Amateur Left handed turning operator at his limits

Evening all,

As my title states, i am a left handed turner using a typical right handed lathe, unknown to me when i bought my lathe thinking i could just turn the head stock around , no problem, yeh not so great.
My issue is now i have got to a level when turning bowls that i want to go deeper , longer but due to the fact im left handed, i dont have the access or visibility to turn safely , albeit my last piece of jarrah was going so nicely that i just pushed my limits too far and bang, my tool grabbed, and im sure you all know the rest of the story lol, suffice to say i found a large piece over 20ft away in my workshop after searching for 20 mins.
Im sorry if this sounds long winded, im getting there , suffice to say i went back to my local woodworking shop dealer and told him my drama, answer being i needed to buy a reversible rotating lathe so i can turn pieces away from me and not towards me, using carbide tip scrapers etc, oh great, why didnt somebody tell me before i forked out 1200 bucks on a new lathe, lesson learnt, ask better questions but i still love the lathe so keeping it.

So down to my real question, after visiting the Perth wood show last year, i was super impressed by the Vermec ultimate deep hollowing tool system, it allows me as a left hander to achieve what im trying to do, unfortunately its $500 a set but im saving as they say lol.

Does anybody else on this forum use this particular lathe tool , im really keen to get some feedback and possibly some end photos of finished works, i was sold on it at the wood show .

im keen to get into carbide tip tools so any tips or negatives im happy to receive as well

Thanks for listening

Pratty

Pratty, why not turn your lathe around and work from the back side of it. You would probably need to make up a remote to be able to turn it on or off. ........... Jerry (in Tucson)USA

Pratty,

I am right handed and do 95% bowls so well set up there. I make tool handles for myself and others and have made an effort to work left handed, so after several years of roughing gouge and skew use I can swap back and forth RH & LH without thinking about it.

Most motors can be made to run in the opposite direction by just changing the connections in the motor. If your lathe has a provision for outboard turning, that gets you in a position for left hand turning without changing anything. I see that you checked with the dealer about reversing, check with the lathe maker to see if the rotation can be easily changed. If they are not helpful consult a motor repair shop.

If the outboard spindle has right hand threads, and for turning in reverse inboard, the chuck and faceplate will have to be secured by a set screw to keep from unwinding.

Adding A VFD to a lathe will automatically provide reverse (I've set mine up to do that), and as Paul says, anything that screws onto the spindle will need to be firmly secured.
Unfortunately it does not end there,
Left hand drive spurs will be required although it's not impossible to make these
Permanently reversing the motor is not a good idea because all drilling will still have to be done in the original direction unless you can find sets of left hand drill bits.

Speaking as a fellow left handed turner; rather than spend all that money, you could practise turning right-handed instead? I did, and can now turn with equal facility with either hand (not that I'm necessarily any good; it's just that I'm equally poor with both hands).

Or, when hollowing, or hogging out bowls, I sometimes stand on the opposite side of the lathe but still use the front-side of the tool rest. I can comfortably turn left-handed this way and have good tool control when doing so. The only thing I needed to do was move the lathe off the wall.

Pratty.....Bob has highlighted the situation very well. Wood turning is really set up for "rightys". To "convert" tool and accessory will be a very expensive and frustrating way around the problem. I really think you should learn to turn right handed. I can sympathise with your annoyance, we had a kid start with us (white board cabinet making) who was left handed. He could not get a file to work for him until we realised the files are made for right handed people. I also know a shearer who is left handed. He was proficient at shearing and went to work for a large gang. In a very short time to be in harmony and sync with the rest of the shearers on the board he had to learn to shear right handed. He is now able to shear left or right handed and can shear to competition standard.
I think that as annoying for you that to turn "right handed" is an economic solution

Hello Gents
To echo previous posts, I think the simplest method is to learn RH turning. I believe most turners have managed that skill, I turn left handed at times when needed.

The Vermec tools, like all things made by either Vicmarc or Vermec are quality. They are somewhat over engineered, but they will last a lift time. My friend John Scarfe is very friendly with Enzo from Vermec and uses the deep hollower, and mini hollower and demonstrates the use of it frequently, they really are simple and effective.

Lastly, you may wish to join a wood turning club, google Wood turners Association of Western Australia for a club near you.
Sincerely
Willy

Pratty, if you in time continue on with wood turning, then perhaps you could consider your next lathe to be one fitted with a sliding head. Having a bed extension that can be mounted lower at the end of the bed is a plus. One of the Axminster lathes in England have this feature, as do the Laguna Revo range of two lathes. The idea is that you can stand at the end of the lathe and work directly in front of your bowl.

