lathes

[martinj]

Good morning.
I am hoping somebody can help.
I am going to purchase a lathe and it needs to be able to cope with 60" max inch pieces of timber, the cross section will be no bigger than 2 x 2, I plan to make snooker/pool cues a majority of which will be 1 pc, I currently repair a lot and used to make them when I was in my 20's -the problem I have found is that the only lathes that have bolt on extensions seem to be in America and everything I have looked at recently is no longer than 40" - will I have to make an extension my self or does somebody know of another way around it ? - I am also looking at the purchase of kd exotic hardwoods and min AA graded ash of the turning, I know it's a lot to ask on a first post but any information would be helpful. Many Thanks

[katellwood]

There are often lathe parts advertised on auction sites where the headstock, tailstock and banjo bolt to a cast bed

You could rig up something like this where within reason the bed length can be what you want it to be

I've also seen examples where a slot in a workbench can act as a lathebed if space is limited



For hardwoods try Timberline in Tonbridge, Kent http://www.exotichardwoods.co.uk/

[martinj]

That's really helpful, I hadn't thought of auctions, the pic helps as well, cheers

[tusses]

I have a set up with the double wooden rails .. all hand built. Draw bar spindle (ala spindle moulder) at the chuck end , belt driven, and a kind of brackety set up on the tail end .. I didn't built it .. inherited .. but it's great for the longer stuff
The good thing with wood lathes, is the set up doesn't have to be precise to get good results

[martinj]

I know what you mean, a lot of it is the finishing sander/hand, what sort of grain sealer would you recommend for ash and maple, those are the 2 I would probably use in the long term, and maybe swiss pear