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Adding tachometer to lathe

Joined
Oct 8, 2020
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La Porte, IN
I think it was Stuart Batty who made the comment that things under 1000 will drop to the ground and things over 1000 will go everywhere. With my experience, I would say a definite maybe. Spindles, probably true. Bowls would be more variable on explosions....

robo hippy
Bowls will drop to the floor regardless of the speed...except for the pieces that embed themselves in the wall or ceiling. :eek:
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
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Eugene, OR
True.... I do show the hole in my wall from one that came apart at high speed in my stand out of the line of fire video. Saw another one and the turner was looking at a piece of a platter that was stuck in the ceiling. I don't have those much any more, I have learned....

robo hippy
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
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Woodinville, WA
I saw a Batty video where he mentioned that. I think he was referring to a 12-inch-diameter workpiece as the standard (watch his videos to confirm).

"Turn a Wood Bowl" (Kent) suggests that 9 inches diameter and smaller is fine for 1000 rpm, but the safe speeds drops off significantly as the diameters increase. He includes a chart and a long discussion on his website: https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/adding-tachometer-to-lathe.20823/.
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
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These "rules" on RPM are unwise, dangerous and should not be repeated. Every piece of wood is different so it's ridiculous to make these type rpm judgements without some study of the situation. I don't know Stuart Batty, but his recommendations on this subject seem to be pure nonsense.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2023
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Orange, CA
there are all kinds of rpm rules, none based in science. My first class taught me “rule of 5000,” to take 5000 divided by diameter of bowl for max rpm—so just 500 for a 10 inch bowl, too slow . . . or was it “rule of 6000?”
 
Joined
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Eugene, OR
As you gain more 'experience' you will end up turning at higher speeds. Part of this is being able to read the wood, and part of it is refining your tool technique. Stuart Batty is very knowledgeable, but he does say a lot of things that I don't agree with. Do, ALWAYS stand out of the line of fire when turning anything.

From Will Rogers, "Good judgement comes from experience. And, experience comes from, well, bad judgement."

robo hippy
 
Joined
May 30, 2022
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Belchertown, MA
These "rules" on RPM are unwise, dangerous and should not be repeated. Every piece of wood is different so it's ridiculous to make these type rpm judgements without some study of the situation. I don't know Stuart Batty, but his recommendations on this subject seem to be pure nonsense.
Doug

The rules (and tach) are very useful as a starting place for beginners while they learn how things should sound and feel, and how to read the wood. The alternative to the rules is to let them figure it out the hard way by blowing up pieces.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
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Lummi Island, WA
My observation from watching a few relatively new turners as they took their first, or at least early classes over the years is that they seem to err more often on too slowly rather than too fast. Perhaps they’re more intent on the mechanics of tool control. That’s a good thing, in my opinion.
Keep in mind the sample size is small - I’m not a teacher.
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
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Seattle, WA
This danger of exploding blanks should be a non-issue. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) took care of this years ago with the requirement of lathe guarding.

There are all sorts of OSHA mandated safety requirements with turning support equipment too. These are things commercial shops are fined for violating. A friend was cited and fined for having wood parts stacked on a table saw, who would have thought?

It's not clear to me exactly what's going on safety-wise in woodturning these days. My local Woodcraft and Rockler don't seem to promote lathe guards. A quick Google of Oneway and Robust lathe accessories didn't show any guards available, only dust hoods. You can play Where's Waldo watching turning videos trying to spot all the OSHA safety violations.
 
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