After 33 years with my Woodfast, a Vicmarc VL240 is now on the way!

[Odie]

I discovered that the Oneway bowl steady cannot conveniently be positioned on both sides of a bowl without changing the post position. This is especially true for when the headstock is rotated.

Because of this, I now have three Oneway bowl steadys! The one I had been using for years was cut down to accommodate my old 16" Woodfast lathe.....and is not tall enough to use on my new Vicmarc VL240.

Every day, it seems like, I have to modify and/or buy or make new tooling to use for the new lathe!~

=o=

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Well, I've never met anyone who has expected more (i.e. purpose suited customization) from an off-the-shelf machine as you, based on my observations on this board. That's not meant to be a positive or negative comment, just simply an observation. Remember, it did take you 33 years (or 10, or 20, or...) to get your Woodfast just right for your purposes.

I think you are on the right track, though. I don't see how there could be any other option, shy of a ground-up custom fabrication from raw materials.

That lathe is simply one of the best out there, but that is relative. Keep that in mind, because we can't foresake the possible, the expected, of the very, very good for the improbable/impossible of the perfect. You're the epitome of the shadetree woodturning engineer, you'll figure out how to make your new lathe one step closer to perfect.

I can't help but ask, though, and I ask because I am certainly not at the talent level of you (nor many on this forum), but how are others achieving upper echelon results without a similar level of heavily modified, customized, machines? That's probably more of a rhetorical, maybe philosophical question than anything. Food for thought, for insightful thinking, maybe not debate.

 

[Tim Hunter]

I’d say Odie’s modifications are split between needs and preferences; and not everyone has the same needs, and certainly not the same prefrences - That’s the difference. (and there aren’t many producing his level of near-perfection either.)

Tim

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I’d say Odie’s modifications are split between needs and preferences; and not everyone has the same needs, and certainly not the same prefrences - That’s the difference. (and there aren’t many producing his level of near-perfection either.)

Tim

Yeah, sort of like buying a sportscar and then spending a few years under the hood, under the frame, and inside the cabin customizing it to your desires, your needs and preferences.

 

[Odie]

I’d say Odie’s modifications are split between needs and preferences; and not everyone has the same needs, and certainly not the same prefrences - That’s the difference. (and there aren’t many producing his level of near-perfection either.)

Tim

Yeah, sort of like buying a sportscar and then spending a few years under the hood, under the frame, and inside the cabin customizing it to your desires, your needs and preferences.

Yeah....you guys are right.

Not everyone will have the same needs, or desires that I do. I'm adding to this thread strictly for informational purposes. It's intended to be a source of information for those who are contemplating a new lathe purchase.

=o=

 

[Odie]

Here is a little graph I've made up to find the appropriate hole position for the current diameter bowl. This is for use on the back side of the bowl. On the back side, the hole position is critical for banjo clearance on the front. There is specs for headstock placed at both 0° and 15°.

=o=

 

[Bill Boehme]

I may be wrong, but my theory is that when you really reef hard on steel threads against the much softer cast iron threads, they can become distorted. When this happens, then the union between the two metals is forever changed. Once that change takes place, the holding power between the two metals is likewise forever reduced......and the handle will slip.

=o=

Threaded holes in cast iron are generally considered self-lubricating and fairly durable, but long-term excessive tightening wouldn’t be doing it any favors. Fortunately, there’s several options in the event that a repair is needed. In my opinion, the best (and easiest) is to use a Heli-Coil.