Subject: Re: Of Wood on Metal Lathes

From: [email-masked] (Orest I Koroluk)
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 11:28:34 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
(Jonathan M. Elson) wrote:

> [email-masked] wrote:
> :       Let us speak of turning wood on metal lathes.  I have heard some
> : folks speak of how it is sinfully abrasive and hard on the lathe and others
> : speak of how it soaks up the oil and is thus a problem.
> 
> I have done some substantial woodwork on a metal lathe.  If you want smooth
> cylinders of wood (I made a 6.5" dia mandrel once out of a piece of tree
> trunk), then a screw-cutting lathe is the thing.  It IS a MESS!  The amount
> of wood removed is much greater than metal removed.  Keep trash bags handy,
> and fill them by the handful after every pass or two. 

Why not rig a shop vac to the carriage to remove the chips as created.
Noisy, but ear defenders are a minor inconvenience compared to the mess.

Orest

---

From: [email-masked] (Demon Buddha)
Date: 26 Jan 1996 04:13:41 GMT

Robert Galloway <[email-masked]> wrote:
>
>I can't recommend the metal lathe as the ideal
>woodturning instrument but I can't see where it's hurt the lathe.

	It is if you need to turn precision wood pieces for patterns.
	
	About the only place it fails in comparison to a wood lathe	
	is when you want to turn large bowls, and even then they're
	fine if you have enough swing, though I'm sure a 30x?? lathe
	is probably a bit much for most shops :).	

	-Andy V.
-- 
	"I have a high art; I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me."

			-Archilocus, 650 BCE