Working on a new article

Normally type with your thumbs?

Dick Coers

A few errors in that message with your thumb wrapped up!

Re: Normally type with your thumbs?

john lucas

I could claim it was my injury but in reality I have small hands and big fingers which makes it impossible to type on my phone. One of these days I'll get a laptop or something to use in the shop besides my phone.

Re: Working on a new article

Brad Vietje

I use a friction drive for an extra measure of safety. I do get pretty over-confident, though, and crank up the tension for more aggressive cutting, so I'm not sure it would have helped you if you had done the same. For spindle work held between centers, a light touch and a friction drive can help; that's just not how I always use it.

I look forward to the article.

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Newbury, VT

What's your favorite tool now? Thumbnail scraper

Re: Working on a new article

John C Lucas

This piece was in a Chuck so it wasn't going to give. I guess I turn too avressi Ely because friction drives simply don't work for me.

lathe clutch

John K Jordan

I always wondered if lathes should have an adjustable clutch built in like on my bushhog, set low or high as needed. Would work like a safety drive except with chucks and faceplates too.

JKJ

Re: lathe clutch

john lucas

I could have used a lathe clutch when I was turning a very large piece many years ago. I turned the lathe on and then back off when it reached the speed I found acceptable. I rigged up a foot switch so I could turn it off then back on and kind or roughly maintained that speed. It would have been much easier if I could have simply slipped a clutch a little. That was on a Reeves drive with a slow speed of 600, way to fast for that project.

loosen the belt

Dick Coers

Who promoted that decades ago? A foot operated lever that took the weight of the motor off the drive belt. Slip the belt to handle difficulties or a quick way to inspect your work. Was that Del Stubbs? I sure can't recall.

Re: loosen the belt

Jim Barbour

I believe it was Del Stubbs with the foot lever and that he has that in his bowl video.

Del Stubbs For Sure

Brad Vietje

Del was showing how he'd modified an old General (260?) with a tension pedal on the lower pulley.

I almost never add any extra tension to the drive belt; if it needs to slip, I WANT it to slip. When working on hollow forms with quite a small opening, I sure don't want the lathe trying to remove my arm if something went terribly wrong. I've never had any incident when the slippage was called for, and hope I never do, but you never know.

Coring bowls is probably the only time I push down on the 3520 motor to add tension.

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Newbury, VT

Re: lathe clutch

David Walser

Del Stubb's lathe clutch (IIRC) was a leg switch that lifted the motor, allowing the drive belt to slip. You operated it by using your thigh to press against a bar that ran the below the bed the full length of the lathe. I believe Del covered the bar with a wide piece of plywood -- making it easier to hit in an emergency.

It's a neat idea and is pretty simple to rig up for lathes with the motor slung low under the headstock. For lathes like the PM 3520b, which have the motor attached to the headstock AND have a sliding headstock, it's not so simple. I think for most modern lathes, a bar the runs under the lathe bed that operates a kill switch would be a better option.