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Also, it's insanely quiet. I mean it hardly makes any noise at all. Really impressed by this lathe. So far, it gets a giant thumbs up from me. And as much fun as it would be to have a bigger one with electronic speed control and all that, I think this one will last me more or less indefinitely.
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Apr 27, 2011 03:04
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LordOfThePants posted:...The assembly was such that the biscuit joint would e expected to support the weight of the person sitting on it. Yeah I wouldn't rely on biscuits to support a person's weight. What an odd design. I don't read Wood regularly but usually their plans could use simpler joints. Sometimes they do neat stuff like a whole room in one style ... (e.g. bed, dresser, nightstand) in successive issues. I had a subscription to Fine Woodworking for several years but they were just recycling the same projects, often in the same months. 'It's March, time for a Shaker end table!' Shamefully I've stopped building nice furniture and just build practical cabinetry stuff when I get into the shop. There is a half finished mahogany foot stool that's been sitting on my bench for about a year. Some day soon I'm going to start building a nice stereo/video/game cabinet for my electronics, I just haven't found a design that I really like.
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Apr 27, 2011 05:05
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Bad Munki posted:Also, it's insanely quiet. I've really been wanting a lathe and now I want one even more. 
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Apr 27, 2011 05:09
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wormil posted:Yeah I wouldn't rely on biscuits to support a person's weight. What an odd design. I don't read Wood regularly but usually their plans could use simpler joints. Sometimes they do neat stuff like a whole room in one style ... (e.g. bed, dresser, nightstand) in successive issues. I had a subscription to Fine Woodworking for several years but they were just recycling the same projects, often in the same months. 'It's March, time for a Shaker end table!' Shamefully I've stopped building nice furniture and just build practical cabinetry stuff when I get into the shop. There is a half finished mahogany foot stool that's been sitting on my bench for about a year. Some day soon I'm going to start building a nice stereo/video/game cabinet for my electronics, I just haven't found a design that I really like. On a positive note, some of the quality that was present in Woodworking Magazine is starting to show up in Popular Woodworking Magazine, I guess they had a year or so backlog of the PW content to get through. Still hate the ads
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Apr 27, 2011 05:24
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That Lathe looks a lot like mine. . . my dads actually, but about 20 or so years newer. And adding more weight is always a good thing. He had his on the default stand and thought it was good, but I mounted it on to the work bench and he can tell that it's a little smoother, lost just that last little bit of vibration. I know a guy down the road who has some manner of monster lathe (never saw it) but he can make 5' long and god knows how wide pieces of work. He made a solid maple table leg out of a 4' long and 6" wide piece. I'd love to be able to make banister posts with mine, but it's just a little too small for what I want. I guess I could always make the spindles.
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Apr 27, 2011 13:15
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Yeah, 20" isn't really long enough for most "practical" applications, like banister posts and table legs. Although I imagine one could make a little stool or something with it. Heck, that might be a fun early project, since you could make every single piece right there on the lathe. Question: would something like this be a cheap way to get some amount of electronic speed control out of the lathe? I don't mind switching the belts, it's really a pretty quick process. But being able to just turn the knob down for a few moments would be nice in some cases, or being able to start really slow and then turn it up when you're not sure about the balance on a piece. Basically just an easy way to ease-in/ease-out of max speed. Maybe I'll go ask in one of the electrics-related threads.
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Apr 27, 2011 15:23
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Harbor Freight is cool and all. Personally for a unit like this, and especially with a new tool, I'd spend an extra couple bucks and invest in a (probably) better quality speed control. I'd hate to have some cheap piece mess up a brand new expensive tool. Rockler Speed Control$35
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Apr 27, 2011 17:25
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Bad Munki posted:Question: would something like this be a cheap way to get some amount of electronic speed control out of the lathe? This is just me here, but in my opinion Harbor Freight is a good place to get a tool you know you'll only need a few times. I also am pretty wary of anything they sell that uses electricity (including batteries).
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Apr 27, 2011 17:30
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stubblyhead posted:This is just me here, but in my opinion Harbor Freight is a good place to get a tool you know you'll only need a few times. I also am pretty wary of anything they sell that uses electricity (including batteries). I think that sums up the general opinion about HF. Some of their stuff is actually really good and will surprise you. That's the exception though, a lot of their stuff will be pretty crappy. If you don't know for sure, it's probably not worth chancing. My buddy has that router speed controller from them but I can't really comment on it. I guess his router is slow start and it really hates starting not at full speed so doesn't use it. I think he said it was decent though.
