Shopsmith Forums

John Burger
The SS turning set that was tested is the bowl turning set not the basic set that they now sell. SS does not carry the bowl turning set anymore. Too Bad. If you look at the chart in footnote #3 they make the clarification. As an interesting side note there is also two listings for the Benjamin's Best from Penn State industries. The ones from Penn State direct made the grade as HSS but the same brand on E Bay did not qualify as HSS. So Caveate Emptor as the lawyers say.
I did not mean to denigrate the SS basic turning set, I have them and I do use them. I also have the SS bowl turning set but I took the chisels off the handles and now use them with the Robert Sorby Sovereign system. I really like the heft of the Sorby handle.
I started turning with pens and then graduated to segmented turning. I like the challenge of getting the segments to go together nice and tight.
Earlier in this thread I posted a pic of a recently finished bowl. The bottom of the bowl is 24 segments which were cut using the jig posted by jerry Bennett on the segmentology website. The plans are free and the jig works perfectly.
Right now I am going through a severe attack of sciatica and the drugs make me unsure of myself using the power tools. As a result I am on a self imposed vacation for now.
Bill V

Bill,
Be careful using segments on the bottom of the bowl, I have had them crack because of expansion. Not sure if the wood had too much moisture or not but I have three crack and stopped doing it.
Bob

Bob Coates
Time will tell!!! I sure hope not.
Could it have been caused by different rates of expansion and contraction of the different woods? Just a thought.
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:Bob Coates
Time will tell!!! I sure hope not.
Could it have been caused by different rates of expansion and contraction of the different woods? Just a thought.
Bill V

Or grain orientation?

Here is a picture, it is maybe 5 yrs old but been cracked for awhile. It is oak bottom and about 7 1/2 inches across.

I am curious what the grain orientation is on the glued sides of the segments.

I have no idea, assume open grain to open grain, too long ago. That is the way most of my segments are done.

So, is everyone who is woodturning with a Shopsmith on this forum, doing it on a PowerPro? I ask because I have been searching for many, many months for a speed reducer with no luck. I have tried eBay and nationwide searches on Craigslist with no luck. I ordered a new one from Shopsmith but who knows how long it will take to complete the order since they are missing parts for it and reliant on someone who does it out of their garage in their spare time. I know speed reducers are rare and don't go on sale often, but I am finding it to be as rare or rarer than a unicorn...Any advice?

RFGuy wrote:So, is everyone who is woodturning with a Shopsmith on this forum, doing it on a PowerPro? I ask because I have been searching for many, many months for a speed reducer with no luck. I have tried eBay and nationwide searches on Craigslist with no luck. I ordered a new one from Shopsmith but who knows how long it will take to complete the order since they are missing parts for it and reliant on someone who does it out of their garage in their spare time. I know speed reducers are rare and don't go on sale often, but I am finding it to be as rare or rarer than a unicorn...Any advice?

Can't help you with the speed reducer, I have one but not willing to part with it even if I do have 2 powerpros.

What I can suggest is that you can get started turning things without the need of speeds below 700 rpm. The low speed comes in when turning larger objects and when starting projects that are out of balance. The out of balance pieces can normally be improved by way of either positioning on the centers or by cutting off excess materials.

There is a danger if too out of balance it can be thrown from the lathe so learn to stand clear and switch the lathe on and keep you hand on the switch until it is is up to speed, if it starts getting too wild power down.

This is where a bandsaw comes in handy, especially with a bowl. Of course there are limitations but getting a log into a round before starting can help a lot with or without having the ability to turn slower.

If you want to get started turning then for now just find smaller and lighter things to turn. You will need practice so cheap wood comes to mind as well.

Ed

reible wrote:

RFGuy wrote:So, is everyone who is woodturning with a Shopsmith on this forum, doing it on a PowerPro? I ask because I have been searching for many, many months for a speed reducer with no luck. I have tried eBay and nationwide searches on Craigslist with no luck. I ordered a new one from Shopsmith but who knows how long it will take to complete the order since they are missing parts for it and reliant on someone who does it out of their garage in their spare time. I know speed reducers are rare and don't go on sale often, but I am finding it to be as rare or rarer than a unicorn...Any advice?

Can't help you with the speed reducer, I have one but not willing to part with it even if I do have 2 powerpros.

What I can suggest is that you can get started turning things without the need of speeds below 700 rpm. The low speed comes in when turning larger objects and when starting projects that are out of balance. The out of balance pieces can normally be improved by way of either positioning on the centers or by cutting off excess materials.

There is a danger if too out of balance it can be thrown from the lathe so learn to stand clear and switch the lathe on and keep you hand on the switch until it is is up to speed, if it starts getting too wild power down.

This is where a bandsaw comes in handy, especially with a bowl. Of course there are limitations but getting a log into a round before starting can help a lot with or without having the ability to turn slower.

If you want to get started turning then for now just find smaller and lighter things to turn. You will need practice so cheap wood comes to mind as well.

Ed

Thanks Ed. I have done some turning in the past, but I wanted to start turning bowls for the first time, so I would really like a much lower speed than 700RPM.