# Bazmak Diary of a 12 x 18"  woodlathe



## bazmak (Jan 31, 2013)

Hi will run this thread parallel with diary of a sieg lathe.Hopefully this will chart the course of my next project.which is to try and convert a small woodworking lathe to a metal lathe.Things should become clearer as we go or may grind to a stop.Before we start i would like another brief introduction and history.
During my apprenticeship i served 2 yrs fitting and turning,4 yrs sheetmetal work and welding and 2 yrs in the drawing office.During this time i developed an interest in woodworking and chess.As a newly wed my wife and i emigrated to adelaide,south australia.I started making furniture and made a coffee / chess table,tiled with 4" sq cream and brown tiles. I found an old washing machine motor,bolted it to an orange box,fitted a small faceplate to the shaft and a piece of angle iron as a rest.No tailstock support.With a couple of chisels i started to make a chess set.1 piece per evening from 3 x 3" oregon (pawns)
and 4 x 4" king queen etc.It took a couple of months polishing/painting etc
I was very pleased and that was my first lathe.What does this have to do
with this thread you will ask.All will become clearer in part 2 when we fast forward to my retirement in oz circa 2008.See you Later


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## bazmak (Feb 1, 2013)

PART 2   Having sold my well equiped workshop and model steam locomotive and with lots of time on my hands my thoughts turned
 to making chess sets again and selling them.No more hard work with an orange box and dark evenings in the kitchen.I had money in my pocket.I bought a small lathe 12 x 18" that i could easily lift and a simple stand,i could then work anywhere,garden ,shed,garage etc
I also bought a copy turning attachment. No more stop start,calipers etc.I make templates to the shape and size i decide and presto multiple copies all the same.Its not that easy but its better than an orange box.So off i went over the months.Hardwood,softwood,
stained,polished and painted.I even laminated different timbers.Made lots and sold a few but they are labour intensive and i wasnt going to make a fortune.I made a small set from 2 & 3 sq .A medium set from 3 & 4' Sq and i decided to make the biggest set i could to the upper limlts of the lathe.6' dia x 16' high.Hardwood was too expensive and even softwood was not readily available in these 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			














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I bought cheap builders framing timber and glued 8 pieces together in a home made clamping frame  160mm sq and off i went.A bit hairy scary but worked well Made heaps of sawdust (In the Garden)I stained one set black and polished with 3 coats of clear estapol
See photos.  How does this lead to this thread you ask ? Were getting there see PART 3 Regards Barry


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## aarggh (Feb 1, 2013)

Beautiful job Barry! I'm a lover of ornate and fine chess sets and yours are a treat mate! The finish is very nice indeed.
cheers, Ian


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## gus (Feb 2, 2013)

Hi Barry,

Very fine workmanship. How many years of experience do I need to turn out just the King Or Queen?


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## bazmak (Feb 2, 2013)

Hi Gus,i have read your many posts with interest but i have no idea of your skills or experience or if it is a tongue in cheek question
My first woodturning was the orange box in the 1970s Obviously my metal turning experienced helped.I have not done any further woodturning until the chess sets about 4 years ago.If you spend an afternoon making a queen then thats all the experience you need to make the rest.Same as everything else you learn as you go.Regards barry


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## aarggh (Feb 2, 2013)

No tongue in cheek here Barry! I've been into woodworking most of my life and have attempted a chess set here or there, but never had them turn out as great as yours! A future project I'm really considering when I have a decent working furnace, as i'm realising the severe limitations of my little furnace now, is to melt a bunch of aluminium with and without some brass to create a different tone material, for turning a set.

cheers, Ian


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## bazmak (Feb 2, 2013)

PART 3
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



With an over abundance of chess sets (Her who must be obeyed) said no more without definate orders
So the lathe was put in storage.This is when i bought the sieg lathe and proceeded thru my diary
As i finished most of the mods i actively searched for a cheap delapidated machine tool.(small lathe or mill)
as a project for a restoration.I advertised but having missed out on 3 possibles my thoughts turned to the wood lathe
Could this be made into a metal turning lathe without loosing the ability to return it to its original form.After a few thoughts/measurements i decided it could.And after a no of design sessions (getting into bed and falling asleep) i decided to proceed
The lathe project can be split into 5 main parts First 3 with minor mods and the last 2 as new fabrications
HEADSTOCK Includes motor 6 speed belt drive spindle etc I had a 85 dia threaded faceplt that came with the lathe.This could be turned and drilled in situ at the end of the project to accept the chucks and faceplt of the sieg lathe
BED Cast iron with 2 machined flatways Not as rigid as the sieg but should be ok for light machining
TAILSTOCK Camlok.graduated sleeve with No 2 M/T quill Just needed to modify the locking plate to clear a new leadscrew underneath
SADDLE A complete new saddle to connect to new leadscrew and to accept sieg compound slide and toolpost
LEADSCREW A new leadscrew with skatebearings with a handle at the tailstock end,to pass down the centreline of the bed and under the ways. This project has now commenced if anyboby can see any serious flaws please comment. REGARDS BAZMAK


