Anyone have experience with this lathe and can tell how large a piece can be turned outboard? I was disappointed to see that in the manual they recommend a maximum of 17 inches. Is that a real limitation?
I looked up the specs of your lathe and saw that it has a 16" capacity. So may recommending that you limit the piece to 17" is conservative. Maybe it is based on the bearings, the center of gravity, etc. I suspect that if you put a piece on that was well balanced, solid (no cracks) and you took reasonable cuts that you could push that envelope a bit. But I also suspect that if you put on a piece that was horribly out-of-balance, was compromised with cracks and you took heavy cuts that you may have problems. If you are regularly going to turn larger pieces, consider the G0766 or another large lathe. David Barkby is a great turner who specializes in large turnings. He takes all sorts of precautions and balances his pieces before he starts and as he removes material in order to keep it balanced. Here is a pix of one of his larger pieces.
I want to see the segmented bowl he is making out of that ring!
He makes expensive wall hangings. He is quite the master.
