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Wild Dingo
25th December 2007, 02:43 AM
I was wombling around in the shed yesty couldnt find a thing to do... black dog day Im afraid... anyway I spied the lathe sittin there covered in a fine coating of dust so I ripped the Aussie flag that I use as a cover of her and she was just eyeing me off... and then she whispered "come on dipstick have a go yer mug yer know yer wanna go on just one"

Well with the mongrel black dog nippin at me heals I turned and walked away back to the workbench I went and sat and drank my now cold cuppa coffee had a fag and wandered around again... ended up back at the lathe... "come on!! you know yer wanna have a gander up there on the shelf theres that nice wee lump of sandlewood youve been saving... no? fine theres that last wee peice of huon sittin there go on such a sweet scent that has you know you wanna GO ON!! TURN ME ON BABY!!" but I turned and walked away...

I went down behind the shed to the first of my wood piles and had a bit of a sticky beak but no nothing I could see seemed to take me so I marched of up the back to the major pile of logs up there and wandered around... nah nothing grabbed me there either... so with head hung low and the black dog now chewing on me leg I wandered back to the door and there sittin beside the door was this nice sorta "round" lump of some sorta timber I had tossed there some months back for some reason or other... mmm... I lifted it up and took it inside and put it on the workbench

mmmm I turned it over then turned it over again... then I thought may as well do something... so I wandered over to the bandsaw and turned it on and started slicing the edges off to make it even more round... finally I got it close to where it looked roundish so I got out my straight edge and made some crosshairs to find the center finally I was reasonably content with my directional abilities to find the center of a sorta roundish lump of somewhere around 12in give or take several inches x 3in thick wood of some discription

So I hummed and haaaed for another fag and a bit more of the cold coffee... had a slurp of water from the bottle I leave out there for the veneering... yech!!!... gulped down the rest of the coffee and wandered over to the lathe "I knew you would come to me... come on big boy turn me on! GO ON!!!" I ignored her and faced the timber up to the center pins (forgotten the damned name now) and when I was happy with the roll of the lump by hand I made sure the stand thingy was out of the way and stepped to one side... "GO ON BABY HIT THAT BUTTON DO IT TO ME COME ON!!!" she screamed... so I pleased her

I flipped the button and turned the dial... SLOWLY... at 200rps she groaned she wobbled she was turned ON... so I sped it up a touch now at 400rpms an she was orgasming all over the shop!!... "MORE OOOHHH MORE!!" she screamed at me... hessitantly I turned the dial a little more at 800rpms I stood well back and to the side... she had lost all control of herself!! literally she was DANCING around the floor!! shaking rockin wobbling jiggling all over the place!!... I reached out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! YOU TOUCH MY BUTTONS BOYO AND I WILL..." turn the dial and flip the switch down and off

breathe a sigh of deep relief as the bench slowly found its feet again the lathe relaxed back onto the top and the lump of timber finally stopped its insane banging and wobbling

I think I need to make a new more heavy duty type bench... I think?... either that or bolt it to the floor and walls!!

Soooo anyone have any idea of what a GOOD SOLID Lathe bench looks like? should I make one of timber or STEEL??? have welder can melt steel to steel sorta... what size steel should I use? I love my lathe an she loves me I just gotta make her stay put when I turn her on eh fiesty wee thing she is :;

I wasnt scared... much :C

RufflyRustic
25th December 2007, 10:48 AM
Goodness Gracious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, a new lathe bench sounds like the go. I tell you what, any Womble worth his weight in Marmelade would be scared spitless by that experience!

Cheers
Wendy

Pat
25th December 2007, 05:05 PM
Ding, when I got my new (old) lathe, it danced a 3m+ bench around until the bench was bolted to the wall. I still think I may have to reinforce the framework and bolt it to the concrete floor, as when I rough timber it still likes to dance abit.

Heres a couple of benches . . . 1 (http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com/TheToolrest/2006/11/building-my-lathe-bench.html)

2 (http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=184)

3 (http://www.raygirling.com/hegner.htm)

Skew ChiDAMN!!
25th December 2007, 06:33 PM
:rotfl:

Ding, the right speed is to crank her up until she starts vibrating and then back her off. (Which sounds like dead slow, for that piece of wood. :D) Once you've got the piece rounded and more evenly balanced, then you can start nudging the speed up again.

Or you can mount a piece of wood on the lathe, give it a spin by hand and see if the piece always comes to a stop with the same piece pointing down. You can use a chainsaw or power-plane or similar "quick removal tool" to remove weight from the "heavy side," giving it the occasional spin by hand until you get it balanced enough to hit the ON button.

It is a good idea to bolt her down to the floor though. :yes: We all have black dog days (I haven't heard that term since my Grand-dad died.) and take shortcuts that make more work for the washing machine. :roll: Or, if your lathe stand has a lower shelf, try throwing a couple of bags of cement powder or chunks of pig-iron or whatever on it to weigh it down. If this extra weight makes a major difference, then start thinking about making a beefier stand.

