Upgrade help

[RustyN]

What do you plan on turning? That lathe looks like it’s intended for mostly spindle turning.

I like to turn bowls, pens, bottle stoppers, lidded pots. I am wanting to turn larger than 12” and maybe even some platters. I am looking to get started in segmented turning to fill in time while my rough turned bowls are drying.

[charliez]

Look at the Powermatic PM2014. It's not big but it has that Powermatic Cadillac feel. That's what I just got. I got the benchtop model and this weekend I greatly reduced the size of the workbench it sits on. It can turn 14" over the bed, and is a sliding headstock and 20 of you slide it and use the bed extension. I am making my own bed extension. There's not much to an extension.

[RustyN]

Look at the Powermatic PM2014.  It's not big but it has that Powermatic Cadillac feel.  That's what I just got.  I got the benchtop model and this weekend I greatly reduced the size of the workbench it sits on.  It can turn 14" over the bed, and is a sliding headstock and 20 of you slide it and use the bed extension.  I am making my own bed extension.  There's not much to an extension.

I have and I really like it but it doesn’t have the rotating headstock. My problem is with a sliding headstock every time I wanted to turn from the end I would have to move the lathe out. I would also have to put the extension on and off. If they had the rotating headstock I probably would have gone that way. Congrats on the new lathe it does look nice.

[MichaelMouse]

I am upgrading from a Rikon 70-220 VSR. It has a 12.5” swing over the bed and can turn a 21” spindle. I have been turning 12” bowls lately and it is under powered when you go that big. I turn a lot of green wood. I don’t turn spindles or haven’t yet. A rotating headstock sounded good to me because I am disabled with neck and back problems. Not having to lean over to hollow out the inside of a bowl would be very nice. 

 It's more presentation than power, as I see it.  The old Nova has a 1 HP and swings 400 by 200 just fine.  On variac types, you'll need more because you lose more.  Imagine either way. if you scrape, you'd have more problems than slicing.  I also stand straight up when doing any open form, moving my focus to the opposite side when doing deep stuff where the business end of the tool gets hidden in the shavings.  After years of turning, the tactile feedback is more important than the visual.  Don't do "hollow forms" much bigger than ornaments any more, and even when I did larger, didn't find any real reason to lean, because there's not a lot to see in a 1/2" hole spitting sawdust.  Touch and clearing air over and over. 

If you rotate to rough, use a faceplate, because the tailstock support is out of the picture.   Over the bed with the pin chuck and tailstock is my preferred start, because it seems safest.  In the outboard days on Ol'Blue, it was always a faceplate, even when I had the R/L thread chuck which did allow Forstner/Holesaw expansion starts.  Born coward.

[charliez]

every time I wanted to turn from the end I would have to move the lathe out

The Record is 56 inches long and the PM2014 is about 36 inches long. With the additional 13 inch extension you would still be taking up less room with it.

[iclark]

I have and I really like it but it doesn’t have the rotating headstock. My problem is with a sliding headstock every time I wanted to turn from the end I would have to move the lathe out. I would also have to put the extension on and off. If they had the rotating headstock I probably would have gone that way. Congrats on the new lathe it does look nice.

Based on what you want to turn and your physical restrictions (personal and shop), the Record lathe with the optional outrigger tool rest sounds like it would probably serve you very well.

The 1-1/2hp output should be enough - especially at the lower speed range - as long as you do not try to really hog off a lot of dry wood at a time.

MM's recommendation of using a faceplate to mount large pieces when the headstock is pivoted out sounds like good advice for turning the bottom/outside of your piece.

If you are going to rough-turn-green, dry, finish turn; you may want to keep those pieces to a diameter small enough that you can true-up the bottom and outside of the piece over the bed of the lathe (using the tail stock).

When using the headstock rotated, please be extra careful about the starting balance of your blank. One of our turners talked about using a piece of wood that had been stacked such that one side had dried while the other side had retained most of its moisture. He cut it mostly round on his bandsaw but failed to notice how far apart the center of rotation and the center of gravity were apart from each other. As he turned up the lathe speed, he hit a resonance and the lathe started rocking and moving. He managed to hit the Stop button before it was too late, but it was an experience that he shared in every demo afterwards.

[RustyN]

That would give me 7” to work in. I just fit walking between two studs 16”” on center.

[EightFingers]

Rusty, if you want to turn large bowls, you want a lathe that has a large mass and is stable. Before I got my Vicmarc, I had a Delta and when I started turning bowls, I had to put sandbags on the bottom rails of the stand to keep the lathe from moving.
I have not personally seen the Record lathe, but from the pics and specs, I wouldn’t recommend it for bowls. For the other stuff you will be turning, it should be fine for that.

[RustyN]

Thanks for the replies and safety advice everybody. Eight fingers I don’t think I will turn a bowl larger than what will fit over the bed. I can see myself turning some platers and small tables outboard. They will be much thinner and I will be careful and take everybody’s advice.

[MichaelMouse]

When using the headstock rotated, please be extra careful about the starting balance of your blank. One of our turners talked about using a piece of wood that had been stacked such that one side had dried while the other side had retained most of its moisture. He cut it mostly round on his bandsaw but failed to notice how far apart the center of rotation and the center of gravity were apart from each other. As he turned up the lathe speed, he hit a resonance and the lathe started rocking and moving. He managed to hit the Stop button before it was too late, but it was an experience that he shared in every demo afterwards.

He made two mistakes which led to the problem.  First, he failed to rotate by hand to see if one side was heavier.  Always a good practice.  Removing material from heavy side where able, or dropping a lag or two on the opposite work nicely.  

Second, why turn up the rpm while you're cutting? Too many people look at how much rpm lathes have at the top end and figure they should use 'em.  Of course, on a mechanical (pulleys) drive "turning up the speed" which shouldn't happen, can't.  Presentation, not power.  How fast do you push your gouges when carving, or your planes when smoothing?  Going faster make it better?