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Waveney & District Woodturners |
New Club LatheAs astute readers will already know, the Waveney & District Woodturning Club recently decided to upgrade the old lathe. Primary considerations for choosing the lathe were; build quality, capacities, adaptability, portability, and lastly - but by no means least - cost. Several contenders were already in mind when the search began, but a pair of clear leaders for consideration were soon settled upon.
The Vicmarc VL100 and the Wivamac DB801 Vario. My own preference was already set. As an owner of the larger DB1200v I am already a convert to the build quality and adaptability of this fantastic lathe. The options were put to the members and a vote cast (eventually!). The Wivamac won by a huge margin.
A deal was done with Jimmy Clewes and the lathe and a new chuck were ordered and we waited patiently for the lathe to arrive. We opted not to include the factory-built stand for purely financial reasons. So a means of mounting the lathe, which would also aid its portability, was required. Terry and the two Geralds, Short and Alderton, volunteered. It was agreed that the stand should be constructed of steel and have some means of moving it without first having to dismantle what is a considerably heavy machine.
The lathe arrived safely a day earlier than anticipated thanks to Peter Hemesly at The Toolpost. The bed was taken by Terry to enable measurements to be taken for the design of the stand. Progress was quicker than expected and within a few days the lathe had been constructed and was ready for a coat of Hammerite. Gerald Alderton and Terry kindly supplied all the steel and Gerald short was on hand during the construction at Terry's workshop...and, as ever in a Horton Construction, the local carboot played an important role with the acquisition of a pair of what could have been custom-built transportation handles.
The stand has two wheels fitted at what will be the headstock end of the bed. When the handles are slotted into the carriers at the tailstock end the whole lathe can be easily lifted up. As the lathe lifts the wheels engage and the whole thing can be "wheelbarrowed" into position. When the lathe is set down the wheels lift off the floor providing a firm stand for turning. The handles are then removed to reduce the risk of someone tripping over them. (Which would be me!) This will make setting up and clearing away a much less strenuous task in the future.
The legs are now painted up and I will take some photographs when we build the lathe up for the next meeting. As things work out I get the first crack at it as I'm demonstrating that night! And that's with no prior planning before you wonder.
So, our thanks go to Terry Horton, Gerald Alderton and Gerald Short for their time and efforts, and a job very well done. Here are a few photographs of the construction process to be going on with.
The stand is now finished and was built at the club's monthly meeting to allow the members to see what their money has bought. It is fair to say that there was a unanimous thumbs up. The stand proved more than adequate and should put up with everything we throw at it. The handles that can be seen sticking out are removable for safety.
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content © Andy
Coates 2005-2006 |
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