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## gus (Feb 3, 2013)

bazmak said:


> Hi Gus,i have read your many posts with interest but i have no idea of your skills or experience or if it is a tongue in cheek question
> My first woodturning was the orange box in the 1970s Obviously my metal turning experienced helped.I have not done any further woodturning until the chess sets about 4 years ago.If you spend an afternoon making a queen then thats all the experience you need to make the rest.Same as everything else you learn as you go.Regards barry



Hi Barry,
Wood turning is something very new to me.I guess its fear of the unknown.

This Friday 8 will be shopping for wood turning tools at the TokyuHands,Osaka,Japan. Been watching the professional turners turning out beautiful items so skilfully and so easy. I guess turning faster than whittling.

Will give it a good try like making household items such as pepper shaker or grinder. I need some handles for files.So will first practice on this.

Gus is actually very impatient and like to finish up a job fast and very often
it led to repeat job.:wall::wall::wall::wall:

Hopefully in three months ,will have the King,Queen and Castle on my PC Desk Shelf.

Please advise choice of wood to pick.Soft ,medium or hardwood tropical wood.


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

PART 4 I removed the headstock,it had precise location with a large tenon between the ways and was bolted down
with 4-M6 cap screws.I will open out to M8 later. I cleaned up the Brkt location area and drilled and tapped 2-M5 holes.
Cleaned up and reassembled.The headstock has a 10mm clear hole thru with a MT2 and a M30 threaded spindle.
I had purchased an imperial collet set with MT3 so now i can buy a metric set with MT2 then i can use both sets in the headstock.
 of both lathes
I have an 85 dia screw on faceplate that can be machined to accept the sieg 3 and 4 chucks and 6" faceplate.BINGO
The headstock has 1/2HP motor,poly V belt drive with 6 speeds 350 to 3250.Should be adequate for light duties and alum.


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## gus (Feb 3, 2013)

aarggh said:


> No tongue in cheek here Barry! I've been into woodworking most of my life and have attempted a chess set here or there, but never had them turn out as great as yours! A future project I'm really considering when I have a decent working furnace, as i'm realising the severe limitations of my little furnace now, is to melt a bunch of aluminium with and without some brass to create a different tone material, for turning a set.
> 
> cheers, Ian



Hi Ian,

Been watching green sand molding on YouTube. Now figuring out how to make a mini furnace melting aluminium w/o upsetting my better half and burning down the walk up flat. For now i am in procrastination mode.
Please keep me posted on your furnace. Plan to cast parts for a mini 6V Stuart in Aluminium.

Will buy a good Japanese Turning Tool Set at the TokyuHands in Osaka.
Taking my better half to Japan for a short holiday. Hope not to spend too much on fishing equipment.


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## gus (Feb 3, 2013)

bazmak said:


> PART 4 I removed the headstock,it had precise location with a large tenon between the ways and was bolted down
> with 4-M6 cap screws.I will open out to M8 later. I cleaned up the Brkt location area and drilled and tapped 2-M5 holes.
> Cleaned up and reassembled.The headstock has a 10mm clear hole thru with a MT2 and a M30 threaded spindle.
> I had purchased an imperial collet set with MT3 so now i can buy a metric set with MT2 then i can use both sets in the headstock.
> ...



Hi Barry,

Please advise best turning rpm. Saves time figuring out and ruining work piece. Plan to start off with handle bars for files.


