slanted tool rest

This is important. I'd fix it. Tom

wrote: The top of the tool rest is not parallel to the axis of the headstock and tailstock. It drops about 1/4 of an inch from one side of a 12" rest to the other end. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It's certainly not ideal, but you can probably live with it as long as you are aware of it, and make allowances. If it is steel, it may be possible to straighten it, but if it is cast iron, don't even try. Are you sure it is the tool rest that is off? It could also be the banjo (the support that clamps to the ways that holds the toolrest.)

Until you can fix the problem, I suggest that you keep the tool rest back from the work about 3/4" or so, and correst for the error by raising or lowering the tool handle. I took a class from Mike Darlow, in which he advocated keeping the toolrest back from the work. I could never see the reason for doing this, but it didn't seem to hurt anything, and in your situation it will help.

Important enough that you should get another one soon. A lot of the "feel" of turning will be wrong if you are using the entire rest and have to compensate. Don't pitch it, it'll do for bowls.

I would never advocate giving leverage to the tool, so I'd keep the rest close to the work so I could stay in charge. Varying your handle height will compensate, but among all the adjustments you're supposed to be learning to make a consistent curl, this is one handicap you don't need to carry.

lcrumley:

Are you in San Antonio, TX?

If you are, let me know here and I can give you some club info. Great bunch of guys, and all stages of turners.

Robert

I'd replace it right away... probably find a new one that would fit at Lee Valley or Penn State Ind....

If you were an experienced turner, you might compensate for it, but it's a really, really bad idea IMO to learn under those conditions...

Kind of like learning to drive in a car that wants to turn left all the time... you learn to compensate and might do a few donuts in a different car.. *g*

Mac

First of all, I'd like to repeat: make sure it is actually the tool rest, and not the banjo that is off. An easy test would be to reverse the tool rest in its holder, and see whether the slant reverses.

Second, I'm going to stick to my guns here, even though I seem to be in a minority of one. The slant is only 1/4" in 12". Only if lcrumley is turning long straight spindles will this even become an issue. I know it is one of the "Commandments" of turning that the tool rest has to be positioned close to the work. But it isn't even possible to follow this rule, again, except on straight spindles. If you place the toolrest as close as possible to the work, you minimize the force necessary to hold the tool in position. That's plain leverage. But, you also minimize the amount of vertical correction available to you. If you visualize a skew resting on edge, or at an angle, while you turn a cove or bead, it is necessary to raise or lower the handle to make the tool follow the contour of the work. Likewise when you are turning a bowl. It is rare that the bevel will follow the arc you are turning as you swing the tool, and roll the tool to produce the cut you want. Generally, you also have to raise or lower the handle to keep the cut you want. The closer the tool rest is to the work, the narrower the range you can cover before you have to stop and raise or lower the rest.

From my own experience I believe the feedback goes from your cut through your senses to your brain, which tells you to raise or lower your tool tip, or rotate the tool, or change its angle. This is not an extraneous experience that is introduced by the tool rest--it is an essential part of turning that we all learn and practice.

Finally, in anwering lcrumley, I tried to put myself in his position. A newly acquired lathe with some problems. Should he concentrate on eliminating the problems, or can he get started turning, and have some fun? I see no harm in going ahead and doing some turning while considering what to fix first, and how to do it.

Uh, you can also place the rest lower or higher, Leo, even when close. That changes the sweet spot too, and since close is a relative term, it still pays to be as close as possible. It's also why it's not the best idea to play with a non-parallel rest. If working a spindle with such a rest, It would not be too bad to cut up the tilt, because the tool would climb safely over the work into the air. The other way is a potential catch from tucking it under. Give away leverage, and it's a potentially very dangerous catch.

Rests are too cheap to chisel here.

