Finally getting a quick change tool post

When I was looking for a lathe, I alllmossst bought a late 1930s 13x30 gear head Leblond. It was a beautiful, extremely low houred machine. The man who had owned it had worked as a machinist for General Electric and had made not only half a dozen tool holders but the Aloris style tool post as well. The pieces were beautiful - truely the work of a master machinist.
I actually drove from Minneapolis to Cincinnati, OH to go get it but changed my mind when I got there.
The seller was Really angry at me and for a bit I was a little afraid of him but I made it out of there and came home with an empty trailer.
 
taiwanluthiers said:
Why you change your mind? Was the machine not as described?
Click to expand...

The machine was as described.
When I got there it just seemed smaller and older than I had pictured it in my mind's eye.
My decision was quick. I did not want it.
I did find the lathe I wanted at an auction about 3 months later and knew right away it was the right one.
I paid less for it and only had to travel 100 miles.
I was and am, glad I didn't buy the one in Cincinnati.
PS,
My wife works as the office manager in a violin shop.
They have 4 luthiers there.
You guys do some marvelous things with hide glue, bits of wood, wire and horse hair.
Kudos!
 
Ultradog MN said:
The machine was as described.
When I got there it just seemed smaller and older than I had pictured it in my mind's eye.
My decision was quick. I did not want it.
I did find the lathe I wanted at an auction about 3 months later and knew right away it was the right one.
I paid less for it and only had to travel 100 miles.
I was and am, glad I didn't buy the one in Cincinnati.
PS,
My wife works as the office manager in a violin shop.
They have 4 luthiers there.
You guys do some marvelous things with hide glue, bits of wood, wire and horse hair.
Kudos!
Click to expand...
I build guitars, so I don't have any horse hair. I just buy wood slats and then bend it to shape, brace the top and back, then fashion a neck and all that.

I have the woodworking bandsaw so I can resaw lumber into guitar sized slats because pre sawn guitar wood can be expensive as hell. It's a large 26 inch bandsaw. I always like to go big with bandsaw because it gives you better blade selection, and blades lasts much longer when you have a big bandsaw, as well as being able to buy cheap blades and have them last longer. I wish there is a way I can gear the wood bandsaw down to cut metal, but it would require me to reduce its speed to 1/10th of its current speed, which will require very complex pulleys or VFD (which would rob it of torque at low speed).

I mainly use the lathe as a support equipment. I made a thickness sanding attachment that fits on the mill, and allows me to use the Y axis leadscrew to adjust the thickness to be sanded. The rigidity of the mill allows for pretty good accuracy.
 
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