Turning upgrades, many

[William C Rogers]

First I would like to thank John Keeton for allowing me to visit his shop and look at the tooling and fixtures he uses. It was a well worth while trip just to see his tools and his many beautiful turinings he had on hand.

I upgraded my PM 90 lathe to the Laguna Revo 18-36. I could have spent much more, but I am a hobbyist and this lathe fit to what I wanted. I just purchased the lathe and did not purchase the extended bed option that would allow a 32" swing. Maybe in time but not right now. I'll not go through the actual setup as there have been several post already. Laguna has a series of videos on the setup of the lathe and setup of every option for the lathe. I did watch those and they were most helpful in the unpacking. Assembly is fairly straight forward.
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I did all the normal check outs. I measured the spindle and did not see any runout at all. Th indicator just did not move for either the spindle face or shaft.. Tail stock alignment was also very good.

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The PM 90 was set against the wall. I decided to set the 18-36 90 degrees giving me access to the end to take advantage of the sliding head stock for bowl turning. The design of the legs made it easy to add ballast. I built a wood box and was able to pack 275 lbs of sand into it. Four 50 lb. bags and a bunch of gallon bags filled with sand to fill it up. I made pullouts instead of drawers that would hold various tooling. The thin white piece of plastic covers the shelves, but more important I just lift out to dump the shavings that fall between the ways. With the wood and tooling I probably have 325-350 lbs of ballast.

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Theses are my likes and dislikes

likes
it is quiet, however at top speed there is a strong fan in the motor
the height is very good for me, however Laguna does offer a riser kit
the legs are splayed giving it stability
speed control is good at holding speed
theses are features I like and I did not have before
speed range with easy belt change I was limited to 350-2100 rpm on the PM 90
reverse, I do like sanding in reverse
indexing
cone shape, I like not having the head stock right against the chuck.
Threaded hand wheel for making a vacuum adapter
banjo tool post locking works very well
banjo clamp handle is longer

disklikes
I don't like the little ball on the tail stock wheel, I will eventually replace it with a handle
placement of the banjo post locking handle, don't leave it on the same side as the clamp handle or you will pinch your fingers
Placement of the emergency stop switch. It would be better if it was placeable/remote as if you are turning a bowl and it lets go you would have to reach across the remaining work to stop the lathe
smaller hand wheel, I'm getting use to it

problems
the only problem I encountered was the set screw came loose on the tail stock hand wheel. They could have used a larger set screw. I put some blue thread lock on it.

Laguna Customer Service
I called Laguna to get information on a thread size. While on the phone I got another call from Laguna. There was a message to call back and I did. They were following up to see if I had encountered any problems. This was positive to me.

[William C Rogers]

Upgraded steady rest

During my visit to John Keeton's shop I noticed his steady rest. I really liked it and he told me it was made by Jeff Nicol. I had heard the name before and I thought I would look up to purchase one. Well that ship sailed long ago. John may have said he no longer provided them, but I didn't catch that. However in searching for it I came across the plans to build one by JD Combs (a fellow creeker) and felt it wasn't that difficult to do. I thank Mr. Combs for providing such detailed plans. One of my club members was a welder (I try). So I purchased the hardware outlined in the plan and began the process.
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It took a bit, but finally connected with the club member and had the steady rest welded. I set it up on the lathe with a started hollow form that John Keeton had sent with me to finish. There was considerable vibration in the upper half of the rest. In PM"s with Mr. Combs he indicated he thought he changed the base material from 5/16" to 3/8".
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I felt this would help, but would still need something else. So I decided to add gussets to the arms and the flange ring. (I should have looked at John Keeton's to see how it was constructed, but intended to buy vs build at that time). I decided on three possible fixes, increase the base plate thickness by adding a 1/4" plate I had, putting gussets on the flange ring, and putting gussets on the arms. I first put gussets on the arms and that basically solved the vibration issue. Since I made the ring gussets I went ahead and installed them (but most likely no value added), and welded the 1/4" plate to the 5/16" plate. When the flange was initially welded to the 5/16" plate there was some warping, adding the 1/4" plate corrected this. This photo shows the gusset on the arms and the small gussets on the ring. (Yes I did the weld so don't look closely, but I think it will hold)
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In addition I made two additional arms, one that can be put anywhere and one that bolts in the flange holes.
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If I were building again I would use 3/8" plate and have gussets for the arms. I would be more careful to minimize warping from welding. I used 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" square tubes. It may have been better to use the 1-1/4" and 1" square tubes described in the plan. It was a pain to get them to slide freely.
Simple platter rest

While I was at it I decided to make a platter rest. Very simple from left over square tube, some 1-1/4" angle, and 1" - 1/4" flat stock. I cut a 1-1/2" piece of the square and put between the angle on one end and put the remaining on the other end as a post. I had the slotted piece from something but it could be the 1/4" with holes. On the piece in the lathe it worked fine, no vibration.

