Laser depth finder for the lathe.

SMART!

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Dave,

Now this is clever! I love it. You pretty much paid for the laser just by not blowing out the bottom the bowl.

Great idea!

See ya around,

Dominic

Brilliant!

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I bet it could also be used for a thickness indicator on the sidewalls if you positioned it directly above the inside edge of that rod! Wait, I've seen that one somewhere before..

Really good thinking Dave! Thanks for sharing!

Re: Laser depth finder for the lathe.

Rick R, So Cal

>Dave,

Great idea! It's so obvious that it's truly blinding!

A couple points to add if I may:

1. The laser should be aligned perpendicular to the rod, for best accuracy especially on bowls with a wide base.

2. Instead of a separate flex arm on a magnetic base, one could make up a one-piece assembly with a fixed, pre-aligned laser arm attached to the extension rod. That way you just chuck up the whole assembly in the Jacobs chuck and it's ready to go, with no further alignment necessary. Also, this same assembly could be used on your drill press for measuring bowls that are off the lathe, such as a rough-turned bowl prior to finish turning.

Also, a mechanical version could be easily built. A sliding rod on a fixed arm perpendicular to the extension rod would replace the laser. Attach a pencil to the end of the sliding rod. Since my laser is always disappearing from the workshop (the dogs love to chase the laser dot), I'm going to make the mechanical version.

Thanks for posting this great tip!

Rick

Great Idea - - Thanks!!

Ron Sardo in PA

>

Re: Laser depth finder for the lathe.

William Westbrook

>Dave

"A blinding flash of the obvious". It's great when that happens. Thanks for sharing. Now how am I going to adapt my lazer light for gauging the side wall to a depth finder? Should take me about 30 minutes.

William

Re: Laser depth finder for the lathe.

Brad Vietje

>Great Idea -- You can also use this for the drilling, as long as the flex arm and magnet are secure enough, and if you advance the tip of the drill bit by manually pushing/sliding the entire tailstock along the ways, and not using the tailstock feed.

Thanks for sharing ...

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: Laser depth finder for the lathe.

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>This is a most useful technique. I first read of lasers used for these purposes in a post at rec.crafts.woodturning by Leo Liechtman, who later turned that post into an article for More Woodturning. Leo also talks about using the laser for help in centering work on the lathe as well as several other "unconventional" uses of the laser for woodturning. It's worth digging up his original article.

Re: Laser depth finder for the lathe.

David Eaves

>Great stuff,I've seen a few things along this line now and it's a great idea. I've been looking for good uses for lasers for years, I think I'm finding them now. What's also great is how they have become a lot cheaper recently.

Thanks for showing us this.

David

Re: Laser depth finder for the lathe.

Dinyar Chavda

>Dave:

I tried a similar approach using a clamp connected to an adjustable coolant hose, and had a really hard time keeping the laser perpendicular to the tip (I was using a coring tool) in both planes---in fact, it was obvious that it wasn't. Any suggestions re how to keep it at right angles?

Dinyar

Mechanical indicator was first idea.

Dave Smith

>Hi Rick,

I agree that the beam needs to be perpendicular to the centerline axis of the tail stock. For this application sighting down the barrel of the laser is good enough since the distance between the center and the out side was a little over an inch.

I was going to make a mechanical depth indicator when I realized I had the laser light that would do the same thing. The problem with a mechanical indicator for me is storage. I was already storing the laser light and drill chuck. If I were in production mode a preset measuring devise would be very handy.

Dave Smith

A little rain today in Longview, WA.

I was solving a simpler problem.

Dave Smith

>Hi Dinyar,

I believe your application is more complex than mine. The intent of my setup is to accurately indicate the vessel depth on the outside wall. To follow a coring cutter would require a setup like a wall thickness indicator and a lot more thought than I am use to. The geometry of the cut is determined when the corer is setup so knowing the position of the cutting tip is moot since you cannot change it. On the coring system I have I can move the cutting tip to center line and make a mark on the band to indicate when I am almost to the end of the cut. By doing this I know when to stop before I have the core totally cut loose.

Dave Smith

A little rain today in Longview, WA.

Thanks for your comments.

Dave Smith

>I posted the laser depth indicator pictures to share a simple solution to a problem I had in my shop. Instead of investing time and materials in constructing a dedicated vessel depth indicator I simply used what I already had on hand. I doubt that I have created a new and novel devise. However, it was a good solution for me and I hope it will assist others.

Dave Smith

Cheap and lazy in Longview, WA.

Now take it to the next level

GeeSeaWhy

>Great idea Dave. Now all you need to do is substitute a more powerful laser and you can use that to part off the bowl.

Graeme

How did yo know I was planning that?

Dave Smith

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