I was wondering if either of these lathes would work for cleaning shafts and doing tip replacements. This is mainly for my own personal use. Would there be any additional parts I would need?
http://m.harborfreight.com/14-inch-x-40-inch-lathe-with-7-inch-sander-67690.html
http://m.harborfreight.com/14-inch-x-41-inch-wood-lathe-38515.html
Thanks
Well, well, its the wood lathe question again...
I would advise you to avoid either of those lathes like the plague. There are usually
many decent wood lathes on eBay or your local Craigslist.
To do tip work you will need some way to secure the shaft to the headstock
spindle other than the method typically used to turn wood, and also, some way to
stabilize the tip end for trimming. For most all 'newer' wood lathes the thru hole
diameter of the headstock spindle is too small to fit a shaft thru the headstock. So
you will need either a chuck to hold the joint end directly, or a joint pin 'driver' and
some kind of adapter(or a chuck) to hold the driver.
The usual wood turning cup center, or a standard 60 degree tailstock center also
won't work for stabilizing the tip end. You will need some kind of convex cup center,
a steady rest, or a bearing block type arrangement to do that.
The older wood lathes, pre 80s-ish, Delta, Rockwell, Atlas, Powermatic and
SOME Craftsman(Sears) typically have a headstock that you can put the shaft thru.
Then you will only need a chuck to hold the tip end and some thing to the rear of
the headstock to control the shaft, 60 degree center, bearing block, etc.
If you want to go the chuck route - Grizzly offers several chuck choices for wood
lathes that will work. Penn State industries also sells chucks. Note, you don't want
a typical 4 jaw Nova style wood chuck with circular jaws.
Dale(who is an unapologetic wood lathe owner)