3520 Tilt-A-Way

George Clark · Mar 12, 2009

3520 owners this might interest you. I have no connection to Robust other than being a satisfied customer.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=107041

http://www.turnrobust.com/Tilt-A-Matic_by_Robust.html

George

Marc Ruby · Mar 12, 2009

I wonder if that would fit on a Jet 1642???

Darn! Nope.

Marc

Nate Hawkes · Mar 12, 2009

I wonder if anyone has ever tried doing something with a barn door hinge--they are quite heavy duty, and are very long and narrow--something like a thick metal strap. It would be pretty easy to weld a bracket on top to hold the tailstock, and the hinge bolt would be quite a ways to the right hand side, so as to allow it to move completely out of the way, and without obstructing the outboard turning capacity. I'm envisioning a future project.........

Joe Greiner · Mar 13, 2009

Nate Hawkes said:
I wonder if anyone has ever tried doing something with a barn door hinge--they are quite heavy duty, and are very long and narrow--something like a thick metal strap. It would be pretty easy to weld a bracket on top to hold the tailstock, and the hinge bolt would be quite a ways to the right hand side, so as to allow it to move completely out of the way, and without obstructing the outboard turning capacity. I'm envisioning a future project.........

On my bucket list, closer to the lathe bed. But with the hinge pin pointing toward 1:30 or so, to place the tailstock below the bed and out of the way of long tool handles. Probably need a long lever to wrench it back to upright. The whole thing could be made of wood, I think - precision alignment is needed only to move the tailstock across the gap to/from the parking position. A snap latch could attach the parking bed extension to the lathe bed - no significant load for that function, unless you cheat for a piece that won't quite fit the available length.

Joe

Steve Worcester · Mar 13, 2009

George Clark said:
3520 owners this might interest you. I have no connection to Robust other than being a satisfied customer

http://www.turnrobust.com/Tilt-A-Matic_by_Robust.html

George

Looks nice, and Brent does a good job at listening to what wood turners want ,engineering it and then perfecting it.

Jerry Hall · Mar 14, 2009

Gate Hinge Swing Away and Down

I built one with a big old gate hinge out of plywood as a prototype. If it worked I was going to weld up a sturdy one. But it has held up for almost 3 years so I keep on using it as is. HERE is a slide show on how I built it for under $20.

The Mustard Monster site has a bunch of ideas in the lower half of THIS page

I like the Robust Solution for its quality and the fact that it swings down both to the front and to the rear. Keeping it out of the way in all hollowing circumstances. $342 isn't an awful price postpaid. My gate hinge solution swings down and back toward the headstock and it is well out of the way also. But it looks like the Robust solution gives you increased between center turning length. This might make my Elbo hollowing rig work too without an auxiliary post. My angle iron and gate hinge solution is'nt accurate enough for long spindle turning. I might upgrade to Robust if I can find some loose change!

Nate Hawkes · Mar 14, 2009

jerhall said:
I built one with a big old gate hinge out of plywood as a prototype. If it worked I was going to weld up a sturdy one. But it has held up for almost 3 years so I keep on using it as is. HERE is a slide show on how I built it for under $20.

The Mustard Monster site has a bunch of ideas in the lower half of THIS page

I like the Robust Solution for its quality and the fact that it swings down both to the front and to the rear. Keeping it out of the way in all hollowing circumstances. $342 isn't an awful price postpaid. My gate hinge solution swings down and back toward the headstock and it is well out of the way also. But it looks like the Robust solution gives you increased between center turning length. This might make my Elbo hollowing rig work too without an auxiliary post. My angle iron and gate hinge solution is'nt accurate enough for long spindle turning. I might upgrade to Robust if I can find some loose change!

This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about. I'd like to try somthing similar with just welded together angle iron, with the hinge itself bolted to the lathe. Jerhall, do you have the 18" bed extension for outboard turning? I was worried that it might get in the way for turning larger than 20" work, which will for me come around infrequently, but I'd want to be able to pursue it as an option.

phaney · Mar 14, 2009

pH slider

Check out my slider on MM page. I now have it down where I can use one hand or just a couple of fingers to move it. No lifting required. It cost maybe $40. It does not get in the way of out board turning.

Wyatt Holm · Mar 14, 2009

Why do you need tilt away? They aren't that heavy. Unless you are a little older than I am.

Burt Alcantara · Mar 14, 2009

Don't know how old you are but whether I'm old or not, the point is lifting the tailstock and getting it mounted is getting to be more of a chore then I'd like. Torn Rotator Cuffs and arthritis has taken their toll on my ability to ease the tailstock up and down.

For this reason, I almost sprung for the Stubby.

