Making bigger bowls on a Nova lathe (with outrigger)

[mick59wests]

To anyone with a Nova lathe with an outrigger who turns bowls.......

There is quite a limitation on the size of bowls you can turn (mostly the height) and I am wondering if anyone has done any homemade extensions/improvements. I actually wrote to Teknatool but the answer I got was 'perhaps you need a dedicated bowl turning lathe'. That's not what I want - I just want to be able to occasionally turn a bowl a bit bigger. The two solutions I have thought of are.....
1. Get a bigger/longer 'arm' made. If I have the lathe bolted down then I expect I could go another 20cm or so and just turn slowly until most of the bulk is removed.
2. Get a special bowl tool rest made which started with a big curve to get around the top of the bowl

I think the first idea is the better one but may not be as easy to achieve but am mostly wondering if anyone else has solved this..

I did read rsser's review sometime ago before buying the DVRXP but still I should be able to find a solution.....

I would of course appreciate any thoughts

thanks

Mick

[Scott]

Mick, I did have the Nova with outrigger and understand your dilemma. The outrigger doesn't extend far enough to do any sort of deep work. I researched this issue at length and came to the conclusion that the outrigger can't be extended at all. The only solution would be to have a separate tool rest which rests on the ground unattached to the lathe. For it to work it'd have to be very solid. Vicmarc have a very good solution to their VL175 (http://www.vicmarc.com/default.asp?contentID=664). I did see a tool rest on a tripod at 's. Maybe you could PM him to get an idea.

[mick59wests]

Scott,

thanks for the reply. A standalone tool rest is another (more serious) solution but a bit more than I was planning on for the occasional bit bigger bowl.

cheers

Mick

[Rod Gilbert]

I don't have a nova but the same problem exist what ever lathe you use my old lathe was a very basic probably made in the 50's but very solid cast iorn bed and head stock. The free standing tool post that I made was a plastic bucket with a 90mm hole cut in the bottom a length of 90mm pvc tube taped to it and then filled with concrete and steel reo and a piece of steel tube to suit my tool rest post cast into the top with a nut welded to one side of a slice cut into the tube and a bolt to lock it in place. Very cheep to make a bag of premix concrete a couple pieces of steel a plastic bucket and a bit of stormwater pvc tube.
It worked very well just kick it around to where you need it and away you go.
regards Rod.

[Scott]

Very cheep to make a bag of premix concrete a couple pieces of steel a plastic bucket and a bit of stormwater pvc tube.
It worked very well just kick it around to where you need it and away you go.
regards Rod.

Great solution rod, love it!

[mick59wests]

I don't have a nova but the same problem exist what ever lathe you use my old lathe was a very basic probably made in the 50's but very solid cast iorn bed and head stock. The free standing tool post that I made was a plastic bucket with a 90mm hole cut in the bottom a length of 90mm pvc tube taped to it and then filled with concrete and steel reo and a piece of steel tube to suit my tool rest post cast into the top with a nut welded to one side of a slice cut into the tube and a bolt to lock it in place. Very cheep to make a bag of premix concrete a couple pieces of steel a plastic bucket and a bit of stormwater pvc tube.
It worked very well just kick it around to where you need it and away you go.
regards Rod.


Rod,

yes - a great solution and maybe one that I am even capable of building :D

thanks

Mick

[Christos]

Rod,

yes - a great solution and maybe one that I am even capable of building :D

thanks

Mick

If you were closer I would give you half a bag of concrete that I know will go hard by itself just by sitting in the garage.