Turning Bowls in a Wheelchair/Powerchair

[Thomschuck]

Fellow SS Genius’s
My machine is a 1983 Mark V 500. I am looking for ideas for a problem I have just “run into”. I have been turning spindles for several months now. When I shifted over to turning bowls I discovered that the right leg/stand is quite the obstacle in getting close enough to the tailstock end of my work. Do any of you that turn sitting have a solution on a work around? I have tinkered with the idea of removing the right leg/stand and building a bracing stand that would go under the bottom ways to carry the machine. I know its only 5 nuts & bolts but still…. That’s a lot of energy. I was thinking about using knobs with threads on them with large wing nuts on the back side. That would improve removal and reassembly dramatically. I am going to give this set-up a go and see how it works. Any ideas sure would be appreciated. I love my Shopsmith!
Thanks!
Thom Schuck
Portland, Oregon

[edma194]

Are you using the tailstock to turn bowls? I suppose you might initially, I'm no expert on turning. Is this still a problem when you don't need the tailstock any more and move the headstock as far as it will go to the left?

[Thomschuck]

You are correct. I stated it wrong thank you. It’s the leg that keeps me back to far. The tailstock is removed or will be removed when I start hollowing. I went out and sat in my chair staring at the shopsmith. My engineering pals swung by and they are going to think about all this. Where there is a will you will find a way, I hope…. Thank You!

[edma194]

Sounds like you are moving around to the end of the Shopsmith to work on the interior of the bowl. The legs do extend outward, and the base casting takes space as well. If you can remove the steel leg and still fit under the casting then some sort of replacement leg might work. In the following ad for a 10ER the other end of the machine is held up with a rather heavy support. It seems to be built up on top over the tubes in a way you won't need, but this might give you some ideas:
https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/tls/d ... 19117.html

[roy_okc]

Could you possibly use a seat, something like in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1HoweGT6V8, attached to the right leg? There would need to be some thought put in on how to do it so that you couldn't put too much weight on from the side and cause the machine to tip over, maybe your engineer pals could help on that front if the concept seems otherwise good.

[chapmanruss]

Hi Thom,

Can you move the headstock just to the left of the center on the way tubes thereby keeping your work area close to the center of your Mark V? Does that give you enough reach having your chair close to the bench tubes? Does sitting straight on to the shopsmith work or do you need more of an angle between the Mark V and your chair for turning bowls? Thom, these are questions I am thinking of from what I know meeting you and from our previous conversations. Hopefully something can work short of redesigning your Shopsmith. I know how much you love your woodworking. Looking at the video from the post from roy_okc I don't think anything like that would be practical for you.

Ed,

That is an interesting Model 10ER for sale near you. I have to wonder why it has a Speed Changer on it with the variable speed motor setup.

It has quite the custom stand setup too. I have seen similar stand setups made out of wood and/or other materials but all have one thing in common, that is the base/arm of the tool is on the main support part of the stand while the headrest end gets the more open stand part. The way tubes become the connecting part between the base/arm and headrest loosing that connection provided by the bench. The same would need to be true modifying a Mark V base.

[BuckeyeDennis]

I've been wanting to make a way-tube mounted tailstock for a while now, and I'm thinking that one of those would solve your problem. It would allow you to position your bowl anywhere you wanted along the way tubes.

Here's an old thread where someone made an adapter mount for a tailstock from another lathe: viewtopic.php?t=8098. But on a Shopsmith, you don't really need a full tailstock, you just need something to rigidly hold MT2 tooling. A beefy wooden structure that mounts to the way tubes, with an MT2 bore on axis with the spindle, should be much more rigid than the stock SS tailstock. That's why I'd like to have one myself.

While restoring a vintage Craftsman lathe a while back, I bought a MT2 reamer set to dress the buggered-up spindle taper. You can pay a whole lot more, but that set cost me only about $30, and it worked just fine for that job.

A while later, I needed a rotary table for a fixture, and it occurred to me that my Nova live center could make a dandy axle for it. But would a Morse Taper reamed into hardwood make an acceptable socket? To find out, I drilled an undersized hole in a small Osage Orange board, and then reamed the taper. The answer: it's as solid as a rock, even though the board is only 1" thick. There's no discernable wobble, and to extricate it I generally have to whack the live-center shank with a dead-blow hammer.

So if you devise a wooden fixture that registers and clamps repeatably to the way tubes (using either Vee-notches or 1-3/4" half-bores on the underside of the fixture), it would be easy to add the #2 Morse taper. Just drill it and then ream it using the Shopsmith spindle, and it will be precisely in line. If you're worried about the alignment changing over time, you could add provision for offset adjustment to the structure. But unless you do some major surgery on the headstock, I can't see why the alignment would ever change.

[reible]

Shopsmith sells a Deputy kit that might be worth looking at for ideas. They mount on a base you design so both height and leg/base placement could be done to your advantage. You would not have to purchase the kit but just it as a base of discussion.

https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cat ... deputy.htm

A second idea would be a base along the lines of the old mark VII.

download/file.php?id=16073

Anyone know if a mark 5 can just be put on the base of a mark VII? If not then one could make something pretty much like this without too much effort I would think.

Ed

[ChrisNeilan]

Now, no dissing of Shopsmith intended, nor do I want to spend your money, but I believe Oneway makes a dedicated lathe for those in wheelchairs. Food for thought.

[chapmanruss]

Although Thom has not commented back there have been some interesting ideas. One thing to note is Thom uses other functions of the Shopsmith not just the lathe. A recent project of his was making bird houses. He has even used it up in Drill Press mode recently. I don't believe he is looking to change the basic unit but there are ideas presented he may find useful. Thanks for helping Thom out.