Luke Maddux
14th April 2015, 01:12 AM
I bought a new lathe yesterday. It's a Jet 1642EVS. The one with 2hp. I got a killer deal on it so, in light of the purchase, I've decided to take a break from furniture and get back to turning.
As one might expect, I was like a kid on Christmas morning rushing down the stairs, only I was rushing at it with a 12" Tiger Myrtle bowl blank that I had been saving for this very moment.
Roughed the blank on the bandsaw and then mounted it and roughed it to round at around 450rpm. I had hoped to rough at around 550, but was getting some vibration so I turned her down a bit. Roughed it and was having no problem at around 600, but at around 750, which is considered the upper end for safety on a blank this size, I'm still getting a bit of shake.
To clarify, I'm not talking about anything violent and the lathe is not moving or at risk of moving, but I just kind of expected that this would not be the case, as this lathe is pushing 500lbs. It's just a bit of wiggle that reduces my tool control to a slight degree.
Could I be looking at a foot that's not doing its share of the lifting? It doesn't have the feeling of uneven legs. There's no rocking, but that's not to say that the legs aren't flexing slightly under its weight so that it's not noticeable to me but there is a discrepancy in its weight distribution.
I feel pretty confident that the lathe is functioning as it should, so it's probably some sort of setup issue.
I should probably also mention that this piece of wood was kiln dried in Tasmania about 8 months ago and sent to me in QLD shortly thereafter. I kind of doubt it's a moisture distribution issue but I'm not ruling that out.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Cheers,
Luke
As one might expect, I was like a kid on Christmas morning rushing down the stairs, only I was rushing at it with a 12" Tiger Myrtle bowl blank that I had been saving for this very moment.
Roughed the blank on the bandsaw and then mounted it and roughed it to round at around 450rpm. I had hoped to rough at around 550, but was getting some vibration so I turned her down a bit. Roughed it and was having no problem at around 600, but at around 750, which is considered the upper end for safety on a blank this size, I'm still getting a bit of shake.
To clarify, I'm not talking about anything violent and the lathe is not moving or at risk of moving, but I just kind of expected that this would not be the case, as this lathe is pushing 500lbs. It's just a bit of wiggle that reduces my tool control to a slight degree.
Could I be looking at a foot that's not doing its share of the lifting? It doesn't have the feeling of uneven legs. There's no rocking, but that's not to say that the legs aren't flexing slightly under its weight so that it's not noticeable to me but there is a discrepancy in its weight distribution.
I feel pretty confident that the lathe is functioning as it should, so it's probably some sort of setup issue.
I should probably also mention that this piece of wood was kiln dried in Tasmania about 8 months ago and sent to me in QLD shortly thereafter. I kind of doubt it's a moisture distribution issue but I'm not ruling that out.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Cheers,
Luke