"George" wrote: Uh, you can also place the rest lower or higher, Leo, even when close.(clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Of course, and maybe I should have spelled out more explicitly what I meant, but my post was overly long already. If the rest is very close to the work, then the vertical range that can be achieved by raising and lowering the handle is small. This means you have to stop frequently and readjust the tool rest. It also means that getting the tool rest just right may require stopping and fine tuning a few times. I have seen this in demos. Set the rest. Check with the tool. Put the tool down and reset the rest. Check again. Maybe start to turn, and even then stop and reset the rest. The difference between 1/8" and 1/2" from wood to tool rest is a factor of four. While still keeping forces and sensitivity well within a comfortable range, it gives much more latitude in tool rest height.

In his demo, Mike Darlow put his tool rest back about an inch. When someone in the class questioned him about it, he offered to move it back even farther. He is the author of one of the best books on spindle turning (the name escapes me at the moment.)

Hi Icrum

Tool rest 1/8" out over 6", that's certainly not a lot, however if it was right on, it would be better. First question what is off, toolrest or banjo, to find out, set banjo at 90 degrees to the lathe axle and measure from lathe bed to top of toolrest, swing toolrest 180 degrees and measure again, no change ?? than it is not the rest, and it could be the banjo, also how much play in the banjo opening for the toolrest, how is the tool rest post, nice and smooth or burred up by the fastener, and what's the toolrest made of, a what I would consider long rest can easily drop by 1/8" on that length if there is some wear, or a combination of wear on the banjo opening and the tool rest post and the banjo bottom. I assume that the rest is still a cast iron one, if wear is the case you could braze up the toolrest post and make it fit better again, if it is a steel toolrest, it would not take much to change the height difference, and if the banjo has worn on one side, that could be rectified by either brazing on some new material or by filing the banjo so it is even again. Also it is very easy to make an other rest, a piece of cold rolled steel and some angle iron, weld it, and you have one, or some other combination of metal, and make some shorter rests while you're at it. If you want to use a long rests I would advise to get 2 banjos and a rest with 2 posts, makes for a much better rest, (less vibration, less adjusting the banjo etc) I don't know what your plans are in turning, but I think the problem of your banjo being off is not a big deal, imagine a 12" spindle you turn that is 1/4" smaller on one end than the other, would that prevent you from working with your lathe ??? of course not. If you where to go and make a lot of dough rollers it would be a pain, but as soon as you make any curves or cut into the spindle to make coves or beads, a concave or convex surface, it would not make any difference to you that the tool rest is of by 1/4" over that 12" length I have a pic. of a tool rest I made and also of one that Leo Lightman made and some other stuff, you can have a look if you like.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

If it is indeed an old 12" tool rest, it should have plenty of iron on it if it hasn't been used really hard. I like Leo's idea of welding a rod on it to correct. Someone around here was making tool rests with

3/8" tool steel round stock welded (underneath) at the contact point making the actual contact area of the rest much more durable.

If you don't have access to a welder or someone that can weld for you, if it is only 1/4" AND there is plenty of metal left on the rest (certainly depending on its design) you could always grind off the high spot. My 4 1/2" high speed grinder would knock that quarter off soft iron in a real hurry. Then you could dress the ground surface off as needed back to smooth with files and emory cloth.

But I would certainly make sure it wasn't the banjo first. If indeed the banjo is not at right angles to the ways, you could correct the tool rest to compensate for this. However, it would only work if all you turned were spindle turnings. If you grind the tool rest, weld a rod on it or anything else to make it parallel to the ways and then you shift the toolrest to a right (or near to it) angle to the ways to go after a bowl, your problem will be back.

Robert

Yes, I live in San Antonio. I know about the club and I am going to the next meeting... Thanks

Thanks Leo, I have welding equipment and have thought of making some rests.

============== If the bottom of the banjo is worn unevenly (side to side), that could give you a slant on the tool rest. Assuming a 2 inch wide contact point between the banjo and the ways, a 1/32 inch difference can give you a 3/16inch difference over the 12 inch length of the rest. An old, high use lathe could have this much wear if used in an area where abrasives are present. I'd check there first.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.