Tool rest Question

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ekeogh

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Jun 14, 2020
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As I am new to wood turning I just purchased a mini lathe for pen turning it's a 10x18 mini lathe and the problem that I am having is positioning the tool rest in relation to the spindle, since I am working on relatively thin stock 3/4" thick I can't seem to lower the rest to a suitable height because the cam locking lever is too long and keeps bumping into the tool rest.


Any suggestions
 

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egnald

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Greetings from Nebraska. The photo you attached shows a ratcheting locking lever. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the problem, but you should be able to pull out on the handle and re-position it to avoid hitting anything (i.e. the ratcheting function of the leaver). Regards, Dave (egnald)
 

JimB

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The handle that locks the tool rest in place is adjustable. It is spring loaded. Pull it out, to the right in the pic, and move it to a new position.
 
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Hey Ed, 3/4" blanks are pretty standard in size and almost every pen I turn is that size. There are a few kits out there that require bigger blanks but most a 3/4" blank is more than enough.
 

ekeogh

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The handle that locks the tool rest in place is adjustable. It is spring loaded. Pull it out, to the right in the pic, and move it to a new position.

i know that but my problem is the lower I lower the actual tool rest the locking lever bumps into it.. I know that I can reposition the body that slides on the lathe bed but because I'm turning 5" pieces of wood when I engage the rail stock Idont have any room to reposition the tool rest base that slides I hope I'm making sense
 

darrin1200

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Can you take a picture of your lathe and where everything is positioned. It may make it easier to understand you problem.

Most lock levers only need about a 1/6th of a turn to lock. That should be enough to not interfere with the rest.
 

monophoto

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i know that but my problem is the lower I lower the actual tool rest the locking lever bumps into it.. I know that I can reposition the body that slides on the lathe bed but because I'm turning 5" pieces of wood when I engage the rail stock Idont have any room to reposition the tool rest base that slides I hope I'm making sense


I understand - this is one of the compromises that you encounter when you opt for a smaller lathe. Because it's smaller, the key parts are simply closer together so there is less space available to maneuver.

Something you might consider is getting (or making) a shorter tool rest. The picture shows a standard 6" tool rest, which means that the first problem you are going to have is getting it close enough to the workpiece while fitting between the headstock and tailstock. A shorter tool rest might enable you to get closer to the work while providing more maneuvering room to manipulate the locking handle. I made a short (3") tool rest from a piece of 2" steel angle and a length of mild steel rod that fits into the banjo. Ideally, the angle should we welded or brazed to the post, but I just drilled and tapped a hole in the post, and then used a screw to hold the bar in place.

Another thing to consider is to extend the tailstock ram. That will allow you to move the tailstock further away from the headstock to free up space in the congested area. Having done that, you might be able to then position the banjo at an angle to the bedways (it doesn't have to be exactly perpendicular) which then might allow more space for the locking handle.
 

JimB

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I've read this several times now and the question doesn't make sense to me. How can the lever that locks the banjo be hitting the tool rest? As stated above, a picture of the problem would help.
 

monophoto

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I've read this several times now and the question doesn't make sense to me. How can the lever that locks the banjo be hitting the tool rest? As stated above, a picture of the problem would help.

I think he's concerned about interference between the locking lever that fixes the tool rest height interfering with the tool rest when the rest is lowered toward the bottom of it's travel.

I have a similar problem on my Turncrafter Midi lathe - it's frustrating, but its a matter of figuring out the various degrees of freedom in all the moving parts, and then finding a way to compensate for the interferences caused by the congestion.
 

ekeogh

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I understand - this is one of the compromises that you encounter when you opt for a smaller lathe. Because it's smaller, the key parts are simply closer together so there is less space available to maneuver.

Something you might consider is getting (or making) a shorter tool rest. The picture shows a standard 6" tool rest, which means that the first problem you are going to have is getting it close enough to the workpiece while fitting between the headstock and tailstock. A shorter tool rest might enable you to get closer to the work while providing more maneuvering room to manipulate the locking handle. I made a short (3") tool rest from a piece of 2" steel angle and a length of mild steel rod that fits into the banjo. Ideally, the angle should we welded or brazed to the post, but I just drilled and tapped a hole in the post, and then used a screw to hold the bar in place.

Another thing to consider is to extend the tailstock ram. That will allow you to move the tailstock further away from the headstock to free up space in the congested area. Having done that, you might be able to then position the banjo at an angle to the bedways (it doesn't have to be exactly perpendicular) which then might allow more space for the locking handle.
That's a great suggestion !!!! Thanks
 

monophoto

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I understand - this is one of the compromises that you encounter when you opt for a smaller lathe. Because it's smaller, the key parts are simply closer together so there is less space available to maneuver.

Actually, this reminds me of a problem I had with my first car - a Chevy Camero with 8 cylinder engine. Being young and foolish at the time, I wanted to do my own engine work. The problem was that the last spark plug was buried at the back of the engine next to the firewall. There was room to get my hand in to remove the spark plug wire, and room enough for a spark plug wrench to grip the head of the plug, but there wasn't enough room to for my hand to actually hold the wrench while backing out the spark plug.

One of the things that taught me is that there are some bad words that are an essential part of every difficult job.
 

jjjaworski

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Las Cruces, NM
You can always drill and tap a new hole in the front of the banjo and use a threaded bolt with a knob on it to tighten up the tool rest. Epoxy a carriage bolt into a wood knob perhaps.

A little web search can find you an all metal version I bet. Try grizzly, McMaster Carr , MSC and Grainger.
Search " threaded adjustment knobs " and you may find something with the same treads you have now on the troublesome adjusting lever.
 

greenacres2

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The lever handle on the tool rest height adjustment is Spring Loaded. Think of it like a socket with a lever handle. Pulling the lever toward the tail stock releases the socket from the nut/bolt head and allows the lever to be repositioned. That way it can be tightened without regard to whatever would physically be in the way of the lever.
earl
 
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