wood copying lathe

[jd0471]

i was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction, i am looking for a wood duplicating lathe or wood copying lathe, i am new to this stuff but looking at making baseball bats

thanks

[Ed Reiss]

Hi JD...

You might want to check out Hapfco and Laguna...they both have decent copy lathes.

Cheers,
Ed :D

[Jim Carroll]

You need to look for one witha travelling steady right on the cutter.
The big problem with baseball bats is that the small diameter can create whip on the cutter.

[joe greiner]

True duplicating lathes typically cut by scraping, and leave a tool finish needing a lot of sanding or extra work. Depending on your production level, you might be better off with a "parallax pattern jig:" http://www.delorie.com/wood/tips/parallax-jig.html

Still on my bucket list, alas, so I can't vouch for it.

A slow-turning router lathe (with high-speed router) could reduce the finishing problem and eliminate the need for a steady, but with additional engineering needed for template following.

Joe