Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Swing on lathe
Andrew Frank
>Hey just basic question... If i was to buy a lathe with a 10 inch swing, does this mean that from the center of the lathe chuck, it is 10'' from the rails that the tail stock slides on? or does it work like the drill press idea, and only 5'' from center to weighs. Thanks
Re: Swing on lathe
Bob Sheppard
>The swing is the second guess. Its twice the distance from the bed to the spindle center line.
Re: Swing on lathe
Paul Waddle
>You're right,its 5"from bed. Look at it this way,5"either side of center line. Actually,could be the center of a 10"post.
Don't forget, Andrew
Carole in VA
>That you have a lot less than a 10" swing over the banjo, which can present a problem sometimes. I think on my Jet mini, the swing over the banjo is only about 7 1/2"
Re: Don't forget, Andrew
Andrew Frank
>Thanks. Im actually saving up for a jet mini
Re: Swing on lathe
Barry Irby
>Also, if you have a ten inch swing, you will have to have some clearance around the blank, so a quarter inch clearance reduces the finished diameter of the object to 9 1/2". I have several lathes with differing swings, but I have found that I lose about a 1/4" even with a very carefully band sawed and mounted blank. This is an advantage to a lathe where you can swivel the head stock. You can mount a rough blank with the headstock off to the side, turn it round and swing it back over the ways with about and eighth inch of clearance.
