[Dynikus]

tl;dr - My tool rest holder broke. What do?

I just got my first lathe off craigslist for 60 bucks. It came with a full set of 8 tools, plus a shop vac. It was quite rusty, and not the best quality (old harbor freight lathe. There's a plate on it that says it was manufactured in '93.) but I figured it would be good enough to start out on. The motor still ran well, and after a bit of elbow grease, most of the rust was gone. After I cleaned everything up right nice, I wanted to go ahead and spin my first ever piece of wood. I was going to make a kendama. So I loaded up a probably 12"x2" diamter poplar dowel, and got to spinning. Maybe... 5-10 minutes in, I noticed my tool rest was starting to move. So I shut it off, and after clearing off some wood, I noticed the piece that holds my tool rest broke!

What should I do? Should I try to find a replacement, or is it worth it to get it welded? If I were to get it welded, would it likely just break again?

update: I'm going to try to jb weld the pieces together, then bolt and jb weld 4 1/8" thick steel bars along both sides. I'll let you know in 24 hours if it works

 

[hughie]

tl;dr - My tool rest holder broke. What do?

I just got my first lathe off craigslist for 60 bucks. It came with a full set of 8 tools, plus a shop vac. It was quite rusty, and not the best quality (old harbor freight lathe. There's a plate on it that says it was manufactured in '93.) but I figured it would be good enough to start out on. The motor still ran well, and after a bit of elbow grease, most of the rust was gone. After I cleaned everything up right nice, I wanted to go ahead and spin my first ever piece of wood. I was going to make a kendama. So I loaded up a probably 12"x2" diamter poplar dowel, and got to spinning. Maybe... 5-10 minutes in, I noticed my tool rest was starting to move. So I shut it off, and after clearing off some wood, I noticed the piece that holds my tool rest broke!

What should I do? Should I try to find a replacement, or is it worth it to get it welded? If I were to get it welded, would it likely just break again?

Replacement might be the way to go. As welding might be expensive unless you have some one to have a go at it. Breaking, no it shouldn't break on the weld. Although the whole banjo looks a light weight for my thinking.

 

[Dynikus]

Looking at some of the other rests I saw while looking for a replacement, this one does seem a bit light weight. Where should I look to find a new one? and are they universal, or are there different sizes to fit different lathes?

 

[Tommie Hockett]

I would just have it welded most shops around here would only charge you 15 or 20 dollars to do it but I don't know about where you live prices may be higher where you are

 

[Dynikus]

I'll look into welding before I get a replacement for sure. Would it be possible that dull tools could have put more pressure on the rest than sharp tools would have? I was too antsy to start spinning that I haven't had a chance to get a bench grinder yet to sharpen up the tools I got with it, so they're definitely on the dull side.

 

[spinks]

Looking at it, that piece looks cast...an absolute swine to weld properly and the rods are uber uber expensive!!

 

[robert421960]

I'll look into welding before I get a replacement for sure. Would it be possible that dull tools could have put more pressure on the rest than sharp tools would have? I was too antsy to start spinning that I haven't had a chance to get a bench grinder yet to sharpen up the tools I got with it, so they're definitely on the dull side.

when you turn with dull tools you push harder and then the result is more down force so
YES!!!

 

[ironman123]

What model number is your lathe? Can you take a picture of the lathe?

Someone with a milling machine could make what you need from a steel flat with a block or heavy wall pipe welded on the end and bored to the size of your toolrest post.

I waited for a part for a HF tool to come from China for 73 days one time. Now I just make it.

Good luck.

Ray

 

[Steve Neul]

I do enough welding to tell you that it can be welded however it won't last very long. Cast iron doesn't weld very good and it takes a lot more skill than most welders are able to do. There is not enough metal there for a lock and stitch so it would have to rely on the weld alone. I think if I was going that route I would attempt to fabricate a piece of 1/8" to 1/4" flat steel to add underneath it to re-enforce the banjo. It looks like about 1" space in the center. You could use a bi-metal hole saw and drill the hole on each end of the steel bar and cut the most of the center out with a carborundom blade.