If you check this clip out of the Laguna Revo 18-36 lathe , you will see what I mean, the interesting to you stuff starts at around 2'25".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCEIwcmhbZc


The Axminster catalogue is quite comprehensive, page 34 bottom left corner shows exactly what a versatile lathe can be. It shows a swinging head, as well as a sliding head to the tail stock end, complete with lowered bed extension for doing bowls while standing face on. Page 35 shows an even better machine, as the bed extension can be mounted in the centre of the lathe allowing one to swivel the head and work far more easily than running the banjo to the limit. This would certainly be very suitable for a left handed turner working in reverse.

https://www.axminster.co.uk/media/do...6_brochure.pdf

You may, as a left handed worker working in reverse, consider something like these huge scrapers. I'm talking about the left and right 1½" scrapers, trust me when I say these heavy units don't move (much :D )

http://www.thewoodturningstore.com/woodturning-tools/turning-tool-sets/


While it is possible to work in reverse, you must have some method of locking the chuck onto the spindle. The Vicmarc VM150 chuck has, as a spare part, a locking mechanism. The below picture is the locking collar for the Vicmarc VM150 chuck, which I might add is really a professional wood turners chuck, but if you need a chuck that works...

The part number is V00975

Mick.

Edit, Vicmarc lathes have a spindle with a groove for the locking mechanism, I don't know which other lathes have this feature.

https://vicmarc.com/images/stories/v...ety-Collar.jpg

Hi pratty, I can vouch for the vermec deep hollowing rig , great tool , needs a bit of practice though , really easy to go through the side of a hollow form ...........
Don, t ask me how I know......:B:B
A good way to get use to it is to use it on bowls , which can be used left or right handed , with the cutter upside down on the opposite side , if you know what i mean !
Hope this helps .......

I'm a natural left handed turner too mate. (which I think means holding the handle in the left hand).
Spindle turning does not matter which handed you are.
Bowl turning can get you a bit tangled up as a left hander but it can be done, however as others have said, if you can stand on both sides of your lathe it helps.
I have found with bowl/faceplate work you get use to going right handed with practice if you try.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Optimark

Pratty, if you in time continue on with wood turning, then perhaps you could consider your next lathe to be one fitted with a sliding head. Having a bed extension that can be mounted lower at the end of the bed is a plus. One of the Axminster lathes in England have this feature, as do the Laguna Revo range of two lathes. The idea is that you can stand at the end of the lathe and work directly in front of your bowl.

If you check this clip out of the Laguna Revo 18-36 lathe , you will see what I mean, the interesting to you stuff starts at around 2'25".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCEIwcmhbZc


The Axminster catalogue is quite comprehensive, page 34 bottom left corner shows exactly what a versatile lathe can be. It shows a swinging head, as well as a sliding head to the tail stock end, complete with lowered bed extension for doing bowls while standing face on. Page 35 shows an even better machine, as the bed extension can be mounted in the centre of the lathe allowing one to swivel the head and work far more easily than running the banjo to the limit. This would certainly be very suitable for a left handed turner working in reverse.

https://www.axminster.co.uk/media/do...6_brochure.pdf

You may, as a left handed worker working in reverse, consider something like these huge scrapers. I'm talking about the left and right 1½" scrapers, trust me when I say these heavy units don't move (much :D )

http://www.thewoodturningstore.com/woodturning-tools/turning-tool-sets/


While it is possible to work in reverse, you must have some method of locking the chuck onto the spindle. The Vicmarc VM150 chuck has, as a spare part, a locking mechanism. The below picture is the locking collar for the Vicmarc VM150 chuck, which I might add is really a professional wood turners chuck, but if you need a chuck that works...

The part number is V00975

Mick.

Edit, Vicmarc lathes have a spindle with a groove for the locking mechanism, I don't know which other lathes have this feature.

https://vicmarc.com/images/stories/v...ety-Collar.jpg

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thanks mate for the comments and the links, awesome, ive learnt a lot just reading everybodies posts to my question, i have been teaching myself to turn right handed as well but only straight on, its so against the grain when it gets dodgy and feeling unsafe, i have looked at those options as well for working off the end but i need a decent tool rest to do it , all takes time but m getting there lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pratty

thanks mate for the comments and the links, awesome, ive learnt a lot just reading everybodies posts to my question, i have been teaching myself to turn right handed as well but only straight on, its so against the grain when it gets dodgy and feeling unsafe, i have looked at those options as well for working off the end but i need a decent tool rest to do it , all takes time but m getting there lol.

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Oh my god, that revo 1836 laguna lathe, thats exactly what i want , wow that is some impressive piece of kit

Quote:

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Originally Posted by smiife

Hi pratty, I can vouch for the vermec deep hollowing rig , great tool , needs a bit of practice though , really easy to go through the side of a hollow form ...........
Don, t ask me how I know......:B:B
A good way to get use to it is to use it on bowls , which can be used left or right handed , with the cutter upside down on the opposite side , if you know what i mean !
Hope this helps .......

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helps me heaps mate, thanks for the input

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pratty

Oh my god, that revo 1836 laguna lathe, thats exactly what i want , wow that is some impressive piece of kit

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Me too! That really looks well thought out...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nubsnstubs

Pratty, why not turn your lathe around and work from the back side of it. You would probably need to make up a remote to be able to turn it on or off. ........... Jerry (in Tucson)USA

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Strange as it sounds, this works. I've seen it done at the Max Carey Woodturning Training Centre in Portishead (UK) and there is an area in France where they turn this way traditionally.