Thread: Outboard turning - update

Originally Posted by Pat

My outboard turning tool post.

Mounted on a 1/2 to 1" steel plate about 2 1/2 ft dia that would or should be stable.

If you only occasionally do some outboard turning:

• A wide footed tripod with a bit of weight works OK. The tripod allows you to get closer into the tool post while maintaining stability with the spread of the 'pods'. They are a bit clunky to manoeuvre, but no more than some other options

• Outriggers that hang off the lathe without a post to the floor are prone to vibration. They are OK for very light work, but most users only resort to outboard turning when they have something that is too large to fit inboard

• Outriggers that are braced to the lathe and have a post to the floor are more stable but are slow to manoeuvre, which is OK if you are only doing a bit of outboard turning

If you do most of your turning outboard, as I do, IMO there is only one option; a dedicated outboard bed. They are both stable and as manoeuvrable as an inboard banjo, but unfortunately there are few lathes that have this option.

The back of headstock offerings have their disadvantages; reverse direction and/or chuck insert issues.

Side beds on swivel head lathes have a number of advantages; same rotation as inboard, standard tools, chucks and inserts. Their one disadvantage is that you can't turn extra large diameter pieces with the side bed in place. Not many of us turn that large, but you can always remove the side bed and use an outboard rig if you get a whim to do so.

My ideal lathe would be something like the child of the Woodfast C1000X with its side bed (but a bit underpowered) and the new Vicmarc VL240 Swivel Head Short Bed Lathe. I'm disappointed that the new VL240 didn't come with a side bed option... but expect that would cost me a bit more than my $0.02 worth...