But look at balancing the wood first. It's much, much safer that way...

hughie
25th December 2007, 07:06 PM
But look at balancing the wood first. It's much, much safer that way


True, balance is everything, then look at the bench/stand. Given out of balance and the wrong speed you can shake anything to death :U

http://www.bayareawoodturners.org/turnlnks.php?id=2

http://www.thevideodoc.com/Images/LatheStand01.jpg

http://www.teknatool.com/projects/connover%20stand.jpg

Consider using hollow legs and fill them with sand/scrape metal/lead etc. This will save space and give you a very stable stand.

Wild Dingo
26th December 2007, 01:51 PM
Thanks everyone :2tsup:

Wendy I will admit that the lathe probably scares me more often than any other machine in the shed... simply cause Ive no real idea of what the blazes Im bloody doing when I turn it on... I just KNOW I have to :;

Skew I did try that trick on the bandsaw... took of all the OBVIOUS wrong edges almost round... I do think however that Im gonna have to invest in some method of finding the actual center of a "round" than the present "mmm thats about it" "okay try a little to the left" "mmm alright maybe to the right?" "okay up then" "right must be down lets try that" "mmm okay take it off an sight it eh? could work eh" "mmmm nope lets try up again" hit an miss stuff presently :doh:

I have had 2 bags of cement and some lead pigs from a boat I dismembered awhile ago on the shelf under the lathe since the damned thing tried to attack me when I first used it... so maybe some more? and some bolts to the concrete a couple of "spreaders" on the base of the legs an bolt down could work methinks

Cheers again :2tsup:

bsrlee
26th December 2007, 07:36 PM
Get some more concrete, some reo & a few lengths of all-thread rod. Knock up a box out of scrap ply big enough for the lathe to sit on, make a template board (more ply) for the lathe to sit on with holes for the hold-down bolts.

Cut the all-thread into 450mm(18 inch) lengths & bend one end into a 'J' or "L", then bolt it thru the template holes.

Put the reo in the box & fill the box with concrete. Push the template with rods into the concrete from the top. Leave to set. Hope you put it in the place where you want it to stay :U:q Optionally, knock off the formwork. Bolt lather onto template with the exposed all-thread rod. You may want to put some rubber strip under the lathe's feet if it is too noisy.

This is a paraphrase of one of the Ernie Connover books, or maybe one of Raffan's - whatever, someone has done it before & it works.

Pops
26th December 2007, 09:40 PM
Hi Ding,

To quote Wendy, 'Goodness Gracious' ol' son. :o

You had me backing away from the computer screen just reading this. :o The thought of a great lump wizzing at 800 rpm enough to make the whole lathe dance scared the crikey out of me.

Black dog days and high speed rotating machinery don't mix well, I know. Starting a thread here is much better. Onya Ding :2tsup:.

Take care out there in that shed mate. :)

Cheers
Pops

wheelinround
27th December 2007, 09:13 AM
Hi Shane it is Shane isn't it:?

:cool: cool man Wild Dingo

(Hate that Black Dog he has got be either got rid of or taught to heal and obey HMV not the other way round.):C It's hard I know.

This same fellow who's tackled high sea's raging winds and wild woman, drove road trains, battled huge fish and wollopers to get his fish back, survived life threatening situations. Game enough to post photo's of himself in a bag of fruit at his daughters wedding:D.

Yet he's :oo: scared of a wee little lathe :no: :roll: must be just an OFF day and besides she was giving you the come-on get your gear out.

She was trying to ease your pain & fear by settling you down and getting you into that zone To be one with the wood.

Even guided you to the right piece.

Ok so she's riding rough a little unsteady on her feet, she's been sitting there alone neglected for so long maybe she does need a new set of legs a bit of tarting up you know woman like to look good and feel good.

Now if you need the steel pop and see my old mate Steve at One Steel tell him Ray (used to go motorbike riding with his brother) sent you and he'll look after you I am sure.:2tsup:

Ps dont forget the WIP's of bench making and turning

ciscokid
27th December 2007, 11:53 AM
I've read the original post through twice and I still can't make head or tails out of what he's sayin'. Exactly what language is that anyway? :U

jmk89
27th December 2007, 12:19 PM
I've read the original post through twice and I still can't make head or tails out of what he's sayin'. Exactly what language is that anyway? :U

It is "Wild Dingo" - one of Shane's personae (I suspect it's not the one that turned up in the bag o' fruit at the daughter's wedding) - and he writes just the same way as he thinks.

For someone who comes from out of Australia, the way to work out what he's on about is to imagine Mick (crocodile) Dundee saying it - say it aloud if you prefer (but warn SWMBO before you start doing it, or she may have the chaps around with the long-sleeved suit with buckles before you find out what it's all about).:U

OGYT
27th December 2007, 03:33 PM
Hey, Cees-ko, that's pure-dee "AussieSpeak" to us in the upover. :D Only been on this forum a couple of years, and, by cracky, I think I've finally got him figured out. I think. Maybe.... :D