Making plans to build a concrete bowl lathe - opinions welcome.

[Mark Norman]

I used a rubber mallet John....a lot!

Six sacks so far Alex, at 80# each that's damn near 500# and I'm not done yet!

the trees are talking to me... begging....I hug them in appreciation...

[Mark Norman]

As the man who fell off the top of a 20 story building was heard to say on the way down, "So far, so good".

LOL again...

you sound a lil pessimistic there Richard..

[Richard Madison]

Mark, am assuming that the fellow somehow managed a soft landing.

Edit: After the concrete sets there will still be some residual moisture content (?%), so that will add a few more pounds.

[Mark Norman]

I pray for a soft landing Richard....lol lol

The machine is only half built. I have another six bags of concrete yet

Thanks for the warm wishes..

[Norm Zax]

Following the process with awe!
Two short ones: What is the engineering reasoning behind building the thing in pieces? Wouldnt one pour to create on slab be the best? And how, by the way, have you stopped the concrete from going all the way down? (must have missed a thread or a pic.) 2. What say you all that Mark start a new thread. Ive been having lots of difficulty finding the latest messages. In fact I search for Mark's "all posts" and go on from there. Been like that for a while now.
We're 101% behind you!
Norm
Added 4 hours later: I read the replies and switched to "Linear". What a relief! Please don't continue to reply to this question of mine folks.

[Dave Schell]

Norm, I too was having a hard time finding the latest post in this long series. Then I did some looking around the page. On the top right, is a menu bar with a choice of "Display Modes" on it. Select that drop down menu and in it will be a choice for "Linear Mode." Select that mode and the thread will be just one long series. From there, it is easy to select "Last Page" to get to the last page of posts. You likely are in "hybrid mode" now which can be a bit tricky to navigate. Good luck.

[Bob Vallaster]

Norm,
Check "Display Modes," right side on the tool bar at the top of the page. Linear Mode should put should put the posts in chronological order for you.

BobV

Edit: Dave is clearly quicker on the draw...

[Mark Norman]

Fabrication limitations Norm..

+1 go linear on the forum. much easier to follow.

[Richard Madison]

Mark,
Awoke thinking about concrete this morning. Are you doing anything to slow the drying in order to prevent cracking? Am not suggesting that you Anchorseal and bag it, but just wondering.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Take a good look at the Vega Bowl Lathe. That banjo looks pretty easy to copy and the tailstock looks doable also. Nice looking project. Good Luck.

[Mark Norman]

I have Bob, thanks!

Richard... lol lol, I did too Its in good hands....

I got a bunch of pics of the "unveiling" I made a stop action vid...just another hobie of mine...

Till it uploads I offer you concrete!!:









Stay tuned!!

[Peter Luch]

Did you place any kind of rebar or wire mesh on the bottom?

If not I fear for the feet sticking out and that they may crack.

Don't move it for 7 days......please!!
Let it set up real good, the longer the better.

It looks great, you did some real fantastic planning on this and it should pay off.

Aloha, Pete

[alex carey]

While helping my dad with some sort of cement project I recall him saying the more water the cement absorbs the stronger it is. Every hour my dad would squirt the cement with a bottle. Is that true and are you doing the same thing?

[Mark Norman]

Thanks Peter, and yes I put steel in the feet. Thanks, I have put a lot of thought into it.

Yeah Alex, yer dad knew what he was doing
As soon as I had it striped I wet it down good and I was out there every hour soaking it with a sponge bath then I wrapped it up in a tarp to keep the moisture in. The slower it cures the better. Like wood if it drys faster on the outside than the inside it is susceptible to cracking.

[Nigel Tracy]

That is awesome. It looks like a whale's tail