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

HI GUS, if you are making a small individual item then use hardwood and turning chisels. If you plan to make larger items
 then cheaper softwood is ok Chess are different where you need to make multiple quanties
 of the same size and shape
EG 16 pawns.I bought a simple copy turning attachment.A RC tool is mounted in a hand held support tool with a guide mounted below
A template is made from MDF and fixed to a brkt below the lathe you then hand turn until the guide follows the template
This is the easy way to rough turn softwood to identical shapes and sizes.I the finish off in the lathe with rough then medium sand paper.I then soak in clear woodsealer and allow to harden.The i finish with med/fine paper and use 2/3 coats of gloss varnish
If you want any more information i can sent photos of the setup when i finish my latest project. Regards Barry MY small lathe has 6 speeds 350/3250 i used the lowest 2 for turning the large sets and middle to high for the smaller sets.When you first start the part is out of balance so slow is good,as the size reduces and becomes balanced faster is better Its suck it and see really


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

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PART 5 THE LEADSCREW  I made a support brkt for the headstock end with a 12mm skate bearing and fixed with 2-M5 capscrews
I made a similar bearing brkt for the tailstock end and picked up 2 existing M10 tapped holes
From the local hardware store i bought a 24" length of 5/8W threaded rod and a coupling nut.I turned the ends to suit the brgs and fitted to the lathe.The tailstock end i fitted an M3 cap screw as a key and reused the handle and locking collar from the sieg lathe mod.Now for the difficult part.Fabricating the saddle. More to come Regards Barry


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

PART 5 LEADSCREW I made a bearing support bracket and fixed to the headstock with 2-M5 capscrews
I bought a 24" length of threaded rod and a coupling nut


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

I made a similar bracket for the tailstock end and fitted an m3 capscrew and M6 stud to accept the handle from the sieg lathe mod
picking up 2 existing M10-tapped holes in the bed


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## bazmak (Feb 3, 2013)

The handle and locking knob can now be interchanged between lathes.Thread is RH with a pitch of 0.091"
but what the heck we cant have everything perfect Regards barry


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## bazmak (Feb 5, 2013)

PART 6  Currently proceeding with the lathe carriage but meanwhile for anyone interested some photos of my past life
My last 2 Myford lathes and my part completed 3 1/2" HEILAN LASSIE LNER 4-6-2 pacific. Unfortunately i sold everything when i retired
to Australia.I bitterly regret


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## aarggh (Feb 5, 2013)

I can feel your pain having tongive up beautiful machines like that Barry! It's not exactly purchasing paradise here in OZ for machinery as you no doubt have found?
cheers, Ian


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## bazmak (Feb 5, 2013)

Thank you Ian,more info on your furnace please.Can you melt/alloy  aluminium and brass.Its something i am not
familiar with but have thought about making a metal chess set. I have just made a Stuart 10V and have considered
making a copy scaled up by 2..Thought of fabricating the castings but would be too rough and ready.I could make wooden patterns How difficult to make alum castings ? Regards barry


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## gus (Feb 6, 2013)

Hi Bazmak,
I am with you. For twenty years I built up a full compliment of machine tools(two Leblonde Precision Lathes,Bridgeport Mill,Okamoto Grinder,Vertical Slotter and Shaper),designed and built,80 ton airbender,200 ton Deep Draw Press,
3/8 Bolier Plate Bending Rolls,Three Non-collision Conveyor lines,Circumferential Welding M/c,Main Seam Welding Machine,Auto Socket Welder and Steel Shot Blasting Machine. 
It is all gone.Gus laid off and paid 32 months compensation.Took me 8 years to get over it.(That is I wasted 4 years) Took 4 years to buy a Japanese Mini Lathe,Mini Vertical Mill,Cheapy China Drill Press and lately a Makita Bandsaw.

Today I am a very happy man with too many hobbies.Weekend Fishing and Volunteer Coffee Maker( I make very good coffee every afternoon for the gang gathering at fishing equipment shop). 

Australia is a very good place to retire to. All my sisters and brothers are in Perth,Sydney and Melbourne.


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## bazmak (Feb 6, 2013)

Hi Gus,very pleased to meet you.Its wonderful to put a face to a name thru the ether Where do you live ?
Yes its sad at first when you retire but you soon get back in the swing.The secret is keeping busy with things you enjoy
I must say you look like a very happy man. Regards Barry


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## bazmak (Feb 7, 2013)

PART 7 Building up the the carriage












I started with a 200 x 120 x 10mm plate to which i fitted a 20 sq bar and a 50 x 3 plt all mild steel
I have no milling machine and my local steel supplier has a very limited range of brass sections
The design although it worked well may appear to be a bit haphazard. I fitted the brass wear plates with csk brass screws
The only machining i had to do was reduce the 3/4 x 1/4 to 6mm thick to fit at 32mm between ways
I could not fit 120mm long in the 4 jaw so cut it in half and fitted 4 pieces each 60mm lg Skimmed down in the lathe from 6.35mm
to 6mm.Everything fitted almost perfectly.I had to shim the 3/4 x 1/4 brass by 1 thou each side and under the 32 x 3 top
plates by 4 thou.An hour fitting and scraping.BINGO.Its as good as the Sieg Next part i have to connect the carriage to the leadscrew
and build up the top plate with T slots See you soon BAZMAK


