General Category > General Discussion

Lathe vibration

(1/4) > >>

Drewcole:
Hi guys,

1st time poster and fairly new to turning so sorry if I've missed any protocol.

I'm having some issues with my RP250 lathe regarding vibration, it's fine turning pens and running without any load. But recently when I try to turn a bowl anything bigger than say 6in I'm getting terrible movement to the point where the lathe is moving across the worktop.

I've adjusted the feet, tightened any bolts/screws I can find and changed the belt (was pretty worn). My next step is the bearings I think, but I just wanted to see if there is anything missing something silly? I've also bolted it to the work top but is still vibrating so much that it wouldn't be safe.

Any help would be amazing!

Drew

Twisted Trees:
First thought would be what speed are you set to?

Second would be how well balanced is the work piece, even 450rpm is quite fast if the load is unbalanced. bigger lathe bigger bits of timber but if I am turning a 10" say 1" off centre I have the luxury of starting a 0rpm and turning it up gradually have turned off balance pieces at around 250rpm despite my lathe weighing about 10x yours.

I suggest you get a balanced piece 4" to 6" in the lathe at 450rpm with the lathe turned off spin the wood by hand and mark the top a few times, if it is balanced then the marks should be random as there will be no heavy part pulling to the bottom.

Give that a try see if the results are any better.

ALL lathe manufacturers overstate what  a lathe is capable of, the DML250 says it can do a 10" bowl, but that will be in ideal timber perfectly mounted, mine says it can do 68" but I would probably want to be outside the workshop when it started spinning that!

Drewcole:
Hi, thanks for the reply.

I'm starting of speed wise on its lowest setting which is around the 500 mark and getting it to decent shape, in the past I'd jump that up step by step till I'm turning at 1500. Is that to fast for bowl work? I'm kinda working from YouTube vids so I'm a complete beginner.

I'll try again at a lower speed to remove more mass and follow the advice you gave above.

I think I'm trying to run before I can walk with it all. I've just got the bug now.

Thanks drew

yashin57:
My first comment would be ...don't believe a lot of what you see or hear on Youtube! Some of it is good , of course, but you need to know the difference. Go to an AWGB approved tutor - it will prove very cost effective in the long run and you stand a chance of keeping your body parts in one piece.
 Secondly, don't be in a rush to get your bowl turned. It can take even an experienced turner a (comparitively) long time to get a blank into a balanced state so that it can be turned at any faster speed. 450 rpm is more than plenty for an unbalanced piece, it just takes a bit longer.
     Good luck - and keep practising your cuts!

Drewcole:
Thanks for the advice and encouragement!

Is there a list of tutors somewhere or is it just a case of asking on the forum.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page