BigShed
Member
This may be a silly question, but I'll ask it anyway
I have been considering buying a dedicated pen lathe, such as a Jet Mini.
Ideally it would have EVS (electronic variable speed) from, say, 0 - 3000.
Now all the mini wood turning lathes I have looked at can achieve that BUT only by changing belts for about 3 manual ranges.
To me this defeats the purpose of having EVS!
So, the thought occurred to me, why not use a mini metal lathe, such as a 7x10, 7x12, or even 7x14.
They go down as low as 30 rpm, have a High and Low range, selected by a simple lever, no belts to change.
They have a 1/2-3/4hp motor, have a V type bed (tail stock is more accurately located than on most mini wood lathes, have MT spindle and tail stock, so all "normal" pen turning mandrels etc should work.
Most seem to have an MT3 head stock spindle, but a simple MT3 to MT2 adapter should take care of that.
Price wise they are not much dearer than a reasonable quality mini wood lathe, plus you get "two for the price of one"
Only drawback I can come up with is that you would have to fashion a conventional wood turning type tool rest to fit on the tool post.
So (finally) my question is this, has anyone done this?
Surely I cannot be the first one to think "outside the square"?
Or if no one has done it, can you think of a valid reason why this wouldn't work?
One comment I got from a metal turner was "you wouldn't want to get all that wood dust/shavings all over your metal lathe". Only thing defeating that argument was that he was turning acrylic whilst he was saying it!
Just think, as well as pens, I could turn custom metal/plastic pen parts, custom bushes and a whole lot of other possibilities that will present themselves as I get used to its' capabilities.
Tell me what you think, am I mad or dreaming, or is this at least a possibility?
I have been considering buying a dedicated pen lathe, such as a Jet Mini.
Ideally it would have EVS (electronic variable speed) from, say, 0 - 3000.
Now all the mini wood turning lathes I have looked at can achieve that BUT only by changing belts for about 3 manual ranges.
To me this defeats the purpose of having EVS!
So, the thought occurred to me, why not use a mini metal lathe, such as a 7x10, 7x12, or even 7x14.
They go down as low as 30 rpm, have a High and Low range, selected by a simple lever, no belts to change.
They have a 1/2-3/4hp motor, have a V type bed (tail stock is more accurately located than on most mini wood lathes, have MT spindle and tail stock, so all "normal" pen turning mandrels etc should work.
Most seem to have an MT3 head stock spindle, but a simple MT3 to MT2 adapter should take care of that.
Price wise they are not much dearer than a reasonable quality mini wood lathe, plus you get "two for the price of one"
Only drawback I can come up with is that you would have to fashion a conventional wood turning type tool rest to fit on the tool post.
So (finally) my question is this, has anyone done this?
Surely I cannot be the first one to think "outside the square"?
Or if no one has done it, can you think of a valid reason why this wouldn't work?
One comment I got from a metal turner was "you wouldn't want to get all that wood dust/shavings all over your metal lathe". Only thing defeating that argument was that he was turning acrylic whilst he was saying it!
Just think, as well as pens, I could turn custom metal/plastic pen parts, custom bushes and a whole lot of other possibilities that will present themselves as I get used to its' capabilities.
Tell me what you think, am I mad or dreaming, or is this at least a possibility?
