Metalworking Lathes In The Wood Shop: Woodturners

With the growing interest in metal working there has been an increase in the availability of both new and used metal lathes on the market. While the techniques of turning metal and wood are different, the machines are similar enough to open a new world of turning for the woodturner as well as give new directions for turners of metal as well.

Owning a metal lathe opens up new avenues of obtaining tools for the woodturner. Faceplates can be made in various sizes and for specialty reasons. Tool shafts can be made in various lengths and sizes and easily fitted to handles both wood and metal. Hard to find replacement parts for old and out of market lathes can be fashioned.

At the same time, metal lathes can be used for turning wood. This requires some refitting but the parts can be made by hobby metal workers. Larger metal lathes may have Morse taper #3 head stocks and tail stocks while #1 and #2 are more common for wood lathes. This means that either adaptors have to be made and commercial spur and tail centres used or spur and tail centres will need to be made to fit the lathe. Actually, this is not needed for the tail centre as live tail centres are readily available for metal lathes and are generally more robust than those for wood lathes because of the heavier weights usually turned.

Metal turners use tools fixed on a tool holder that is mounted securely on a table that is directed with wheels that move it in the x and y axes to remove metal from the rotating piece. While there are rare wood turners that can manipulate the tool in this way, most turn freehand. For this a tool rest and banjo will need to be fashioned allowing the use of hand tools.

All that is now needed is to remember that wood and metal are two different materials with different needs and affect the workshop in different ways. Oil is used in turning metal. Oil, unless it is the oil used in finishing a particular turning, can stain and ruin a nice turning. Similarly some metals react with some woods to introduce a discolouration. Thus it is necessary to be scrupulous in cleaning up all the metal shavings and all the oil from metal turning before turning wood.

At the same time, many woodturners work with green or wet wood and water hurts metal. The shavings from turning wood must be cleared from the metal lathe before turning metal.

On the other hand, this really means that the shop and in particular the lathe must be kept clean. This is a good idea at all times for workshop safety and the use of a metal lathe for metalworking and woodturning merely encourages the discipline. In any case it allows for a new dimension and direction for the craftsman turner.

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