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Apr 27, 2011 17:44
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Bad Munki posted:Question: would something like this be a cheap way to get some amount of electronic speed control out of the lathe? I don't mind switching the belts, it's really a pretty quick process. But being able to just turn the knob down for a few moments would be nice in some cases, or being able to start really slow and then turn it up when you're not sure about the balance on a piece. Basically just an easy way to ease-in/ease-out of max speed. Maybe I'll go ask in one of the electrics-related threads. Some sort of simple POT (like a dimmer switch) between the cord and the wall might work. It's not like these things have delicate electronics in them. I was wondering about why you'd want different speeds, but that does sound like a good idea for checking balance. You probably already know this, but draw an "X" on the ends of your work using a ruler. That usually gets me pretty balanced off the start.
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Apr 27, 2011 17:47
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Some People posted:Harbor Freight is like Walmart  But yeah, if a similar device would work, it might be handy to put it on there for the few times I'd want to actually vary the speed on the fly.cbubbles posted:My buddy has that router speed controller from them but I can't really comment on it. I guess his router is slow start and it really hates starting not at full speed so doesn't use it. I think he said it was decent though. Anyhow, if it doesn't work, I have a router table with an old-as-dirt router installed in it that I know would work just fine with such a control, so I could always mount it on there. Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Apr 27, 2011 |
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Apr 27, 2011 17:55
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How do I go about getting a finish on stuff that I turn that makes it look like the object is practically coated in glass? I want to try making some ornamental hangy things, and it'd be nice to get a glass-like finish on them.
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Apr 27, 2011 18:01
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Blistex posted:Some sort of simple POT (like a dimmer switch) between the cord and the wall might work. It's not like these things have delicate electronics in them. I was wondering about why you'd want different speeds, but that does sound like a good idea for checking balance. You probably already know this, but draw an "X" on the ends of your work using a ruler. That usually gets me pretty balanced off the start. Rheostat isn't the way to go with that I don't think. That speed control probably uses pulse width modulation, which is a rapid on-off cycling instead of reducing voltage outright like a rheostat would.
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Apr 27, 2011 18:43
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stubblyhead posted:Rheostat isn't the way to go with that I don't think. That speed control probably uses pulse width modulation, which is a rapid on-off cycling instead of reducing voltage outright like a rheostat would. Well heck, if that's the case, I have a spare arduino lying around I could rig up to drive a mosfet via pwm or something, then I could do all sorts of crazy stuff! Autotwitter any time the lathe is on? Why not!  Maybe I'll see about breaking my lathe after this summer, though, and just not even worry about it for now. Changing belts is fairly easy, after all.  In other news, I think I'm about to start really appreciating living in a place where people are constantly cutting down old maple/walnut/oak trees and posting the logs on craigslist for free grabbin'.
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Apr 27, 2011 18:47
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Bad Munki posted:Yeah, it specifically says on the product page that slow-start motors shouldn't be used with that control. Pretty sure my lathe motor is just full-on or full-off, though. Well then, I'll have to mock my friend (Not too much, I borrow a lot of his wood working tools ><)
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Apr 27, 2011 18:52
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Bad Munki posted:How do I go about getting a finish on stuff that I turn that makes it look like the object is practically coated in glass? I want to try making some ornamental hangy things, and it'd be nice to get a glass-like finish on them. http://www.cuecomponents.com/cuefinish.html. You could probably cut shellac with everclear and use a french-rub dolly to apply it to the spinning piece and get something pretty nice in next-to-no time at all for a lot less money than all that super glue.
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Apr 27, 2011 22:21
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mcrandello posted:http://www.cuecomponents.com/cuefinish.html. You could probably cut shellac with everclear and use a french-rub dolly to apply it to the spinning piece and get something pretty nice in next-to-no time at all for a lot less money than all that super glue. A what now? I understood/have everything except...that.
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Apr 27, 2011 22:26
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Bad Munki posted:A what now? I understood/have everything except...that. I got one one time, wasn't near as good as the asian rub dolly.
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Apr 27, 2011 23:16
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Sorry, I'd read about this someplace and it was called a muneca, which I then looked up, which means dolly or babydoll, which I've been calling it dolly ever since because muneca sounds like some kind of communicable disease. Basically you shred up a t-shirt or old diaper and then wrap up the shreds with a larger piece of soft cotton. Used to apply super diluted shellac. e: Here's an illustrate guide including how to make a muneca: http://www.fourpartharmony.us/2008/03/26/guitar-project-french-polishing/ (French POLISH. French rub...I'm turning into crankshaft  )e2: Ratios for shellac, also a more in-depth guide. French polishing is really popular among luthiers: http://www.guitarsint.com/article.cfm/ArticleContentId/4 I wound up going cheap on a piano bench by brush coating two coats of uncut bulls-eye shellac, sanding in between coats, then cutting some of it two parts 91% rubbing alcohol to 1 part shellac and using the doll^h<i>muneca</i> pretty much the same way as described on the two pages above, the trick to making it work well is to not ever allow the muneca to rest on the work surface (won't be an issue if the piece is spinning in a lathe) and to pull the muneca back off and reload it when it starts to feel like it's dragging. mcrandello fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Apr 27, 2011 |
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Apr 27, 2011 23:45
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Ah, okay. So what sort of ratio should I be using of shellac to alcohol? Also, would some other sort of alcohol work, or perhaps something like mineral oil? Basically, anything that will put shellac into solution?
