Shopsmith Forums

have been turning on my Shopsmith for a couple months now. Am considering a lathe that will handle heavier pieces.
Then realized I don't know how much weight my shopsmith can handle. Can someone enlighten me. I have a Mark V.
Thanks in advance.

Well watch this for what I would call extreme shopsmith turning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQbzEz0-7X0

I'm sure someone here can answer on whats the practical limits

Just for starters, some factors would depend on how you plan to mount the stock (spur center, face plate, specialized chuck / jaws, etc.) and whether or not using the tailstock.

That large column turn vid is not encouraged but enlightening

steve54 wrote:have been turning on my Shopsmith for a couple months now. Am considering a lathe that will handle heavier pieces.
Then realized I don't know how much weight my Shopsmith can handle. Can someone enlighten me. I have a Mark V.
Thanks in advance.

Depending on the model (which motor you have) the amount of weight will very. I have seen videos of people turning 100's of pounds on a PowerPro with its 2 HP motor. With a 3/4 HP motor from an older unit I still think you could turn more than you could lift before the motor becomes the issue.

As was already said, how you attach the material to the lathe will be a bigger factor and for large diameter work how slow can you go.

If you are looking at another lathe you can compare the motor type and HP with the Shopsmith to get an idea. A "typical" quality midi lathe has a 3/4 to 1 HP motor of the same type as a Shopsmith. You can also find many popular larger Chinese build lathes coming with 1/2 HP motors.

I have found that I can turn larger pieces if they are pretty much already balanced. Also, a shelf suspended underneath filled with sand will help to balance any unbalanced pieces. Apart form that, as long as the motor will turn it, it should be OK. One thing in favour of larger pieces is that once they are turning, they help to keep themselves going by centrifugal motion, like their own flyheel. Of course, this is also a negative if you need to stop the lathe quickly.

Derek

Appreciate the replies to my weight question. Have built a heavy stand and added more weight. Much better. Planning on turning large vessels when my skill level gets there. Usually go for the difficult first, although 300lb 10 foot columns are not in the future.

steve54 wrote:have been turning on my Shopsmith for a couple months now. Am considering a lathe that will handle heavier pieces.
Then realized I don't know how much weight my shopsmith can handle. Can someone enlighten me. I have a Mark V.
Thanks in advance.

If you can lift it - the Shopsmith will handle it.