Lathe project

[luckyscroller788]

Today, I was given an old lathe. It was offered to me for free, sight unseen, and since I am a sucker for these types of deals, I quickly said yes, I'll take it.
Its an old Crapsman lathe, and it does run. I was hoping for a better machine, but for the price I cant complain (to much). My initial hope was for a lathe to be a dedicated finishing, or buffing machine. So, with that being said I am considering shortening it significantly if possible by cutting down the length of the tube steel 'bed'. Anyone have any idea if that is a feasible thought, or am I blowing smoke up my own arse? Headstock is 3/4X16TPI. Another thing that hinders me is that the headstock taper is #1MT and I have nothing with a #1 MT except a couple drill bits. I assume the TS is also a #1MT. At the MPG I was a winner of a buffing setup from Arizona Sillouette , and that is a MT2, like every other thing I have. So, what would YOU do? Is it not worth wasting my time and energy on? And, is there anywhere to buy a #1 MT male to a #2MT female adapter that is reasonably priced? Should I try to sell it on CL, and put that money towards a cheap small lathe to be a dedicated finishing machine?

 

[Marmotjr]

I believe Nova has a full suite of adapters, but those may be thread adapters, but you'll probably need one of those for any chucks you may have. I know you can find MT2 -> MT1 adapters somewhere. A quick google search found many choices like this one: https://www.ebay.com/p/?iid=331148354015&lpid=82&&&ul_noapp=true&chn=ps

How long is your other lathe? I know I would be appreciative of a lathe big enough to turn long spindles on, but I'm looking to expand my work into furniture and the like.

It looks like it's got some good swing to it, allowing for medium sized bowls.

If it runs smooth and true, I'd be hesitant to get rid of it. You're not going to find a cheaper lathe, free is about as cheap as it comes. If you have the shop space, keep it, and set it up as the buffing station you want. Fix up the cabinet some, you can never have enough storage space! But when you need it, it'll be there.

 

[darrin1200]

A replacement buffing mandrel with an mt1, from Arizona silhouette, is $25. I think it would be well worth it.

I have been keeping my eyes on kijiji for a similar lathe, for the exact same purpose. I would be interested to hear if you have problems cutting the tube down.

 

[moke]

An MT 1 to MT 2 adapter is avaiable somewhere I have seen one.....it "sticks out" away from the head stock about 4". I personally have a Beall buff and love it, that extra 4" might be great to get it away from the head stock and give you more room to "maneuver". I would cetainly wait to cut the tube down until I arrived at the solution I was comfortable with.

 

[skiprat]

I have the same wood lathe. Look closely, the tube bed can split in half.