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Apr 27, 2011 23:49
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Bad Munki posted:How do I go about getting a finish on stuff that I turn that makes it look like the object is practically coated in glass? I want to try making some ornamental hangy things, and it'd be nice to get a glass-like finish on them. http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/GuideToFrenchPolishing.pdf You can use any gloss product (varnish, lacquer, shellac), it's really more about technique and preparation than the specific coating. The wood has to be sanded blemish free with a high grit, pores (if any) filled, then you put down very thin layers, usually diluted. Lacquer and varnish (including poly) will probably have to be sanded smooth between coats, the latter especially since it doesn't melt previous coats. French polishing, while visually superior, isn't as durable as lacquer or varnish. All this will be substantially simpler on the lathe.
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Apr 28, 2011 00:05
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Bad Munki posted:Ah, okay. So what sort of ratio should I be using of shellac to alcohol? Also, would some other sort of alcohol work, or perhaps something like mineral oil? Basically, anything that will put shellac into solution? Best advice is to read a proper guide. "Real" french polishing is a pretty specific process -- more so than just applying layers of shellac. Also, you should DEFINITELY mix your own from good flake and good, clean alcohol. Pre-made stuff will make you hate this process. The ratio you're asking about is what's called the "pound" of the "cut." A one-pound-cut is made by dissolving a pound of shellac into one gallon of alcohol. The alcohol used is pretty important, but your standard denatured should be fine. Next step up, and a bit safer, is to use straight Everclear. If you read guides, you'll see many people use a tiny bit of oil on the muneca. The FP expert I've talked to doesn't use any oil at all. In short, start with a good quality flake, make a single batch of high-pound cut, and use smaller jars or squeeze bottles for the thinner cuts (the ones you'll actually use). Make a good muneca, learn to use it in your application. Apply several body coats (thicker cut), sand a tiny bit, then polish with thinner coats with occasional sanding. The result will be a glass-like finish that doesn't have that "inch-thick" plastic-y look of a heavy-handed polymer coat. Plus, this is a really SAFE way to get a pro finish -- the components are all actually food-safe (shellac is used to coat Skittles). Oh... and step Zero: If this is a porus hardwood like rosewood, you'll want to pore-fill first. mcrandello posted:Basically you shred up a t-shirt or old diaper and... Rule #1 of french polishing: Never polish with a used diaper.
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Apr 28, 2011 00:08
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Cobalt60 posted:Rule #1 of french polishing: Never polish with a used diaper. I'll take that to heart (thankfully no kids, I'd always heard what wonderful polishing rags in general old cloth diapers made.) Actually I just thought of two other things to add- FP is not appropriate for situations where the thing will get wet all the time, as constant contact with water will cause the finish to cloud up white, and while it's naturally food-safe, avoid making shot glasses with it because, well, look at what we're using to dissolve it.
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Apr 28, 2011 00:23
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mcrandello posted:(thankfully no kids, I'd always heard what wonderful polishing rags in general old cloth diapers made.) Diapers are much softer than t-shirts.
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Apr 28, 2011 00:40
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For now, I'm just going to do some pretty ornamental hang-up-in-the-window-or-on-a-christmas-tree type stuff, so the durability of the finish probably isn't much of an issue. Although I guess UV could be a problem, but whatever. As for diapers, that's fine, we're planning on a kid within the next year, so I guess now would be a good time to go practice buying diapers.
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Apr 28, 2011 01:04
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Bad Munki posted:Yeah, 20" isn't really long enough for most "practical" applications, like banister posts and table legs. Although I imagine one could make a little stool or something with it. Heck, that might be a fun early project, since you could make every single piece right there on the lathe. I think those speed controls only work with universal motors, like a router uses. There was an a thread just the other day at SawmillCreek about using a router speed control to slow down a bench grinder and someone mentioned that. If your lathe has an induction motor, you'll need a variable frequency drive (which are more expensive). Here's the thread at SMC: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?164915-Any-reason-I-can-t-do-this
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Apr 28, 2011 01:14
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wormil posted:Diapers are much softer than t-shirts. I'm wearing both now, so yes, I can confirm this. Picked up the Bosch 1617EVSPK router kit and these router bits. I'm building a cabinet insert for a gaping hole left from an old wall oven. Since it's not fine word working, i'm having fun learning the router without having to be ultra precise but still working on a project. I figured out what a climb cut was trying to cut a rabbit with a straight bit. The router kept want to come at me.