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## aarggh (Feb 7, 2013)

bazmak said:


> Thank you Ian,more info on your furnace please.Can you melt/alloy aluminium and brass.Its something i am not
> familiar with but have thought about making a metal chess set. I have just made a Stuart 10V and have considered
> making a copy scaled up by 2..Thought of fabricating the castings but would be too rough and ready.I could make wooden patterns How difficult to make alum castings ? Regards barry


 
Hi Barry, I bought a small electric furnace as the idea of having gas bottles around with my kids did concern me. It's a little $400 or so Chinese unit capable of up to 3kg, which sounds a lot, but not really, and the crucibles only have a 55mm or so diameter opening, so as hard drives are my main source of scrap aluminium, I end up having to cut them up on my bandsaw to fit them in, royal pita. It does work great and will go up to 1150c, but the design leaves too much air flow around the coils so as it cools, it tends to oxidise/rust, which then creates breaks. Running it for brass hastens this fault.
They have an enclosed chamber replacement for the unit to help stop that, so i'll get that as it is handy, but I've come to realise it just doesn't cut it as a main foundry. So I'll build a gas one at some stage. I have had a go at casting, poorly to date, but realise what I was doing wrong, and think it wouldn't be terribly difficult to achieve good results after a bit of trial and error.

cheers, Ian


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## bazmak (Feb 14, 2013)

PART 8 Building up the carriage worktable. I connected the leadscrew nut to the carriage.Tried a plain drive pin but the leadscrew
was not dead straight,so finished up with a threaded pin silver soldered to the nut,passed thru the 50x3 plt and secured with a
nyloc nut.Set to just allow slight spin and rock to ease following the leadscrew.Good free movement of the carriage with min 
of backlash. Next i built up the top late to form a table with 2 T slots.Next job is to make a support post for the compound slide.
Hope fully the first turning job will be to recess the screwed faceplate to accept the 3 & 4 jaw chucks.I also stripped down the tailstock and made a couple of minor mods.Next part hopefully all questions will be answered.See you soon BAZMAK


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## gus (Feb 15, 2013)

bazmak said:


> Hi Gus,very pleased to meet you.Its wonderful to put a face to a name thru the ether Where do you live ?
> Yes its sad at first when you retire but you soon get back in the swing.The secret is keeping busy with things you enjoy
> I must say you look like a very happy man. Regards Barry



Hi Barry,

Sorry .I missed your reply.:wall:

Still living in nice and warm Singapore.:fan: We retained all the street names left by the British Colonist as our heritage. MountBatten Road, Alexandra Road,Victoria Street etc.
 OK Which part of Oz you live??

Basis nearby Sydney or Melbourne,could drop by to meet Barry and tour his machineshop.And Barry could teach me wood turning.

See you.


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## bazmak (Feb 26, 2013)




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## bazmak (Feb 27, 2013)

Hi everyone,as you can see the first part of this project is complete,so you might ask why?
1 I enjoyed the project.
,it only cost me $50 for materials,everything fell into place from my original concept and if i remove the carriage and leadscrew
the woodturning lathe is returned to its original spec.
2 It has obvious limitations with the x-Y axis but can turn sufficiently accurately with the bigger capacity of 12" Swing and 18" ctres
I had in mind to see if it will swing the sieg apron so i can fit Brgs to crriage handle and improve the gear mesh.
3 Next thought/project.I was looking at a drill vice/cross slide.Can it be adapted to give the Y-Z axis.(If the dovetails and gibbs
are tweaked and bearings/grad dials fitted.) Can it be mounted on the carriage to produce a horizontal boring/milling machine ???
Will be looking into it closely but in the meantime i need to do a few checks with the lathe.Chuck runout,tailstock alignment etc
See you all soon.  BAZMAK


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## gus (Feb 27, 2013)

bazmak said:


>




You are my hero. Converting a wood turning lathe into a metal lathe.!!!!!


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## gus (Feb 27, 2013)

bazmak said:


> Hi everyone,as you can see the first part of this project is complete,so you might ask why?
> 1 I enjoyed the project.
> ,it only cost me $50 for materials,everything fell into place from my original concept and if i remove the carriage and leadscrew
> the woodturning lathe is returned to its original spec.
> ...




