Thread: Bandsawing your blanks, or not

Originally Posted by Colin62

As far as I can work out, if it’s a Revo, then it’s got the steel bed. The cast iron bed was the previous model, and was just called the 24-36, with no “Revo”.

edit: Of course after saying that, within five minutes I found a reference to the older ones also being called Revo.

Originally Posted by Nubsnstubs

I went to the Laguna site, and in the features/specs page, this is in there. Steel Bed: ASTM A36

Croc, when you were here, didn't I show you the jack?? ............. Jerry (in Tucson)

Guys, mine is marked Revo 24/36 and it's the original cast iron model, same castings as a Powermatic, then they changed to a welded bed just like a Robust.
Jerry you did show it to me and I described how i have a swing arm above my big bandsaw and my metal lathe to change chucks. You were considering my application.
Rgds,
Crocy.

Originally Posted by tonzeyd

6 minutes to turn a rough bowl... i've got some serious speeding up to do!

Well, that was just the outside, including the time to pre-trim on the bandsaw. But, three and half minutes for the outside if the billet is mounted straight onto the lathe.

If the billet is a bit unbalanced then the speed has to be slower to begin with and the time to completion will take longer, but less than if I also pre-trim on the bandsaw.

Very unbalanced pieces (unless I'm after that as part of the design) have to include the time to pre-trim on the bandsaw or chainsaw.

I tend to rough turn a batch of outsides first, then go back and rough out their insides in batch mode. It takes me longer to turn the insides as that includes making a measured internal recess for remounting later. So, for a blank that took 3-1/2mins to rough turn on the outside it would probably take me about 6mins to rough turn the inside. Say 10mins all up for just the rough turning, then add the time to mount & dismount for the outside and again for the inside, that would take it up to 15mins per bowl. For diameters up to 12" I average about three per hour, so far from any record there. I can do more if just turning for an hour, but for hour after hour and including tool resharpening and occasionally wetting the whistle three an hour is about it. Larger or more complicated pieces take longer.

Managing the process from green to seasoned without too high a blank loss also takes time and re-turning and finishing the pieces later takes even more time yet again, especially the sanding/polishing.

Add to that workshop maintenance and preparation, documentation and gallery prep and distribution, then the time averaged out per piece is better measured in hours, not minutes.

Speed isn't a goal in itself for me. As a kid I worked a night shift on a production line and soon realised how soul destroying that was for the adults who had no other options. You can buy a wooden bowl that come out of sweat shops in developing countries that are sold in your local supermarket for 1/10th of what ours will sell for in a local gallery. We are making something more than a mass produced item.

I eliminate any unnecessary steps in the making process not so much to make it quicker but to allow me to concentrate on the aesthetics of what I make. That is what I enjoy doing and I guess why my buyers are willing to pay ten times more for a bowl from me than from the supermarket shelf.

Speed in itself is overrated, IMO. The fastest turners in the world got that way from doing a lot of it over many years. What do they say, it takes 1,000 hours to achieve mastery. Behind that is a less obvious fact; they all had to be selling a huge volume of work to get to that level of mastery. Turners like Raffan, Lucas, Escoulen, Batty and Mahoney all produced items that sold well due to their aesthetic appeal that then allowed them to do yet more turning enabling them to further developed their mastery.

Tonzeyd, concentrate on mastery and your turning speed may follow, as a byproduct.

And, don't forget to enjoy yourself!

Originally Posted by Old Croc

Mick is yours the cast iron model or the steel welded bed? If it's the cast iron one, I will be interested in your review also.
Rgds,
Crocy.

Crocy, it is the later steel bed unit.

Enough of this subject, otherwise we'll completely derail this very interesting thread. I'll start doing my impressions of the 24-36 and have something for the forum shortly.

Mick.

Originally Posted by tonzeyd

It takes me 10 minutes just to mount a bowl!

I'm sure you are exaggerating there, Tonzeyd, but one thing I have done to speed up the chucking process is to mount the chuck hex key in a reversible drill with adjustable tension. Set the tension to sufficiently hold tenons or recesses but not over tighten the jaws. It's both quicker and easier.

Hex key in drill.JPG

Originally Posted by NeilS

It takes me longer to turn the insides as that includes making a measured internal recess for remounting later. So, for a blank that took 3-1/2mins to rough turn on the outside it would probably take me about 6mins to rough turn the inside.

I rough turned the insides of that batch of bowls yesterday with the stop watch running. The 8.5" blanks that took an average 3-1/2mins to rough turn on the outside took an average 4-1/2mins to rough turn out the insides. So, quicker than I expected, but again no speed record there.

Hollowed 8.5in blank.JPG

The measured internal recess for re-chucking later consumes some of that time and I also like to thin down the thickness towards the base (that area needs less thickness as there is less warping there compared to the rim) and that involves me stopping the lathe to check the thickness with the calipers.

Thinning towards the base close to final thickness allows for movement to accommodating warping which I find reduces the loss from splitting.

But, I'm also wandering off topic now, which was on about the time for blank preparation (or not) before (rough) turning the outsides, and not about the subsequent stages.