Metal Lathe / wood turning

You can treat wood like metal and cut with metal turning tools but you won't be happy with the results. Get the spindle speed up as far as you can.

Next level would be to make a tool rest to clamp on the cross slide (remove compound for more clearance, and use regular wood turning skews, gouges, scrapers etc. Will work, particularly if spindle spped kept high, but a metal lathe has likited capacity for bowl turning, and besides the wood dust and shavings will make a mess

You want my real recomendation, get a wood lathe if you want to turn wood It will do a better job, easier, will handle larger work for size of the machine Besides all that, WOOD TURNING IS FUN!!!!!

Decide what you want to turn, pick up a lathe somewhat larger than what you think you want now, and go for it There are a number of wood lathes on the market in different sizes, capabilities and prices. The cadalacks can run to over $6000 but these are multi-speed, multi HP monsters dfesignbed for production turning.

Suggestion, if there is a WoodCraft store in your area stop in and talk to them. They carry a range oflathes, tools supplies etc and usually hae some set up in the classroom. You could probably wrangle a demo and perhaps even a short lesson if the place is not too busy.

If you have specific questions, drop me aline.

Of course if you are only looking to make one part, then you can either hack it out on your Logan or have someone do it for you.

From the owner of a 10 >I own a Logan metal lathe and would like information on how to use it

A friend uses his for penmaker, say's its has better stability and accuracy then his Jet Mini

He does use woodworking tools

Hi Trico, Usually a lathe doesn't work out for turning both wood and metal to any great extent. It's Apples 'nand' Oranges. I started to ask, "what projects?", but realized that regardless of what you think you want to do now, your woodturning interests will likely expand and you will want to keep on machining metal... If only to make woodturning accessories. :)

I also started to remind you that you & your Logan can make a custom wood lathe. Again bad advice, save that for later...or never! So best I can do is agree 100% with Bradford. Don't penalize yourself. Find a purpose made wood lathe. They are widely available at almost any price you want to begin with and will be better than using your Logan part time.

Please let us know of your decision and keep us up to date re your woodturning.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

I'd suggest that you contact Ken Vaughn...

He has both wood and metal lathes and does wood on both..

A common problem that I've heard about is that if you do metal, you use cutting oil... and it's almost impossible to get all the oil off before turning wood??

Mac

I have metal lathes and wood lathes and never shall the two mix. I agree with all that is posted but will add one point. A Metal lathe's headstock , especially older ones like my South Bends or your Logan, are more of an "open" design, though they do have a simple cover/door. This is due to the need to switch belt positions on the pulleys and for constant lubrication, (like Mac said oil and wood dust don't mix). This open design would just collect all the dust and then make a mess and wear out the lathe. I don't even have my woodshop and metal shop in the same buildings! It is true the metal lathe is much beefier but you're not worried about

1/1,000 of an inch in woodworking. I agree, if you can buy a mini-lathe for woodworking go for it and keep the two well apart! Tim Q "a-Lee-Sam" tools

"like Mac said oil and wood dust don't mix"

Actually oil and dust mix very well, that is part of the problem. And I am with you, keep metal and wood working apart, it helps with dust and fire.

Brian

ROTFLMAO!!! This is pretty funny. Not trying to be like that, but I have been cutting wood on my metal lathe for 10 years as a full time job, and haven't noticed a bit of wear and tear. There are a couple hundred or so cuemakers in the US that use metal lathes for making their cues that would say the same thing.

I'm not? While there may be some that are not worried about .0001", there are those that are, as in this case. Funny you say that, as I have been trying to deal with machinests throughout my time making cues that have the same idea about the standards of woodworking. I mean, it is just wood, right! That attitude has certainly cost me a lot of money in the developement of jigs and tooling and such. Hopefully, my experiences with many of them have changed their opinion of woodworking.

Ted Harris

Ted, Everyone is different when determining how much wear and tear is acceptable on their machines. I hope to have my pristine, vintage machinery available to my children and grandchildren! As I am 45 I plan on using this machinery myself for a long time and do not want to add oil/wood dust/dust into every crevice of my machine. Besides who wants to clean up that mess every time I switch to machining precise metal parts? I'll err on the side of caution, on my machines. As for "not worried about .0001", there are those that are, as in this case", what kind of wood are you using that will not swell/contract with seasonal changes more than your stated 1/10,000,(.0001") of an inch (30 times as small as the average human hair)? Boy, you must make some really fine cues...for NASA! I have been a woodworker/woodturner longer than a machinist and know the tolerances needed for both. I have cabinet doors with 1/8 inch space around them that turn into 1/16 inch space in the summer, (an increase of 625 times your cues .0001")! Your right it is "just wood", but to each his own, I was just trying to be practical. My passion is woodworking, my business machining. I own Forrest blades and Hardware store specials and guess what? They all cut wood. Now I prefer the Forrest but I wouldn't mock out the people using anything else. Tim

Ted.. just to clarify my thoughts on the OP..

My concern wasn't getting sawdust in the bearings, (I might worry about sand but not dust), but that if you're using a metal lathe for cutting threads or something it's pretty hard to clean it up enough to not get oil on your wood turning.. I use a lot of Danish Oil, but don't think I'd want to add cutting oil to the finish.. *lol*

BTW: If I could justify it, I'd love to have a small metal lathe for some repetitive things in wood, but I know I'd just HAVE to try making hand screws or something on it and get oil all over the shop..

Mac

Oops, I must have added one to many zeros. But truthfully, I work to smaller tolerances than .001". The actual number that I shoot for is .0005".

Your right, wood does swell and contract when climatic changes occur, but it is my job to insure that all is being done to prevent that. By building the cues to tight tolerances on accurate machinery, seasoning the wood properly, and turning it many times over periods of years, I am hoping that movement is no longer a major concern. Of course, the care given to the cue after it leaves my facility "may" determine the amount of movement that occurs. But any idiot knows not to put it in the trunk of the car in Las Vegas on a day when the temperature is 120 degrees.

around them that turn into 1/16 inch space in the summer, (an increase > of

625 times your cues .0001")!

Funny you should mention NASA. This is the same attitude I was talking about in my previous post that I have received from machinest for years. Typical & arrogant. No way does wood need to be machined accurately, hah! ROTFLMAO! I cannot even begin to tell you how much money and time that attitude has cost me and many others in this industry. I'll tell you what, if my cues moved .0625" I would just kill myself. In this business, .010" of regular movement would be a death sentence for a cuemaker.

be > practical. My passion is woodworking, my business machining. I

cut wood. Now I prefer the Forrest but I wouldn't mock out the > people using anything else.

I am not mocking anyone. I am simply saying that if someone wants to use a metal lathe to cut wood, it would be even better. For anyone to think that wood would damage a machine that has the capability of cutting metal is just a little overboard. Using a metal lathe for woodturning opens up a lot of doors for capabilities in woodturning. I know that if I tried making cues on a wood lathe with a chisel, I'd be lucky to get $100- for a cue. A wood lathe does not provide the capabilities or accuracy needed. I think you and many other machinest's would be shocked if they came into a cuemakers shop and watched them work to the tolerances they do.

Ted Harris

I'm laughing right along with you! There are hundreds of foundry patternmakers turning wood on metal lathes every day. You see, they DO need the 0.001" accuracy. I have done patternwork, models, and prototypes, and all my tools are used for wood, metal, and plastic as the job sees fit. Dan

Not me, but I once read a post of someone that makes wooden toy kits. He mills every piece to at least 1/128" accuracy because when someone orders a replacement part he needs to guarantee that what he sends them is going to fit. That's not quite 0.0005", but it's getting pretty close.

- Owen -