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Apr 28, 2011 14:43
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What do you guys recommend for a general purpose wood glue? I'd like to be able to use it for pretty much everything. I figure I might as well get the good stuff. Titebond? Gorilla? Does it matter?
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Apr 28, 2011 15:23
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For most things original Titebond is all you'll ever need.
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Apr 28, 2011 15:50
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taqueso posted:What do you guys recommend for a general purpose wood glue? I'd like to be able to use it for pretty much everything. I figure I might as well get the good stuff. Titebond? Gorilla? Does it matter? I've had amazing success with Gorilla. It's extremely strong if it's applied/set properly. Someone else mentioned a couple pages ago about how well their glue held up that they basically just cut the joints off of the wood they were salvaging instead of trying to use a hammer to seperate the boards. The local HD where I bought the glue said they had performed a test of the various wood glues they stock and the Gorilla had the strongest bond. Heck, I built a TV stand nearly 2 years ago as my first project with some shallow dado's secured with the Gorilla glue and some finishing nails and that thing is solid as a rock.
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Apr 28, 2011 15:55
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Not to say it is or isn't "the strongest" but I would never ever ever believe it when Home Depot or a representative thereof says, "We performed a test of <product type>, and <featured product> was the best!"
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Apr 28, 2011 15:56
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Seems like all the major brands/types are adequate strength-wise. Are there differences in application or cleanup between the different types? Is there a downside to Titebond III besides cost?
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Apr 28, 2011 16:09
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I've used all three and I haven't found any cleanup/application differences yet. III is a little darker-looking, so it might not be as pretty as I and II, but for most joins, you'll never even see it, and if you have big pockets of cured glue in a glue-up that are going to get exposed by cutting or what have you, you may be doing something wrong, since glue isn't a filler. I'd say I is perfectly good for 99% of applications, II is good for a further 99% of the remainder, and III may be required...once. In your life. Or, you know, not at all.
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Apr 28, 2011 16:13
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Bad Munki posted:Not to say it is or isn't "the strongest" but I would never ever ever believe it when Home Depot or a representative thereof says, "We performed a test of <product type>, and <featured product> was the best!" Obviously I'm not going to take what they say/do as scientific fact, but for my general purpose it was OK. I saw the results, they basically glued a couple joints and tested the strength to break each. He also noted that really anything they have would be adequate, but for my first time building a TV stand that's going to hold my first $1300 flat screen, I wanted to make sure that ish wasn't going to crumble to the ground.
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Apr 28, 2011 16:14
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Titebond II and III can "creep" under load. That is even after the joint is set if it is under any sort of load say tension on a guitar neck the joint can move over time. If you need it to be waterproof and it isn't under a heavy load then II or III would be better. Gorilla glue and the other polyurethane glues foam up as they cure which can be messy if you can't clean up the joint after it is cured. I've only ever used it to laminate a skate board deck and I didn't care about the foam since it wasn't cut to final shape yet.
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Apr 28, 2011 16:23
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I also wonder if a person might have issues when it comes to staining/finishing when using gorilla glue as opposed to titebond et. al. Of course, regular wood glue like titebond can also present finishing issues, soooo... v vI've only used gorilla glue a few times, but it was on items where we didn't care about finishing and/or making a little mess, so I can't really say much on its finer qualities.
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Apr 28, 2011 16:34
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taqueso posted:Seems like all the major brands/types are adequate strength-wise. Are there differences in application or cleanup between the different types? Is there a downside to Titebond III besides cost? Yes, titebond III is weaker than I or II and suffers from glue creep. Ask me how my Master's project got ruined.
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Apr 28, 2011 16:47
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GEMorris posted:Ask me how my Master's project got ruined. How did your master's project get ruined?
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Apr 28, 2011 16:50
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GEMorris posted:Yes, titebond III is weaker than I or II and suffers from glue creep. I thought I saw on the titebond site that III was stronger, but all the numbers were pretty close to the same. (Went and looked: Original 3600psi, II 3750, III 4000) I'm sure all those numbers depend on a huge number of factors. These differences in creep, foaming, etc. are exactly the kinds of thing I was hoping I would hear about. Seems like original is probably what I want to get. So what happened to your project?
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Apr 28, 2011 16:59
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Complex curve laminations flattened over time thanks to glue creep with Titebond III. I used it because I needed a slower setting glue, but didn't want to spring for specialty glues/epoxies. Thankfully it worked while I was completing my project and getting graded.
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Apr 28, 2011 18:14
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