Question about swing of lathe vrs actual adjustment of tool rest

[Jay Jolliffe]

My lathe in the specs states it has a 14'' swing over bed & 17'' over gap. The tool rest will only let me do a object a little over 9''.....I can do something flat out to the 14'' but I can't do the edge on the bowl ......Am I doing something wrong or is that the limit of the lathe. It's a Grizzly G1495...Can i get a tool rest that will go out further....

[David DeCristoforo]

My own personal feeling is that most lathe "swing" specs are misleading. The "over the bed" dimension is not always a good spec to look at. "Over the banjo" might be a more useful measurement. My old Delta has a 6" swing which suggests that a 12" bowl could be mounted. But the banjo is almost 2" tall so if I need to move the banjo under the piece, it can be no bigger than 8+" in diameter. I have to get really funky with positioning the banjo if I want to use the full capacity of the lathe.

[Roger Chandler]

On larger bowls or platters, I maneuver my banjo out some and get rest close.........this allows maximum capacity over the ways. Sometimes, it is the position of the banjo that is crucial.....you can adjust the toolrest according to your needs.

[Fred Belknap]

Not sure I totally understand your problem. I normally remove the banjo and re-position it on the other side of the bowl or remove the bowl and move the banjo. With a fixed headstock and a notch I not sure if that would work.

[Michelle Rich]

I'm a tad confused with your question..turn the banjo around so it is not under the bowl..turn the rest to where you want it. the gap is a nasty old way of getting more swing..and with today's chucks the gap is worthless..I've seen folks fill the gap with wood .

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Gap bed lathes are limiting in that you cannot move the banjo to the left side of the work piece. There are no ways there. You will have to work within the confines of the gap. Since the head stock is not movable, you are further limited. Personally, I believe gap bed lathes were designed for spindle turning but give you a bit of flexibility for limited size face plate work. My old gap bed lathe wastes away in a warehouse partially because it was so limiting.
faust

[Prashun Patel]

What type of rest are you using, and what are you trying to turn? There are several different styles that might help you get more 'cantilever' out over the banjo.

[Jay Jolliffe]

If the banjo is 90 degrees to the bed & the rest is parallel to the bed the most I can get out of it is a little under 4 3/4" from the center of the chuck to the rest.

[Scott Hackler]

You need 1) a larger (longer) tool rest and 2) try to keep the banjo out from under the blank. I have had a few times where I had to un-chuck the blank in order to slide the banjo to the chuck side of the piece. Just make sure and use a pencil to mark jaw #1 on the wood, so you can re-chuck it exactly like before.

[Robert Henrickson]

I simply unscrew the chuck with the blank in place (saves marking and eliminates any shift), move the banjo, and put the chuck back on. I've done a number of 15 1/2" plates on a 16" swing, but I can get the banjo right next to the headstock since my lathe has no gap. That gap is the real problem -- you can't position the banjo under the chuck. A longer tool rest may help, but the distance of the tool rest socket in the banjo from remains a limiting factor.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I'm using the stock tool rest that came with it. I'd like to turn something like plates, bowels when I get the experience bigger than 9''.....The tool rest is a straight one about 10" long...A longer banjo would work....I guess I have to find one...

[Prashun Patel]

Not a longer banjo - a longer tool rest.

[Jay Jolliffe]

The tool rest would be fine if I could bend it around to the head stock.....Maybe I can get someone to make one that would be parallel to the face with a 90 degree angle towards the head stock or maybe I'll just settle with what I have....

[Michelle Rich]

another thought..if you have room to put spacers on your spindle, it could put the chuck farther out..if not there are extensions available

[David C. Roseman]

Jay, I have a G1495, so well know your issue. It's a very serviceable little lathe that I like a lot, but the swing over the top of the banjo is only about 4-1/2", and you can't move the banjo to the headstock side of a bowl blank because of the gap in the bed. But even if you could, the stock banjo only allows you to move the tool rest out 4-1/2" from the spindle. So a longer tool rest wouldn't really help. However, if I'm remembering correctly, the banjo/tool rest assembly for Grizzly's G0462 16" lathe will fit your G1495. You'd need to call Grizzly's tech support and ask them to confirm this. The distance between the ways must be identical. The G0462 banjo uses an extension arm that just may solve your problem. You'd need to order the matching tool rest for about $16, as your current tool rest has a 3/4" post. I think the whole banjo/tool rest combination would only run about $35. The G0462 banjo and extension arm both have 25 mm bores (a hair under 1"). You could also ream out the bores a few thousandths to use a standard 1" tool post. Caution: I've read that the extension arm can break. So you'd need to be very careful using it for a 13" bowl, and keep the speed way down on your G1495.

I looked into this solution awhile back, but then got distracted by something else. Then last month we added one of Grizzly's new G0733 lathes to our shop, so the issue's now moot for me.

David