Shopsmith Forums

Hello all. First off I haven't done much on any forum so please excuse any mistakes while I try to figure all this out.
Just call me Jack. I worked for the last 21 years in a factory that makes mostly automotive battery cases and finally decided at the age of 62 I've worked enough. Time to have some fun. I have been doing woodworking for over 25 years but off and on as novice but some have turned out pretty good. I have done scroll work also. July I purchased a Carvewright and have done small anniversary plaques for my brothers and sister for learning experience and am just finishing a display case. Will add pictures when I figure out how. My wife wanted me to get a lathe for some time and wants to do some on it also. locking for a lathe we got the idea of a Shopsmith. Last week we took a road trip to Tennessee and brought a used 2004 Mark V home with us. It looks like new. Will be on a learning curve with it now.
Never worked with a lathe but thought the tail stock was on bearings. Doesn't the tail stock on the SS, not having bearings, burn the end of the wood? I would think the wood could get hot turning on tail stock and catch fire, guess I'll find out.
Will have questions from time to time and am sure will appreciate any help from anyone.
Enough time for now. Looking forward to the forum.

you are needing a live center for the SS,,,, a good idea unless you are familiar with using dead centers, you can find them on ebay or new from SS ,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LIVE-TAILSTOCK- ... P6ShmRih0w

I understand that SS has a special on the nova 4 jaw chuck .

The standard tail stock that comes with a Shopsmith is a dead center (no bearing). A little wax on the center will prevent burning.

Many of us have successfully used their Shopsmith to turn using the dead center/wax trick, but I think most people who do a lot of turning on a Shopsmith ultimately end up buying a tail stock with a bearing (live center) like the one that Hobbeyman2 linked to.

Welcome to the Forum, congrats on your retirement and learn how to post pictures (search the Forum for instructions), since we all like seeing other folks' Shopsmith projects.

Orrrrrrr, just get an 'original' fer less.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... enters.htm

Welcome to the forum Jack.

As others have pointed out, what you are looking for is a live center. You need one that fits a Morse taper 2 or more commonly referred to as MT2. Here's another example: https://www.amazon.com/PSI-LCENTLT2-Hea ... 834&sr=8-3. I bought a set years ago that had changeable inserts/tips. There are also special live centers/mandrels such as this one for turning pens: https://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking- ... 038&sr=1-2.

Turning isn't hard to learn, but getting over that initial hump might be easier with a mentor to show you sharpening techniques, basic cuts, etc. You might check to see if you have a wood turning group near you. Or see if there are any classes near you.

You might consider adding your location to your forum profile in case someone else is near you who might be willing to lend a hand. Click on 'User Control Panel' then 'Profile' under Options and there is a variety of things you can update, only do as much as you feel comfortable sharing.

There are some posts somewhere on the forum about attaching photos. There is a size limit, that I'm not sure shows up when trying to post the photo, that frustrates a lot of people initially.

Welcome, Jack, and enjoy your retirement. Retirement is all that it is cracked up to be.

Welcome.

Welcome to the forum Jack. Loads of info here to get you going. The advice on the woodturning club is spot on. Find your local club and join. They will steer you through the process of wood turning and avoid most of the frustrations. There are also hundreds of YouTube videos on the subject. Your Christmas wish list just got bigger I promise ! A good beginning rule is don't buy anything until you run it by the members here. There are a lot of great woodworkers and turners here and they have good advice on what and what not to buy. As far as posting pictures I use an app on my iPhone called Resize It which is easy to use and you can process and post the pictures directly from you phone.
Paul

You are indeed blessed to have your wife.

Best Wishes!