easier than over the rails
turning, but it has a lot of new torques and vibration involved..
My Nova has a 16" swing and that's more than I really need.. If I'm
not using the tailstock, I usually rotate the headstock to 45 degrees
and use my normal rest.. Just a better position for my old bones than
leaning over the rails..

My Delta came with a toolrest extension. It broke the second time I
used it They
sent me a new one but I never used it. The failure of the first was a
little scary.

--
Gerald Ross

I'm sure it's in the manual somewhere...

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:26:53 -0600, Dave Balderstone wrote:

While I haven't done it yet, I've also considered making a block of
wood to fit between the bed and the extension to move the extension out
further.

What will that gain?

The outboard extension as sold is pretty short. Fine for platters but
not for a very deep bowl. By moving it out 2-4" I can do a deeper bowl.

But I second what someone else said. Balance the block before you try to
turn it outboard. Band saws are a lot less likely than the lathe to do
something dangerous with an unbalanced piece.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:46:27 -0700, mac wrote:

If I'm not using the
tailstock, I usually rotate the headstock to 45 degrees and use my
normal rest.. Just a better position for my old bones than leaning over
the rails..

Amen! That was one of the selling points of the General as far as I was
concerned.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

In article , Larry Blanchard
wrote:

On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:26:53 -0600, Dave Balderstone wrote:

While I haven't done it yet, I've also considered making a block of
wood to fit between the bed and the extension to move the extension out
further.

What will that gain?

The outboard extension as sold is pretty short. Fine for platters but
not for a very deep bowl. By moving it out 2-4" I can do a deeper bowl.

But I second what someone else said. Balance the block before you try to
turn it outboard. Band saws are a lot less likely than the lathe to do
something dangerous with an unbalanced piece.

I do that now with the 9" Delta Midi, most times. it's way too easy to
make a quick circle-cutting jig for the bandsaur not to do it.

I appreciate all the advice from the group. The cautions are coming
through loud and clear.

--
Woodworking and more at http://www.woodenwabbits.com

On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:16:34 -0400, Gerald Ross
wrote:

wrote:
On Sun, 09 Oct 2011 10:22:29 -0600, Dave Balderstone
wrote:

I'm about to take delivery of a General International 25-200M1 lathe.
This will be my first lathe that allows outboard turning.

I'm hoping for some recommendations for a tool test when I do the
outboard stuff. What do all y'all use? Commercial, or did you build it?

I don't outboard turning anymore (No big logs in Baja) but when I was,
I tried all 3 methods..

Rest extension that came with my late - sucks big time and IMHO
dangerous..

Optional outboard setup made by manufacturer.. Better and safer, but
vibrates a lot because it transmits any vibration the lathe gets..

Shop made free standing rest - The way to go, IMO.. More adjustable,
less vibration and a lot beefier..
If I made another one, it's make foldable tri-pod or detachable legs
to save shop space..

As others have said, BE CAREFUL.. I looks easier than over the rails
turning, but it has a lot of new torques and vibration involved..
My Nova has a 16" swing and that's more than I really need.. If I'm
not using the tailstock, I usually rotate the headstock to 45 degrees
and use my normal rest.. Just a better position for my old bones than
leaning over the rails..

My Delta came with a toolrest extension. It broke the second time I
used it They
sent me a new one but I never used it. The failure of the first was a
little scary.

Same thing happened with my Jet 14".. After reading about them in
here, I didn't bother to get another one from Jet..