Burt

KurtB · Mar 14, 2009

Tailstock Removal

I have seen a few variations here in the forums, but a simple roll around cart, at the right height, with some wood ways to match your lathe, makes tailstock removal virtually painless - and there is plenty of room for the long handles!
Kurt

Jerry Hall · Mar 15, 2009

Nate, Wyatt

Nate, I don't have the extension. The gate hinge only uses the top 3 holes, so the lower holes for the extension on a 3520b are free for an extension on a large turning. The tailstock swings completely behind the end of the ways so should not be in the way of turnings greater than 20" The plywood could be extended to make any clearance you wanted. As you can see HERE to clearance is well beyond the 20" capacity of the lathe.

Wyatt, I used a rolling cart, which was fine. But the swing away is much faster on and off. This matters to me because now I think nothing of getting that tailstock out of the way and avoiding an awkward reach over to position my tool It is just a few seconds to go on and off. Before I would work around it to avoid the removal hassle. It is much nicer and more effective to work at the end, or opposite side of the lathe in many situations not just hollow forms. Doing a bowl requires for me at least two disengagements of the tailstock. And the cart was just another thing in the way too that had to be pushed around. And my lower back has to find some other excuse to give out on me now.

Burt Alcantara · Mar 15, 2009

There will never be one tool that everyone likes. The great thing is the fact that it is available, especially from a highly regarded company.

I'm still sitting on my thumbs but I had considered buying an American Beauty almost for the Tilt-Away, but chocked at the price the entire package would have cost.

I've considered building a cabinet with the extension on top. By the time I'd get around to doing that I'd be too feeble to hold a gouge. For me, this would be a good investment.

Burt

Wyatt Holm · Mar 17, 2009

I usually don't take the tailstock of my lathe. I have a 50" longbed, so I just slide it out of the way. As for my age, I will be 18 in less than two weeks.

Bob Boettcher · Mar 25, 2009

I built one based on jerhall's design, and it works great. I used to avoid taking off the tailstock because of the weight, but now it is no problem at all. Now it is easy to swing it away, and slide the headstock down for hollowing and such.
It's cheap and works, that says it all.

Jeremy Williams · Mar 27, 2009

A couple of notes and looking for some feedback ....

In trying to design something like this to match my needs, I came across the above mentioned stuff as well ....

The tradition "swing away" seems good, but on the 3520B there is a duplication bar mounted on the tailstock. If you swing it all the way around, it would appear that the duplication bar/arm would be back over the bed (so you'd have to stop the swing at 45 degrees I assume. Has this been noticed by anyone? Is it a problem/concern for you?

The Robust one is very similar to something I drew up a while back and implemented very well by them. However, why would they do that? Seems one of cool things about a Robust was this functionality and would be a reason to switch. Now that you can retrofit a PM, seems they might negated a good selling point of their lathe.

What if the tailstock could swing "down". What do you think of that?

Griesbach · Mar 28, 2009

Jeremy, I do not have the duplication arm mounted on my tailstock because I dont' need it to be there so I cannot fully answer this question. However when the Tilt-A-Matic is tilted to the back of the lathe I don't think the duplicator attachment would interfere. The unit does tilt 90 degrees to the front and the back so if you tilted to the front the duplicator may have some interference. But why would you want to do that?

Malcolm Smith · Mar 28, 2009

Years ago I remember being frustrated on occasion by the presence of the tailstock on my lathe and would remove it. This only dealt with one frustration! The lathe bed was still in the way. I now have a Oneway and do a lot of turning on the outboard end where I have the short bed they make for this lathe. I can stand directly in front of a bowl while turning the inside. This makes a big difference. Also, I can turn in either direction by simply reversing the direction of rotation. Chucks are locked in place allowing this.

All of this should be considered by anyone buying a new lathe.

Malcolm Smith.

Jeremy Williams · Mar 28, 2009

Those are valid options for the PM3520B as well, as the headstock moves along the bed. The tailstock is not really a problem for me, but it would be mighty nice to have a way to get it out of the way. The swings seem to be the best idea, though I too am cool with the idea of a "cart" if you have the room (of course, I don't!)

Bob Boettcher · Mar 29, 2009

I don't have a problem with the duplicator arm on my 3520B, as I never use it so have removed it.
The sliding head is one of the best features of the PM, and now that tailstock removal is easy, I slide the headstock down for easy of hollowing on a regular basis.

Bob

Malcolm Smith · Mar 30, 2009

Bob Boettcher said:
I don't have a problem with the duplicator arm on my 3520B, as I never use it so have removed it.
The sliding head is one of the best features of the PM, and now that tailstock removal is easy, I slide the headstock down for easy of hollowing on a regular basis.

