Thread: CNC for turning? Why?

Frightening - we will all be out of a job. Interestingly, the College that I bought my
latest lathe from, replaced it with a top of the range CNC router - for industrial technology students.
The teacher an experienced one at that, had to do a 3 months training course on the computerisation
aspects of the CNC system. He said he was pretty confident that the students would be showing him
many options after 12 months or so. So as you say, no end to technological change - will it mean in the
future that "manual" lathe work will be largely overtaken by other advances. The answer is probably, yes.
Having said that, the variations you have conjured up are very interesting. I like the design work. Drillit.

Nice work on the very simple jig set up and brilliant work done in Ornamental Turning

this was more or less a proof of concept. I plan to use a chain on the indexing ring which you can see on the back of the headstock. this will transfer through a 90 degree zero backlash gearbox to a cable that runs inside the front of the I beam bed. I can lock to either side of the loop to get left or right lead. pitch will be changed with change gears on a jack shaft between the two. just bicycle sprockets and chain.

Oreos, have you seen Harvey Fien's wonderful work? He has some fantastic creations, and they are just the machines to do his work.

HARVEYFEIN.NET

It looks like people do not want to keep skills in the work place any more. If we keep producing these gizmo's all the time there will be nobody around that can do it by hand.
I admit they do have a place but only if kept in their place. Like reproduction factories and the like.
I love the feeling and sight of my chisel and I combining to turn a piece of plain looking timber into something that I am proud of because I did it, not some machine.
My two bobs worth as usual.
Cookie

I strive to compete in a competitive world. I do not use CNC but I will expand the use of my lathe to the farthest possible point. That necissarily means jigs, fixtures, adaptations, additions etc. Cookie how "vintage" are you satisfied with? Do you still use soft steel tools and a spring lathe? Or rather a "modern" motorized lathe with the finest tool steel available, mabey even carbide insert tools. How about for tool sharpening. just a stationary stone or a two wheel grinder with the latest gizmo for holding the tool true to put on a consistantly perfect edge. We each have our area of comfort. untill my dads death last year i spent time working on his equipment or building jigs so he could compete ina niche market, Large turnings. I am just braudening the landscape a little. (or a lot mabey).

I do think it requires a little skill to make the things I have come up with. The lathe is from scratch not a copy of any wood turning lathe out there. the aparatus is not something adapted from anything else i have seen. just ideas made real.

And a very valuable 2 bob's worth Cookie!!

Thing is however, new gadgets widen possibilities and horizons.

You are correct in that I use modern tools and equipment. What I was trying to say was that, Modern equipment has its place, but do not take away the skills required to keep the craft from going downhill by using equipment like cnc machinery.
I do not think that having machines do all the work is good for the future of wood turning per sey. Take the individual out of the equation and you end up with nobody able to do it in the long run.