Lathe Speeds

[kennymill]

Greetings,

Can anyone help me out here, I do not have a manual and need to know the speed settings on the lathe. I am getting ready to turn a face plate bowl, I have sawn off the square edges and now need to round the work, but not sure what speed to start at.
Thank you in advance for your help.

Kenny

[paulmcohen]

Generally when rounding a bowl you want to turn very slowly. There are charts that recommend specific speeds but they are only guidelines. When I do bowls larger than 6" I use the Shopsmith speed reducer. I found the following on various Internet sites.

Adjust your Turning Speed for the Stock Size: As a general rule, the larger the piece of stock, the slower the speed that the lathe motor should spin. Turning a very thin piece of stock for a pen can be rotated much faster than an eight-inch piece of stock for turning a bowl. Remember to set the speed of the lathe before turning on the lathe motor. Failure to adhere to this rule can result in a rather large projectile.

The actual speed of the lathe depends on type of wood, a diameter of stock, nature of work being done and type of tool used.

[Bruce]

I've attached a pdf file that will give you the information you need for all the modes of operation. Also, if you don't have it already, there is a decal available from SS that shows the lathe speeds. It goes on the front of the headstock.

[kennymill]

Thank you for the PDF file

Kenny

[james.miller]

One page charts of the Shopsmith speeds I found in an old catalog. One is just the Shopsmith and the other has the Shopsmith and the speed reducer. I printed them out on card stock and put them up on the wall of my shop.

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Jim in Tucson