Do I need another new toy?

[SceneryMaker]

I've been asked if I'm interested in making some porch balusters, number and shape yet to be determined. If I were to do this, would a duplicator attachment be useful for this? Making a metric truckload of identical parts by hand is daunting. The duplicator would have to be completely (or nearly so) by the project so price might come into consideration somewhere along the line.

If it would help, do you have any brands to either get serious over or to stay away from? The Viel DU-2 (http://vieltools.com/detail.php?p=NDky&l=ZW4=) looks interesting but is lacking in information. The Vega (https://www.tools-plus.com/vega-d-48.html) has a lot of good reviews but is serious money. Anything inexpensive seems to get horrible reviews.

Any advice would be welcome.

[Arlin Eastman]

I've been asked if I'm interested in making some porch balusters, number and shape yet to be determined.  If I were to do this, would a duplicator attachment be useful for this?  Making a metric truckload of identical parts by hand is daunting.  The duplicator would have to be completely (or nearly so) by the project so price might come into consideration somewhere along the line.

If it would help, do you have any brands to either get serious over or to stay away from?  The Viel DU-2 (http://vieltools.com/detail.php?p=NDky&l=ZW4=) looks interesting but is lacking in information.  The Vega (https://www.tools-plus.com/vega-d-48.html) has a lot of good reviews but is serious money.  Anything inexpensive seems to get horrible reviews.

Any advice would be welcome.

Ken

How many are you doing and what is the cost and what are you going to charge for them? 

I do not know if it is worth it to you or not but Laguna has a VERY nice lathe which comes with a duplicator and it really works great.  I think the price tag is somewhere around $6000+, but if you are going to do a lot of these it might pay off really well.

Also the lathe can be used without it and thinking a 14" to 18" swing on it as well.

Last I know that Tools-Plus is a great company and their employees help me with a $400 donation for the PM3520b I have now.  I also had the 12" Vega duplicator and at the time I really did not know how to properly use it and so I sold it.  It did a good job to me, but with any duplicator they will NOT get down to the very intricate details and a spindle gouge is still needed to make curve or V cut better details

[SceneryMaker]

I know that ANOTHER new lathe is not in the cards so anything will have to fit on my Nova Galaxi. I have a whole page of things I don't know about this project, and quantity and budget are both high on the list. I'll update the thread when I know more. Right now, I'm just dreaming about what might be.

Nobody else here does that, do you?

[iclark]

Some duplicators can produce a lot of tear out. That has certainly been the case when I have seen them demonstrated. They can also be very loud.

The folks in the club who do production turning like what you are talking about claim that they just do it with muscle memory after the first dozen or so. They tend to use a story stick, a parting tool, and lots of outside calipers (one for each location) approach to delineate critical dimensions.

Some folks here, IIRC, use nodding angels for production spindles.

The Shopsmith duplicator can occasionally be found second hand. It is easy to adapt one to a regular lathe that has cast iron ways. One could make one from scratch using EWT cutters or carbide cutters from other sources. If I was making my own from scratch, I would probably use some 80/20 extrusions to hold the template and some strong magnets to mount that part to the lathe. I am not positive what I would use for the puck. Depending on the length of your spindles, a sink cutout of melamine might work for the sliding table. If you are always going to work from 2D templates, you could skip the gantry holding the template and just screw the template to the table. That would also simplify the puck design.



Edited to add:

Nobody else here does that, do you?

Nah...  Not me... I never dream/think about the things that I could do with the tools that I am acquiring.  
 
 
 

[hairy]

Any advice would be welcome.

Do you have time to roll your own?     https://www.woodsmithplans.com/plan/lathe-duplicator/

[Dusty Workshop]

Hard to answer this question until you kniw the number and the shape needed

[Arlin Eastman]

Some duplicators can produce a lot of tear out. That has certainly been the case when I have seen them demonstrated. They can also be very loud.

The folks in the club who do production turning like what you are talking about claim that they just do it with muscle memory after the first dozen or so. They tend to use a story stick, a parting tool, and lots of outside calipers (one for each location) approach to delineate critical dimensions.

Some folks here, IIRC, use nodding angels for production spindles.

The Shopsmith duplicator can occasionally be found second hand. It is easy to adapt one to a regular lathe that has cast iron ways. One could make one from scratch using EWT cutters or carbide cutters from other sources. If I was making my own from scratch, I would probably use some 80/20 extrusions to hold the template and some strong magnets to mount that part to the lathe. I am not positive what I would use for the puck. Depending on the length of your spindles, a sink cutout of melamine might work for the sliding table. If you are always going to work from 2D templates, you could skip the gantry holding the template and just screw the template to the table. That would also simplify the puck design.



Edited to add:
Nah...  Not me... I never dream/think about the things that I could do with the tools that I am acquiring.  
 
 
 

I forgot something that Ivan brought up.  Take small passes at a time or you WILL rip out wood and when you get to the last small bit then either sharpen the bit or do it by hand.  It is NOT a finish machine.

[SteveS]

I'd pass on the job.

To do it economically it you'd create a storyboard and create whatever number of copies that will have some variation in dimensions. If this is not acceptable to the buyer then you'd have to buy a duplicator that you'd probably not be able to charge enough to make it worthwhile.

[Wildwood]

Already been said you are looking at a sizable investment in both money and time. Human errors and wood can give you lot of heartburn.

http://vegawoodworking.com/product/pro-l...uplicator/

Scroll down for prices for both mini and pro duplicators.
http://vegawoodworking.com/wp-content/up...-20141.pdf

Years ago worked for a man and used a Vega duplicator wood surfaces okay for painting but clear coat finishes required lot of sanding. Forget how many spindles turned before cutters need sharpening, we had plenty of extras cutter so just swapped them out when dull. Sharpening was an begining or end of day event.

Not sure if will fit your lathe, can always call and ask.