Is It Ok to Convert Wood Faceplate For Metal?

Susan_in_SF

Wood and Metal Goddess
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Jul 18, 2017
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Hi guys,
As I have mentioned in the past posts, I will be using a South Bend 9A as my main beginner lathe, and a little Craftsman 101.07301 lathe as a sidekick buddy. The little lathe has a 1"X 8 tpi spindle, but no faceplate. I have been stalking ebay, but can only find woodworking faceplates with that size. Would it be possible to buy a wooden lathe faceplate and mill it to accept a dog, such a as pic below? The first pic is the woodworking faceplate that I hope I can convert.
s-l400 (11).jpg
s-l400 (12).jpg
Here is the backside of a bigger metal lathe faceplate.
Unlike my South Bend lathe, which I plane on adding variable speed and a dro and a 5c collet chuck, I plan on keeping the little Craftsman 6" lathe as "old school" as possible. Hence, I want to use little chihuahua dogs on it, lol.
Thanks for the time you guys put into your responses. It's very helpful to lost wannabe hobby metalworkers, like me :)
Susan
 
yes, you can use the faceplate pictured.

for safety, you may wish to stay away from thin aluminum faceplates if you are going to be doing substantial cutting.
the thin faceplates intended for wood may fracture under heavy load and cause serious safety concerns.

you could use the appropriate bolt sticking out of the faceplate pictured, to drive a grinding type dog

1512955476418.png
 
OMG!! Of course, after I post this thread, all of a sudden random 1x8tpi metal lathe faceplates pop out of nowhere! THANK YOU :)
I know where I goofed in my search. I always refine my searches to "Buy It Now," due to my impatience and desire for immediate gratification. The faceplates all require bids. Arghh. I hate having to wait to the last few seconds of the auction in attempting to swoop down and steal the highest bid at the last second. So stressful, lol ;-)
 
Learn to relax when doing those "snipe" (last second) bids. If you lose an item, there usually will be another "bus" coming around in a few days or weeks. Atlas/Craftsman part availability is quite unpredictable. South Bend too.
Patience, Grasshopper. Good things come slowly sometimes.
Mark S.
 
I've occasionally bought from https://alotsalesandauctions.hibid.com/auctions/current/ here in Phoenix. The sometimes have machine tools and/or accessories in their mix of antiques and kitsch. Nice feature of this auction site is the "soft close." As far as I can figure out, this means they'll keep an item open past the nominal close if there are last minute bids. Gives you a last chance ... and gives them a chance at higher bids.
 
In my opinion, an honest auction will let you bid any amount over the existing bid, but will only add the minimum incremental increase in the bid that changes the high bidder. In other words, if the current bid is $20, the minimum increment is $1, and you bid $30, then the auction should show you the new high bidder with a bid of $21, and then will increase the bid as necessary to outbid others until the bidding goes above $30, at which time you are done unless you place a new high bid. In that scenario, you can just put up the most you are willing to pay for it and forget about it, and be happy if you win and happy if you lose. You also get the merchandise for the minimum amount over whatever anyone else is willing to bid. That is the only type of auction I will bid on.
 
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