 

[Hwood]

Its cast. I got a broken one myself in the garage. Look on the 'bay' and you should find plenty there, but if you can make a better one that would be best. I would bet your head stock is also cast, got a broken one of them in the garage also :[

 

[Dynikus]

when you turn with dull tools you push harder and then the result is more down force so
YES!!!

that's exactly what I was thinking, thanks.

What model number is your lathe? Can you take a picture of the lathe?

Someone with a milling machine could make what you need from a steel flat with a block or heavy wall pipe welded on the end and bored to the size of your toolrest post.

I waited for a part for a HF tool to come from China for 73 days one time. Now I just make it.

Good luck.

Ray

This sounds like probably my best bet unless I can find one cheap on ebay. One question though, if I were to do it this way, would I also have to have a hole drilled and tapped into the side of the pipe so I could fit the bolt that locks the tool rest in place?
oh, and here's the model number and everything.

 

[cuerodoc]

First, Welcome to the forum!
Second--about the banjo, get another. Ebay is a good source for ones like you have pictured. Seems to be a bit on the light duty side.
You might want to $pend a little more and get one more like a delta/rockwell that I think would do you better. Will check to see if I have one (I do a lot on ebay).
Dave H

 

[cuerodoc]

Ok, I looked-- no banjos laying around-- must've sold em. Don't think I'd wait on a part from HF, loooong wait-- unless the store has a return that they may sell ya a part.
I did look on ebay-- look under "lathe tool holder", you'll find some interspersed there that may fill the bill-- were a couple at $29 ??
Jus trying to help.
Dave H

 

[khowald]

Welcome! Ebay is the place to start. If you feel you are going to stay with that lathe I think it might be worth your while to call a machine shop and just see how much they would charge to fabricate the piece out of steel...you may be happily surprised by the cost and you then know it will last. ken

 

[Steve Neul]

If you are going to attempt to repair the banjo with an epoxy I would recommend using PC-7.

A banjo doesn't have to be the same brand to make the lathe functional. There is banjo on ebay for a 1 1/4" tool rest for about 10 bucks that is similar to yours. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wood-Lathe-...520?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19dc908288

 

[john lucas]

The best way is to find a welder or machinist to simply build a new one. The bottom is extremely easy to build. Just lay 2 pieces side by side with the gap for the bolt. Make 2 short pieces to go in between and then weld them up. Shouldn't be too hard to find a piece of steel rod that's hollow that has the same size hole as the tool post. weld it up, drill a hole in the side and tap it for the locking handle and your done.
Worse case scenario, send it to me and I'll build you one.

 

[Tommie Hockett]

The best way is to find a welder or machinist to simply build a new one. The bottom is extremely easy to build. Just lay 2 pieces side by side with the gap for the bolt. Make 2 short pieces to go in between and then weld them up. Shouldn't be too hard to find a piece of steel rod that's hollow that has the same size hole as the tool post. weld it up, drill a hole in the side and tap it for the locking handle and your done.
Worse case scenario, send it to me and I'll build you one.

the people on this forum are awesome:thumbsup:

 

[Dynikus]

Thanks for all the help, guys!
For the time being, I basically sandwiched the two broken pieces between 1/4" thick steel bars, held on with a very good amount of JB weld. I haven't been able to test how well it will work yet as I don't want to make the mistake of using dull tools again. Gonna buy a bench grinder today to sharpen them up before using it. If it doesn't work, I'll see about getting one made, or perhaps the ebay banjo.

 

[cuerodoc]

I'll be the psychic here----it won't work, and it'll break unexpectedly! (Iwouldn't use it) Make sure you have eye protection.
Dave H

 

[khowald]

Whatever you do, BE CAREFUL, I spent twenty years as a paramedic/firefighter picking u[ people that thought, "hey that's a good idea!" It wasn't! ken