Shopsmith Forums

This weeks PTWFE chapter is 13 Lathe duplicator. I have zero knowledge of this device so if anyone has any questions, please anyone who can answer them please do so. I have agreed to 'host' the next 4 chapters. We still need a volunteer(s) for the remaining chapters.
Click HERE when ready to begin

I had a sears copy crafter lathe one time that work very much the same way as the Shopsmith. You just follow the piece you are copying with the copy tool and then go back and point up by hand. It worked pretty well.

Mark

Hi,

It looks like I'm three weeks behind in my reading! Hope to catch up this week.

This is one of the items I don't have in my shop and looking at the cost I don't see a new one in my future either... but it does look like a nice item. I hadn't thought about its use for faceplate turning... that feature makes in a lot more interesting then the spindle turning for me.

I know a few people here must own these so I'd like to here more about the faceplate uses....

Also how is the table mounted? Tubes? If anyone has a picture I'd be interested in seeing that as well.

Ed

reible wrote:Also how is the table mounted? Tubes?

no picture handy. the table replaces the main table using tubes. there are 2 castings under the table. each one slips onto a tube and bolts to the bottom of the table.

the tubes are (514416 older version or 513904 current version) Table Post. the castings are 514697 Table Mount (older) or 514697 Table Support (current). yes, same part number, different name.

IIRC, the current table post is also the post for the lathe tool rest.

the first one I got was the older version. it came with a mis-stored '86 510. lots of corrosion for the the the steel and aluminum on the 510 and jointer. the bare steel parts of the duplicator template holder were badly rusted, but the extruded aluminum channel that they bolted to was in excellent condition. the duplicator table had started to delaminate on the bottom (even though it was the system installed during storage). I was able to buy a replacement 514763 Table Assembly (with bolts and washers but without table mounts or posts) from SS.

I have not tried using it yet.

Ivan

SDSSmith wrote:I have had a couple different versions of the duplicator. The early ones utilized the model 500 table with the extruded aluminum fence bar removed. They were covered with a thin melamine like material and had plastic edging. So if your table delaminates, an alternative fix is to pick up an old 500 table and cover it to provide a smooth surface to slide the cutter/follower assembly. There seem to be alot of surplus 500 tables around.

Fair to say this only applies to 500 vintage SS? A 500 table will NOT fit a 505/510/520 carriage.

I possible, I would love to see any items that were duplicated using the SS Lathe Duplicator.

Also would like to hear about the cutters used with the duplicator. How long do they hold an edge? And how are they sharpened?

Whoops! guess you don't sharpen them, just throw them away!?

JPG40504 wrote:Fair to say this only applies to 500 vintage SS? A 500 table will NOT fit a 505/510/520 carriage.

No, that is not fair to say. The brackets that mount to the table and hold the tubes have two hole sets in them. You use a different hole set depending upon whether you are mounting the table in the 500 carriage vs. the newer carriages with the wider tube spacing.

So, as stated before the old 500 table may be used with the duplicator brackets as a replacement table.

charlese wrote:I possible, I would love to see any items that were duplicated using the SS Lathe Duplicator.

I picked my duplicator up with a machine I purchased. Here is its first use (I did not sand the part) as it came off the machine. It was done with the triangular cutter/follower combination.

I also plan to use it to duplicate spindles and legs.