Some of you may have heard tidbits of this lathe over the past year. I promised a few guys that I'd post pics when she was done. Here's the story, and here are some pics.
This all started because I bought an old Vega 24” Bowl Lathe. It had no banjo, and no tailstock. The spindle was 5/8” straight (not threaded). I had asked Jeff Nicol if he could thread the spindle, that lead to him making a new spindle, which lead to him making a new spindle with a new housing (that I would install), which lead to him making a whole new headstock, to him making a whole new bowl lathe. All before he picked up the first piece of metal!!!!
So, last June, he finished the bowl lathe, and I sold the Vega.
Being a bowl lathe, without a base, I needed to make a base. I had it all planned out. Actually built it! Sides, back and shelves all out of two layers of ¾” plywood glued and screwed, with the top made out of three layers. Just as I was getting ready to get the bowl lathe mounted onto the stand, fellow turner Peter Elliott ended up getting a used PM4224 with an extension bed. He had no room for the extension bed, and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse on it. So, I reluctantly (but excitedly) abandoned the idea of Jeff’s lathe being a bowl lathe on the stand I built, and began designing a full size lathe…featuring the PM4224 extension as the bed, and transferring Jeff’s headstock, banjo, and tailstock to it. (Side note: Jeff had done a really neat job making a swing away tailstock for the bowl lathe bed…shame I didn’t get to use that!)
The first challenge was that the bed extension comes with only one leg because it is supposed to screw to the main bed. So, I had to make a second leg. It is made of wood (plywood trapezoid filled with scrap metal and concrete, with wood on the sides and bottom to emulate the shape of the original leg). There is a "bracket" on the leg. That is to support a shelf, if I ever decide I want one to go from leg to leg for added weight or some sort of storage.
NC lathe second leg (1).jpg
Since Jeff made the headstock to mount onto the end of the bed he made, I did the same here. But I wasn’t convinced that simply mounting it with some bolts was going to do the trick, so rather than bother Jeff for more parts (he was already herding cats with all his other stuff he needed to do), I went to my local Amish metal shop and had them make a cleat for under the headstock. The headstock is attached to the bed with two bolts that we had to drill and tap into the end of the bed. The cleat is attached to the end of the bed into the two holes that the extension bed is supposed to use to attach to the regular bed. The headstock and cleat are bolted together with 4 bolts.
NC lathe headstock backside (1).jpgNC lathe headstock frontside (1).jpg
I designed the motor mount utilizing two threaded bolt holes in the extension leg that I think are supposed to be used for a shelf(?). One bolt is almost all the way tight (the pivot bolt) and the other one can be loosened to raise or lower the motor to adjust the belt (or change pulleys). The Amish metal shop made that for me, too.
NC lathe headstock, handwheel, and motormount (1).jpg
SPECS:
2hp 3ph 1725 rpm Baldor motor
28” swing
58” between centers
Spindle thread is 1 ½” x 8 tpi
I got the motor at my local motor shop. Put a VFD on it. It has a three step pulley giving me max speeds of each pulley at 435, 860, and 1725 rpm (roughly). I put a FWD/ REV switch, potentiometer, and ESTOP on a remote box with rare earth magnets so it can be placed anywhere on the lathe (except on the wood leg!!). The spindle is hollow for vacuum chucking. I mounted the digital tachometer next to the spindle lock. And while the plate on the bottom of the tailstock may look a little puny, I assure you it is rock solid! There is a jack shaft, so 2 hp is more than enough power. (Side note: The Vega Bowl Lathes, at a 24” swing, only required a ½ hp motor because of the jack shaft.)
The lathe’s name is “IT”. The brand is the Nicol-Cruz. I don’t know how much it weighs, but this is the 65” extension bed and is massive! And anyone that has anything made by Jeff knows that he doesn’t make thing…light!!! The headstock weighs somewhere around 100 lbs on its own.
I didn’t want to paint it anything that is common to any name brand, so green, yellow, and black (a couple of manufacturers have come out with a “black line”) were all out of the question. Simple red or blue didn’t seem right for such a massive lathe. So, I went with Rustoleum Hammered Copper. The headstock might get a black two tone paint job someday, but not right now…I just want to get to turning again.
There is no way in hell I could have done this without help. So, a very sincere thanks goes out to Peter for forcing me to buy the bed, Steve Cherry (over on the Creek) from hooking up the VFD, all that have given me suggestions and have answered questions that helped me with this build, and a Special Thanks to Jeff Nicol…for both doing the Voodoo that Youdo, and for having the patience for putting up with me.
Here are two full view shots.
NC lathe backside (1).jpg
NC lathe frontside (1).jpg
And here is a shot of the lathe station, including the curtains I put up...to help keep the curlies going all over the bench behind the turner, and all over the band saw on the back side of the lathe.
NC lathe with curtains (1).jpg
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