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[William C Rogers]

Hollowing System
I decided on a articulating arm hollowing system. Thinking I will eventually build a capture system. I was very impressed with the Monster articulating arm system I was able to use during my visit to John Keeton's shop. It was basically the system I compared everything else to as far as build quality and price. I was going to wait until after the Symposium before buying, but came across the Simon Hope system. One of the features he offered in a complete system was a camera. I only saw one other system that offered a camera, but much more $$. Did not find many reviews for the Hope Hollowing System, but those I did find were positive. I went ahead and ordered the system with the camera and also the laser. The system comes with two 3/4" bars, one that is hook shaped and one straight. They include a carbide Hunter style cutter and a disk scraper. You can use on the carbide or disk on either one. I also ordered a 5/8 bar with a straight carbide cutter and a hook carbide cutter.
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It is very similar to the Monster except it has an extra "knuckle" and a grip.
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I have hollowed one one piece and the carbide cutters remove material fast. I really like the camera for finishing the thickness as you can always see where the cutter is at. I hollowed this piece and place a red line as a thickness guide.
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My plan is to use the laser for the initial hollowing and the camera for final thickness. This is because with the camera you are looking at the screen more than the work. However I feel you can do better with the camera system as far as being uniform and thickness as you always know where the cutter is. I want to do piercing at some point and the camera system will be better for that.

I am happy with the Hope system. One thing that was recommended was to get a 1" boring bar. Hope does not offer one, and when I went to the Monster site it wasn't there. Did something happen or is this just a glitch? It says the site was not renewed. Are the still making the Monster system?

[William C Rogers]

last one

I redid my chisel racks. Before I just had them not very accessible. Since I moved the lathe I have my bathroom wall to my back. I built racks with PVC tubes. I also had a small piece of peg board I put just below for the odd things. I now have easy access to everything and like this setup.
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Additional tooling
While at the symposium I also bought the Oneway Drill wizzard. I just wanted one as I was tired of drilling off mark when taking the work to the drill press. I now have a lathe that indexes and I also make a lot of the little birdhouse ornaments. I have also added two Super Nova 2 chucks. I also bought three Robust tool rest. This time I bought the low profile and like those better than the comfort rest. I did not buy the curved rest.

None of this makes me a better turner, but gives me more capability to try and do different things

[ELY WALTON]

last one

[...]
None of this makes me a better turner, but gives me more capability to try and do different things

I got a new Revo 1836 a few weeks ago also... Mine DID immediately make me a better turner, and also I am now a better man...:>) (Thanks to scene in Family Man as Nick Cage tries on an expensive suit.)

Congratulations on the upgrade!

73 Ely

[Dane Riley]

A 1 inch boring bar is not difficult to make, if you can find a 1" 3 foot steel rod. End drill for the cutter, a tapped hole for a set screw to hold it. Use your lath to turn the other end to 3/4".

You will have to cut it to length, as 3' is too long even with the extension. I have a 6.5 inch steel cutting blade I use in my 10" radial arm saw. Makes very smooth and square cuts.

[Brice Rogers]

My own activities in the area of lathe upgrades pale in comparison to those of the original poster. But I'll show you my sand ballast boxes and under cabinet drawers.IMG_0001 (768x1024).jpgIMG_0038 (1024x768).jpg

[Robert Willing]

How that looks great, but how do you keep out all of the chips out of your tools?

[William C Rogers]

How that looks great, but how do you keep out all of the chips out of your tools?

I put holes in the bottom for each tool, usually between 1" and 1-1/4" depending on the handle. If I had thought about it at the time I would have made a cut out in the PVC at the bottom with the bandsaw. What is nice I now find myself putting them back instead of laying on the lathe. The wood was all scrap that wasn't of use for any finished type project. I glued the PVC to the wood with E6000.

[William C Rogers]

I got a new Revo 1836 a few weeks ago also... Mine DID immediately make me a better turner, and also I am now a better man...:>) (Thanks to scene in Family Man as Nick Cage tries on an expensive suit.)

Congratulations on the upgrade!

73 Ely

Well my last turning is better than those before, so maybe it is the lathe.

[Eric Gourieux]

Wow, Bill. You have a nice setup and all the "bells and whistles". I'm looking forward to seeing what you create with that new setup.

[ELY WALTON]

My own activities in the area of lathe upgrades pale in comparison to those of the original poster. But I'll show you my sand ballast boxes and under cabinet drawers.IMG_0001 (768x1024).jpgIMG_0038 (1024x768).jpg

Brice, Very nice looking and functional use of space. I would need to add some room at the floor for a toe kick -- a place for my big feet to go as I belly up to the lathe. Thanks for the photo!!

Ely

[Brice Rogers]

Brice, Very nice looking and functional use of space. I would need to add some room at the floor for a toe kick -- a place for my big feet to go as I belly up to the lathe. Thanks for the photo!!

Ely

Thanks.
I have a small toe kick on the side that I usually work from. If I'm turning on the reverse side, there isn't a toe kick. But the drawers are just occupying the space between the concrete and the platform above, so if it bothered me, I could slide the drawers inward or outward.
I am going to work on the center section and add two drawers and cover up the tools so that it doesn't fill with chips.

[Richard Casey]

William and Brice,
Could you both tell me why you need the ballast boxes you have fitted?
Rgds,
Richard.

[William C Rogers]

William and Brice,
Could you both tell me why you need the ballast boxes you have fitted?
Rgds,
Richard.

Richard, you might want to start a thread on this subject. For me it was to add stability and reduce the effects of vibration. Mass will improve the ability to reduce vibration effects.