Longbed SS ?

aebe · Post by **aebe** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:51 pm

Hello,I'm new to Shopsmiths,really need help with one of mine-would like to extend way and bench tubes 38" I think butt welded with sleeves inside can work,but would really like to hear from folks who have extended their lathes.
This is so I can turn one piece walking sticks.

Thanks
Aebe
Hello again,and I thank all of you for your help.Something important was brought up,flex,and I think that can be dealt with
by using a smaller(1 1/4") tube for the full length,and plug weld it every 6" or so,on the top of the tubes.be Will seeking advice from the machine/welding
shop up in La Grande (Orrigone) that I hope will take the job,will find out the next time I need to go to town.
Can't afford an engineer.
12/2/09 :
Hello.Am the proud owner of 40" longer way and bench tubes.To prevent bowing,I am going to run a cable,as close to one side (inside) as possible,that will act as the bottom chord of a truss.The only way I can think of to get the same amount of tension on each tube is to hang it up by the ends,give it a tap with a hammer,and see what my tuner (for musical instruments) tells me.Will try to tighten each tube to the same note. :<) ( or Thunk )

mbcabinetmaker · Post by **mbcabinetmaker** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:01 pm

Aebe welcome to the forum. You will hear a lot about shorting Shopsmiths here but I do not recall a recent thread about stretching one. It should not be to difficult to do for turning and tubes from Mini's would work with a sleeve inside the tube for support. I am sure others here will have some good if not great ideas on this subject.

Glad you Joined us!

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:17 pm

aebe wrote:Hello,I'm new to Shopsmiths,really need help with one of mine-would like to extend way and bench tubes 38" I think butt welded with sleeves inside can work,but would really like to hear from folks who have extended their lathes.
This is so I can turn one piece walking sticks. Thanks Aebe

I have made longer way and bench tubes by machining internal stubs/sleeves to connect the tubes. I did not weld the joints as I find it is difficult to weld without some outset occuring from the weld. I found some flexing/vibration of the way tubes is experienced when I was going over 5' with the tubes. With 10' tubes, I build a center support for the way and bench tubes with a carriage on each side of the center support. This worked well for turning 8' 4X4 porch posts. I quickly built a home made speed reducer to get below 200 RPMs for this task.

If your walking stick material is somewhat round and you are doing no heavy cutting, I would try just using the inside sleeve first to see if you get any flexing/vibration of the way tubes. I have found that it may take me many tries before I am successful at accomplishing my project.

Be sure to let us know what works for you.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:23 pm

We need a mechanical engineer to do some stress analysis. Either that or you'll just have to wing it.

This is just a thought as I have no practical experience doing this sorta thing.

I was thinking that maybe you want to stagger the joints across the length of the Mark V. The tubes might not be inclined to sag as much.

I would also think you could find tubing available in longer lengths. Maybe you need to consider either reinforced or thicker walled tubing to spam that greater distance.

I believe I see some sagging in my standard length way and bench tubes. The weight that these tubes support is NOT INSIGNIFICANT.

If you run with this, I sure hope you keep us posted with progress photos. Good Luck.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:54 pm

Another 'idea/thought'. Although not as 'handy' as extending the bed, could you just extend the tailstock? This would require turning the workpiece to complete both ends. Using an additional ss end casting adapted to the existing spt mount MAY be easier. As I said, just another 'thought'

deekay · Post by **deekay** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:09 pm

Does anyone know the outside diameter and inside diameter of the standard tubes? I could do a little research on some DOM tubing that might work.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:49 pm

deekay wrote:Does anyone know the outside diameter and inside diameter of the standard tubes? I could do a little research on some DOM tubing that might work.

O.D. 1 3/4"(all way tubes) Early Greenies are 1 7/8"(bench)

I.D. Varies also!:( Old 10e/r are 1 3/8" Mark 5/v are 1 1/2"

If you ARE serious about stretching, I would recommend you get some 10e/r tubes. They are thicker/heavier/better... You would need 3(they came in sets of 2) for the way tubes. Another 3 for the bench tubes although they could be the thinner version. Keep in mind the BENCH tubes length is 3/4" longer than the WAY tubes. Maybe somebody has cutoffs from a mini/shorty project(sadly using 10e/r tubes:( )

If you are making these changes in a permanent way You should consider bracing(way tube to bench tube) to better support the middle by making them a beam rather than stringers..

deekay · Post by **deekay** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:55 pm

JPG40504 wrote:O.D. 1 3/4"(all way tubes) Early Greenies are 1 7/8"(bench)

I.D. Varies also!:( Old 10e/r are 1 3/8" Mark 5/v are 1 1/2"

If you ARE serious about stretching, I would recommend you get some 10e/r tubes. They are thicker/heavier/better... You would need 3(they came in sets of 2) for the way tubes. Another 3 for the bench tubes although they could be the thinner version. Keep in mind the BENCH tubes length is 3/4" longer than the WAY tubes. Maybe somebody has cutoffs from a mini/shorty project(sadly using 10e/r tubes:( )

If you are making these changes in a permanent way You should consider bracing(way tube to bench tube) to better support the middle by making them a beam rather than stringers..

I don't plan on stretching mine (it barely fits in its current spot as it is), but was thinking that a better solution to stretching one might be purchasing a new set of longer tubes rather than splicing. Considering the tubing is centerless ground I'm afraid it would most likely be more money than what most might want to spend. I'll see about getting some prices and source for some 8' long tubes.

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:31 pm

aebe wrote:Hello,I'm new to Shopsmiths,really need help with one of mine-would like to extend way and bench tubes 38" I think butt welded with sleeves inside can work,but would really like to hear from folks who have extended their lathes.
This is so I can turn one piece walking sticks.

Thanks
Aebe

AeBe.....do you live in E. Orrigone or E. Orragain?

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:04 pm

I have a vague recollection of someone using TWO shopsmiths side by side, headstock of one, tailstock of the other as an extended lathe. If this is true, it's probably the cheapest route to take, providing you can get a used SS for a good price. It wouldn't even need to have a headstock.