New Laguna lathe

[daryl moses]

All - I'm not the most experienced turner but what reasons would there be to turn in reverse?

I've turned in reverse a few times doing hollow-forms. You can see the inside better.

[Greg Parrish]

Had a call with laguna. Nice enough interaction.

No new spindle/headstock. They are providing me a new faceplate with new set screws.

They also offered to mail me a thread restorer die to use and mail back but I'll just get my own to keep.

Lastly they insisted the spindle is hardened. They said initial part of first and last row of threads are thinner and more prone to damage. They indicated to tighten the set screws tighter and without saying it they implied not to turn in reverse, only sand when in reverse.

Don't know if really hardened or not. So, no worse off after call than before but getting a spare face plate out of it. Will get a thread restorer die and move on with life.

[Mike Goetzke]

I've turned in reverse a few times doing hollow-forms. You can see the inside better.

Can't you just turn forward and stand behind the lathe?

[daryl moses]

Can't you just turn forward and stand behind the lathe?

If I wanted to reach across the bed ways and a spinning chunk of wood to turn the lathe on and off I could. I prefer not to do that as it would be dangerous.
Some lathes have a "remote" on-off switch, mine does not.

[Eugene Dixon]

I believe I would chase the threads on the old face plate...just to be sure.

[John K Jordan]

...what reasons would there be to turn in reverse? I can see sanding but not for basic operations.

Mike, I can't speak for others but I occasionally turn in reverse when working on the inside of a bowl or other face turning. Rather than lean over and peer into the cavity I can see the other side well to make cuts with a bowl gouge. I don't do this for fine scraping to smooth tool marks since I do that by feel.

Occasionally it's been handy to cut some kind of recess without turning the tool around and holding the handle over the far side of the late. I can't walk around and turn from the other side since I keep my lathes up against walls.

JKJ

[Steve Mathews]

Had a call with laguna. Nice enough interaction.

No new spindle/headstock. They are providing me a new faceplate with new set screws.

They also offered to mail me a thread restorer die to use and mail back but I'll just get my own to keep.

Lastly they insisted the spindle is hardened. They said initial part of first and last row of threads are thinner and more prone to damage. They indicated to tighten the set screws tighter and without saying it they implied not to turn in reverse, only sand when in reverse.

Don't know if really hardened or not. So, no worse off after call than before but getting a spare face plate out of it. Will get a thread restorer die and move on with life.

It sounds like you're satisfied with the outcome so I'll spare further comment. But if you're curious about the spindle there is a simple test to get a rough idea of its hardness using a standard metal file. Basically just use the corner of a sharp metal file on a piece of steel. A file gliding over the surface will indicate relative hardness. Not so much if it digs in and cuts the metal. You can try it on one of your high speed steel turning tools and comparing it with a piece of cold rolled steel to get an idea of how it works. This will relate to how well or easy it will be to restore your spindle threads.

[John Keeton]

I can assure you that the spindle threads on the Laguna are not hardened. When mine was new, it had a rough edge on the first thread that did not affect functionality, but was enough to catch ones skin or clothing. I dressed the thread easily with a file.

[Roger Chandler]

I can assure you that the spindle threads on the Laguna are not hardened. When mine was new, it had a rough edge on the first thread that did not affect functionality, but was enough to catch ones skin or clothing. I dressed the thread easily with a file.

Yeah, those sales people don't always know the full details as well as the owners know. They are pushing sales and have to be a little familiar with a wide array of machines. On more than one occassion, I got incorrect info from a sales guy at Laguna back a few years ago, when I was considering one of their lathe models.

[Greg Parrish]

Spent all weekend reconfiguring garage shop layout. Got the lathe positioned after moving it about 20 times. Started making a weight box and will add some drawers on top. Right now I've add around 450 lbs to the lathe though. 6 X 50 lb bags of pool filter sand, a used set of f350 camper steel hitch rails, the short biesemeyer rail set from my table saw, and the wood needed for box construction. I lowered the box nearer the floor to drop the center of gravity too. Approaching the 900 to 1,000 pound range so it's not going anywhere.

Ran a new drop off the Oneida with 6" pipe and 6" flex. Used another Lee valley blast gate.

[John Keeton]

Looks great, Greg! My only concern would be small objects rolling under the lathe and being hard to retrieve, or being difficult to clean under the lathe. I might be inclined to put a piece of trim on that would extend the box to the floor.

[Greg Parrish]

Looks great, Greg! My only concern would be small objects rolling under the lathe and being hard to retrieve, or being difficult to clean under the lathe. I might be inclined to put a piece of trim on that would extend the box to the floor.

Thanks. I left it about 2.5 inches above the floor so it could be cleaned under with my electric blower. Also forgot to mention that I made up and installed some 1/4" steel 3.5x3.5 steel tubing risers to get the spindle height up to a comfortable height

i added those silly looking side feet onto the box for a central support but I'm thinking it wasn't needed. May end up removing the, and I have been thinking about adding a nice strip of trim on top and bottom to dress it up a bit.

[Steve Mathews]

Nice upgrades and job well done!

[Greg Parrish]

Kind of silly but cobbled this together from scraps and pieces around the shop


Sliding inside support allows reach to change with a set pin



Simple clip pulls chain together enough for it to retain its grip on the 6" flex hose. Chain makes it easily height adjustable by changing which links are in the top hook.


So it looks funny but seems to be pretty functional so far at holding the hose end right in place. Won't do much for catching the large chips around my feet though.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Like John Keeton, I don't use the set screws. I don't do a lot of large bowls but I have turned them in reverse on occasion (and sanded, of course) and have never once had a chuck unthread in the years I've been turning. When I install the chuck, I always do it the same way: thread the chuck on by hand then give the chuck a sharp twist with my hand at the last 1/8-1/4 turn. This puts the chuck on firmly and it always needs the spanner wrench to remove it. (I NEVER mount or remove a chuck with the key as I've seen other do. I don't like the stress it puts on the components.)

Note that some lathe spindles are machined so there is a flat with no threads where the set screws would bear. You could do that with yours with a file or a small hand held grinder. I can imagine the hesitation to grind on the spindle on a new lathe but at the moment the thread in that area doesn't look like it's earning its keep.

JKJ

I still seem to have troubles when my Nova Galaxi brakes to a stop sometime. I did find some brass tipped set screws at MSCDirect (and complete brass set screws in metric on EBAY, but you'll have to wait for a small packet from China! I think the brass tipped screws should be safe for the threads but keep my Oneway chuck from unwinding when I stop.