Hi Folks,

Several years ago I bought a Grizzly 460 wood lathe. For the most part I have been happy with it. Though it has had an excessive (IMO) amount of fixes (set screw handles last about 3 months). Other than the handles though, it has done almost everything I'v needed.

When I first bought it, my knowledge of lathes was lacking. I asked on several boards and decided to look for variable speed and an ability to turn the motor outboard (among other things). The 460 offered that and I caught it on sale with free shipping so it was a good deal.

So, a few years later I decided to turn a 18 inch blank. I turned the motor outboard, mounted the blanks, stepped aside and turned it on....Big Mistake. The lowest rpm setting on the lathe is 600 (2000 is highest). A little research and I realized by calculation that an 18 in blank should be running about 300 rpm. I set the blank on the shelf (its still there, 4 years later) and went back to smaller turnings.

OK so now come the questions.

I have a segment project I want to complete where the widest rings will be ~20". I am thinking that 600 rpm may work as the rings are hollow, so less weight is actually spinning. Is my thinking correct of completely flawed?

Is there a way to modify the lathe to hit the lower speeds safely, without a high level of expense?

and, just for thought, why would a company build a lathe that can mount the larger turnings but not turn them at safe speeds?

Thanks

Kevin

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Kevin Wells
Chuckin' Wood
www.chuckinwood.com

Kevin,

Most of it has to do with balance more than weight. Even though a piece of tree might be cut into a perfect circle and centered on a face plate, the variations in density, moisture, etc can create an unbalanced blank. This a built up, segmented blank, you have more control over the variables. I think you should be OK.

I am not familiar with your lathe. I looked at the 462 model and it looks like the same speed control belt system that is on my Delta. The pulleys spread apart to control the speed. If yours is the same, I don't think there is any way to change the speed max/min settings.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Yes it's much like putting a heavy towl on on side of the washer and the lighter wt co9thson the other. it will spin out of balance as Lew stated simply because of that exctra weight. A friend and i recently worked on my lathe because it was getting really loud when turning, almost like it was hitting something or out of balance. i have yet to figure out what that issue is, but since we worked on it, the lathe has become slower on the low end especially. It used to run at 650 RPM consistantly at the lowest speed. Now it spins at just over 300RPM and I actually find that useful.

Anyway, I'm geting off track here, larger solid pieces will usually turn much differently than segemented turnings.

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Charles Nicholls
Site Host
nicholls61@att.net
Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nichollswoodworks

A segmented piece would be much more balanced than a run-of-the-mill bowl blank, but the 600 RPM "slow" setting is still pretty high and what might be a little catch at half that speed could result in a catastrophic event, Just approach the piece with caution and get it trued up inside and out before you worry about the overall shape/form of whatever you're working on. And stand outside of the line of fire at all times... just in case

Those lathes are great for spindle work but I've always wondered why they would have the ability for outboard turning.

Definite no.

Much like a falling weight from a height increases the weight with speed falling so does a spinning object.

1oz. Out of balance at 100 rpm can mean 6oz or more at 600 rpm.

Try to slow it down or maybe there's another set of gears from grizzly for that.