MDF Rose Engine Lathe 2.0 is Live

[RichColvin]

I am very happy to announce that the documents outlining how to make the MDF Rose Engine Lathe 2.0 are now published in the MDF Rose Engine Lathe 2.0 Library, and they are available for use.

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Jack Zimmel and I have made two machines using these documents, so they should be good to go.

We’re really happy with how it is coming together and feel we have stayed true to the underlying idea of the MDF rose engine lathe that Jon Magill laid out:

Make it easy to make art​

 

[Lars Hansen]

Impressive piece of work! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Many thanks to you and Jack.

 

[Glenn Lefley]

Can these use the rosettes the Lindow company sells?

 

[RichColvin]

Can these use the rosettes the Lindow company sells?

Don’t know about those but I sell ones specifically designed for the MDF rose engine (the original machine and this one use the same rosettes) for about the same cost.

 

[Tom De Winter]

What can the rose engine do besides rosettes? Seems like a lot of outlay for very limited capability.

 

[RichColvin]

Here are some pieces I made on my original MDF rose engine lathe.

The first 2 pictures are a lid I made (the segmented base was made by a fellow turner in my club). The 3d one is a shaving set I made for my son. The rest are some other objects made on the MDF RE lathe.

I am not yet retired, so I have barely tapped into the opportunities it presents. One I’ve not yet used yet is the threading for boxes.

 

[Tom De Winter]

Very creative Rich. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

That is some thinks I did not know a Rose Engine could do. Great pieces and some imagination

 

[Dwight R Rutherford]

What can the rose engine do besides rosettes? Seems like a lot of outlay for very limited capability.

Suggest you Google “Rose Engine” or check Pinterest. You will be surprised at what they can do.

 

[RichColvin]

Very creative Rich. Thanks for sharing.

Tom,

Like many others, I got bored with turning bowls about the same time my wife felt we had enough of them spread around the house. Some seem to go down the path of segmented turning; others things like adorning with carving or painting or wood burning. I chose the path of ornamental turning. All of these options really open up a lot of options for expanding the artistic talents.

So that’s why I’ve gone done this path. And I can tell you I have only begun to tap the options that this hobby has to offer.

Rich

 

[Tom De Winter]

To loosely quote Al Hockenbury, I still in the kid in a candy shop phase. Too new to tell where I’ll land in this hobby, but want to make one of everything.

 

[Russ Braun]

What can the rose engine do besides rosettes? Seems like a lot of outlay for very limited capability.

If you can get outside the box Rich, what can a rose engine lathe not do? I constantly marvel at what Malcolm Tibbetts and Jerry Bennett have developed out of traditional lathe production; it’s always inspiring when you go down the path never traveled and share it!!

 

[RichColvin]

If you can get outside the box Rich, what can a rose engine lathe not do? I constantly marvel at what Malcolm Tibbetts and Jerry Bennett have developed out of traditional lathe production; it’s always inspiring when you go down the path never traveled and share it!!

Russ,

Yes, there are things a rose engine lathe cannot do. And whilst the MDF rose engine lathe is a great way to get started in ornamental turning, it really cannot be used to do some things that other ornamental machines do much more easily.

1. Fixed tool work - usually requires a much more rigid machine
2. Guilloche - could possibly be done, but usually done on a straight-line machine.
3. Medallion work - definitely requires a larger machine like the MADE lathe (that’s a machine that makes a Robust lathe look very inexpensive!).

And there is other ornamental turning that is better done on the more traditional lathe. The Chinese nested sphere is one great example of that (these and stuff are outlined in David Springett’s Woodturning Wizardry).

Rich

 

[Don Bunce]

For some more examples of rose engine turning, check out Jon Sauer's website. www.jonsauer.com