Wood turning on a metal lathe using the carriage / tool post vs free hand?

[Aaron_W]

I'm looking at a small vintage convertible wood / metal lathe. It would have come with a conventional T bar tool holder for hand held chisels, but this one only has the metal turning arrangement with carriage and tool post. I haven't seen much on turning wood like metal.

I'm wondering how much of an advantage this might be when turning small wood parts. I can always fabricate the missing wood turners T bar post, but most wood lathes don't include a carriage as an option. I know these wood / metal lathes are not usually of great utility as a metal lathe, but it is kind of neat so looking for an excuse to bring it home. Just wondering if this option may actually provide a niche not present on a small dedicated wood lathe, or if I'm more likely to just end up using it like a conventional wood lathe.

 

[SLK001]

I've turned wood on a metal lathe with metal tooling. My grandfather made many beautiful furniture pieces using a metal lathe. He had a South Bend 9" and also had the SB T-bar for wood turning. Making a T-bar is a very simple task that will greatly increase the utility of your lathe. Just be sure to PROPERLY CLEAN UP your lathe once wood turning is done. Wood, even dry wood, contains water that can give you unwanted rust spots if you let it sit on your metal parts.

 

[benmychree]

Hi Aaron! The lathe you describe is fulfilled by a patternmaker's wood lathe, it has a carriage with hand feed, a compound rest for tapers and a replacement bracket in place of it for hand rests, Oliver made them, and others, I suppose.

 

[Aaron_W]

Hi Aaron! The lathe you describe is fulfilled by a patternmaker's wood lathe, it has a carriage with hand feed, a compound rest for tapers and a replacement bracket in place of it for hand rests, Oliver made them, and others, I suppose.

The one I'm considering is just a little guy about 2 foot long, a 7x12" Goodall Pratt probably made in the 1920s or 30s. From what I've been able to find they were aimed at hobbyists, but were a well made little wood lathe, that could be converted into a metal lathe as this one has.

I don't have much need of a wood lathe, but occasionally I have some little project that a small wood lathe would be handy. I'd rather not mix wood and metal and this one seems far more interesting (and cheaper) than a modern mini-wood lathe.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

I have an archaic Craftsman wood lathe dating from around 1936-38 that has the stability to be converted to a metal working machine with the addition of a cross slide and some other parts. Following WW2, there were so many smaller metal working machines available, production was never picked up again.

In most cases, a proper metal working (screw cutting) lathe is perfectly usable for working wood. The big issue is the wood chips.

I've turned wood on a metal lathe with metal tooling. My grandfather made many beautiful furniture pieces using a metal lathe. He had a South Bend 9" and also had the SB T-bar for wood turning. Making a T-bar is a very simple task that will greatly increase the utility of your lathe. Just be sure to PROPERLY CLEAN UP your lathe once wood turning is done. Wood, even dry wood, contains water that can give you unwanted rust spots if you let it sit on your metal parts.

I do not, and will not, use my screw cutting lathes for working wood. But that is only because I have a couple of woodworking machines handy. The most useful wood machine for me (and Wife) is a used ShopSmithV that I picked up a few years ago. Lacking those machines, I would have built a wood tool rest for the Grizzly G1550 and removed the more exposed gears.

.

 

[benmychree]

Before I got an Oliver patternmakers lathe I used my engine lathes for whatever woodworking was required; no big deal ---

 

[Chewy]

I turn some wood stuff on the metal lathe. Some times I use a HSS or carbide bit on a QCTP. Some times I clamp a flat piece of steel in the tool holder and use it as a steady rest. Just loosen the QCTP nut on top and pivot just like a wood lathe. You can also hand turn metal with the steady rest. I understand watch makers have done it for years. Clickspring turns brass by hand all the time, just watch his videos. I dump the chip tray and just vaccumn up the chips. On small stuff, just dump the chips into the metal turnings. Really depends on how much I need to turn and what is on the real wood lathe.

 

[benmychree]

Another thing that used top be done with a hand rest, is threading with a hand chaser, there is a knack in getting a true lead started, but easy once you get the thread started, used to be common practice with brass work, the lathes were much like a wood lathe, but a bit heavier.

 

[Chewy]

Another thing that used top be done with a hand rest, is threading with a hand chaser, there is a knack in getting a true lead started, but easy once you get the thread started, used to be common practice with brass work, the lathes were much like a wood lathe, but a bit heavier.

I remember seeing that in some old books. They cut most of the small threads by hand and used a thread plate to clean up.

 

[benmychree]

I remember seeing that in some old books. They cut most of the small threads by hand and used a thread plate to clean up.

In my shop, I had hand chasers up to 4 TPI, hand chasers were handy for cleaning up bruised threads.