Shopsmith Forums

Once again, another stupid question from me...

I think I have too much free time in my brain

I know I have seen many examples of someone shortening a Shopsmith to create a mini tool station, but has anyone extended the tubes to make a machine that can turn a much longer piece of wood? I'm thinking about turning some nice pillars to replace the ugly plastic things that are on the fromt porch of the house, and I know the preferred method is to make them in three sections and peg the things together. BUT...If I could get 4 steel tubes that were longer, AND put a support leg in the middle to compensate for the center sag...and maybe put a support under the shuttle, couldn't I then try to turn a longer object? I don't think the weight would be a factor if I stuck to turning a 4x4 piece of oak or maple.

Has anyone tried to do this...ever??

myoung44708 wrote:Once again, another stupid question from me...

I think I have too much free time in my brain

I know I have seen many examples of someone shortening a Shopsmith to create a mini tool station, but has anyone extended the tubes to make a machine that can turn a much longer piece of wood? I'm thinking about turning some nice pillars to replace the ugly plastic things that are on the fromt porch of the house, and I know the preferred method is to make them in three sections and peg the things together. BUT...If I could get 4 steel tubes that were longer, AND put a support leg in the middle to compensate for the center sag...and maybe put a support under the shuttle, couldn't I then try to turn a longer object? I don't think the weight would be a factor if I stuck to turning a 4x4 piece of oak or maple.

Has anyone tried to do this...ever??

ME? No!

Others? YA!


Nick has been quoted as the only limit is the distance to the farthest wall!

Mount a tail center there and 'let 'er turn'.

Have you seen the balcony support column(s) thread?

While I wouldn't recommend taking it to the extreme shown in this application, the concept will be of interest to you.
https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=10103&highlight=turning

If you do go down this route just make sure you consider everything that could go wrong & take appropriate precautions!!

Yes, they have. There are some threads/posts showing this and some YouTube videos also.

But you have to ask yourself "Is it really worth all that work to extend my SS to turn a couple of long columns and then change my SS back? I believe that is why most will opt for pegging two or three pieces together. In the end you really can't tell the difference if the turning is done correctly. The joining is usually done between two beads so you can't see it.

There are a lot of woodturning websites that can take you through this procedure so you can make it in sections, and when put together you cannot find the joined pieces unless you know where to look. I'd go for the sections, and I've done a lot of turning over the last 20 years.