Not too long ago I experimented with a Stuart-Batty-style winged offset bowl and got my first taste of the force and vibration involved in turning a "light" off-balance piece. Last week's AAW sessions renewed my interest in multi-axis/eccentric turning. Given that I want to experiment with some more moderate sized pieces (e.g., 12-14" diameter platters and 12"x6" vases), I am looking into building a counterbalancing jig like the Kelton Balancer (www.kelton.co.nz/balancer.html). The Kelton Balancer retails for around $450, so I would like a cheaper solution for now. In Graeme Priddle's demo he mentioned he had heard of people attaching lead diver's weights as counterbalance, but that he didn't need to do this himself because he has a massive lathe bolted to 2 tons of concrete.
Has anyone had any success with making some sort of safe, configurable balancer like the Kelton Balancer? My current idea is to securely bolt two lead diver weights to the back side of a set of thick "cole" jaws in the unused holes; these could then be adjusted in/out/around to obtain a crude balance. I would also definitely screw the work piece to the plates rather than using the rubber stoppers -- this would avoid having a flying piece of wood at the same time as a newly unbalanced lathe. And I would make certain to never be in the line of fire of the weights. Altogether this strikes me as an inelegant and time-consuming solution compared to the Kelton. Perhaps it is also unsafe in a way I have not yet imagined. Comments? Other ideas?
Has anyone had any success with making some sort of safe, configurable balancer like the Kelton Balancer? My current idea is to securely bolt two lead diver weights to the back side of a set of thick "cole" jaws in the unused holes; these could then be adjusted in/out/around to obtain a crude balance. I would also definitely screw the work piece to the plates rather than using the rubber stoppers -- this would avoid having a flying piece of wood at the same time as a newly unbalanced lathe. And I would make certain to never be in the line of fire of the weights. Altogether this strikes me as an inelegant and time-consuming solution compared to the Kelton. Perhaps it is also unsafe in a way I have not yet imagined. Comments? Other ideas?