Bob

My Oneway has the headstock bolted in place and very solid. The lathe came with a piece of paper certifying the alignment between headstock and tailstock which is extremely accurate. It's my assumption that they've gone this route in order to be able to provide this solidity and accuracy. With the outboard bed, there is no reason to be able to move the headstock. This aspect of the design seems very well thought out. There is added cost involved with having the outboard bed. I have two tool rest posts which ultimately is what this makes this arraingment work.

It's something to consider if one is considering one of the Oneway lathes which I highly recommend. The outboard bed can of course be added later.

Malcolm Smith.

dmahany · Mar 30, 2009

Jet 1642 Tailstock tilter

Marc Ruby said:
I wonder if that would fit on a Jet 1642???

Darn! Nope.

Marc

I made one for a Jet 1642 out of basic stock steel. It works better than I had hoped. In case anyone would like to see the idea, here are a few pics at the attached link.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dmshopshots/Jet1642LatheHomeMadeTailstockSwinger#

Good luck and best regards.

Griesbach · Mar 31, 2009

Very nice, Dick. You did an excellent job on the design and construction. The only thing I don't see is any kind of stop or lock. Maybe they just don't show in the photos.

dmahany · Mar 31, 2009

Griesbach said:
Very nice, Dick. You did an excellent job on the design and construction. The only thing I don't see is any kind of stop or lock. Maybe they just don't show in the photos.

Cyril,

Maybe a little difficult to see, there is a very simple stop for both positions. It consists of a 3/4" square tube mounted horizontally below the pivot. It simply has a nut captured inside the tube with a small dia bolt through it on each end for a stop. Although I haven't gotten around to making a lock (not sure that I need one) the two bolts allow independent fine adjustment of the two positions and thus allow for the less than perfect 90 degree orientations.

Best regards.
Dick

john lucas · Mar 31, 2009

Dick I'm curios as to why you put 2 bed sections on it. It would seem like it would only need one. I like your design. It's something I could probably build fairly easily.

Jeremy Williams · Mar 31, 2009

john lucas said:
Dick I'm curios as to why you put 2 bed sections on it. It would seem like it would only need one. I like your design. It's something I could probably build fairly easily.

Thanks for asking that ... I was having the same question but figured "heck, I must be stupid or something"

john lucas · Mar 31, 2009

I thought maybe it was for a counterbalance but it's too light for that. There's probably a really logical explanation I just can't wrap my little brain around it this morning.

John Lawson · Mar 31, 2009

The most logical alternative, at least to me, is a place to keep your alternate tailstock.

john lucas · Mar 31, 2009

John In that case you should have 4 so you could have a tailstock with the proper live center in each one. don't laugh, we used to find it hard to believe anyone would have more than one chuck.

John Lawson · Mar 31, 2009

I remember that. I may be a novice turner, but not a novice wannabe. I've been reading turning books and magazines for 20 years.

dmahany · Mar 31, 2009

john lucas said:
Dick I'm curios as to why you put 2 bed sections on it. It would seem like it would only need one. I like your design. It's something I could probably build fairly easily.

John,

I put two sections on it because I figured that it might be convenient to quickly slide the banjo onto one when I use the tailstock for drilling or other things and wanted the banjo out of the way completely. The other reason was that this simple design uses the front bed section when tilted forward as the stop to register the rear section with the actual lathe bed and vise versa. I had the extra material and wanted to make it good and solid, hence the web shape that ties both sections together. Clearly overkill, but I couldn't figure out a simpler way to make a single section as strong as I thought it neede to be.

I originally saw the Robust design and thought is was very clever idea and so I wanted to try the concept out.

Best regards,
Dick Mahany

john lucas · Mar 31, 2009

Cool Dick. I like it. Just pokin' fun at ya. It's been one of those days at work when I needed a laugh.

Rich L. · Mar 31, 2009

3520 Swing away tailstock

Jerhall, I just viewed your swinging tailstock and like your set-up. What is the purpose of the metal strip that is between the ways?

Jerry Hall · Apr 2, 2009

Rich, It indexes the height

of the swing-away "ways" to exactly match the lathe ways. I just bent the sturdy "L" bracket until I was there. I bent it so it easily cleared at the beginning and then locked things level as I pushed things in. There is a little looseness in the hinge and this resolves that. I considered a locating pin solution, but this was fast and effective.

Rich L. · Apr 2, 2009

3520 swing away

Jerry, Thanks for the clarification. Now it all makes sense. Nice Job!!
Thanks again Rich

3520 Tilt-A-Way

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