Engines coming out soon!!!!!


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## bazmak (Feb 27, 2013)




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## bazmak (Feb 27, 2013)




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## bazmak (Feb 28, 2013)

Just a brief digress to limits and fits.Nothing new to all the engineers out there,but maybe enlightening to any newbies out there.
Many years ago i was advised that the cost of production rises expotentially to accuracy/tolerance.If you are making ball bearings then 1/10th thou is the norm.If you are fabricating structural steelwork then 2mm is more likely.When designing in the DO it was enforced that you 
tolerance to suit the application.Open is cheap,tight is expensive.The company i worked for standardised on H7 holes with the shafts 
to vary to give the required fit.(running,push,press etc.Most reamers and plug gauges etc were H7.A h7 hole combined with standard 
commercial precision ground bar gave a running fit(less machining)This is why on my threads i state that 1 thou is near enough
for model engineers.If you want more precision thats ok as long as you understand that your tooling will be more expensive,
the job will take longer and you will have more scrap.Back to the lathe,when i first checked it out i did not know what to expect
but was happy with the results.You might laugh at the chuck runout for example but you get what you pay for and its good enough for what i want. I dont have a mill yet so does anyone out there have any ideas what i can do with the base model. BAZMAK


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## bazmak (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi everyone i have decided to try and fit a 2 axis cross slide table.Does anyone have any advise where i can get one
USA has one 35lbs but wont ship. China ??. Only one i can find in Oz is melbourne but not cheap.I have advertised
locally for a 2nd hand one.How many guys out there are from OZ.Majority seem US and Canada. Regards BAZMAK


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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)

Hi again,havent been doing much for a few weeks,too hot.I sympathise with the blokes who cant work
because of the cold,but we have just had a late heatwave here and i dont know which is worse
-20 or +100.We have just had 14 consecutive days of 90/100.No good in the shed,gets to 130o

If anyone sees any flash rust on my photos its from the sweat.
I have just finished a small mod to my woodworking lathe,but am no nearer to getting a cross slide table
I can get one from the USA for $150 but shipping is $200.At half the price of a mill its a no go.May buy a cheap cross slide vice
remove the vice and modify to suit.Still on the drawing board BAZMAKhttp://s1327.beta.photobucket.com/user/bazmak47/media/LS-gears01_zps9e15e243.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0


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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)

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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)

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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)




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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)




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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)

Sorry if the photos are out of order but photobucket has changed and i havent worked how
to upload more than one at a time and in what order  BAZMAK


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## bazmak (Mar 17, 2013)

I have not had any comments for a while,is anybody out there reading this thread ?
Does anybody have any thoughts on a cross slide table,has anybody bought/used one ?
Input please dear friends,lend me your ears and voice. Bazmak


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## ConductorX (Mar 19, 2013)

Bazmak,

A really interesting build.  I am not experienced enough to comment otherwise.  All of your work and engineering look great to me.

"G"


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## bazmak (Apr 22, 2013)

Thanks for your comments,no further progress yet so i have sidelined this project and keeping
busy with other things.Still keeping in touch with this forum but nothing of interest to share.
I have sold a couple of chess sets so may decide to make another and maybe photo/video progress
One of my interests is collecting photos of named british steam locomotives maybe i can post samples
My favourites are Gresley A4 streamlined pacifics.I remember as a schoolboy trainspotter getting in the cab 
of 60022 Mallard holder of the world speed record 126 mph. Barry


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## bazmak (Sep 17, 2014)

Well all back again just to finish and close this thread.Now i have a second lathe up and running (Advance) and have taken delivery of my benchmill there is no need for metal turning so have stripped it down back to original ready to make wood chips of any future chess sets.This excersize has been rather pointless
but interesting and i did enjoy it.I have recycled most of the parts.The T slot table i have fitted to the sieg lathe cross slide and used it for a couple of milling ops but now i have the mill i may have a better use for it.I am hoping to turn it into an angle plt for the miil.That may be another story
THIS THREAD IS NOW CLOSED Regards Barry


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## bazmak (May 7, 2017)

I have just reread this thread to familiarize myself with what I did
Photos have been removed but are not really relevant.I have the photos and sketches to look at and the carriage is what I am interested in as the capstan carriage will be similar.So hopefully the new thread will be as successful
Hope I don't fall flat on my face.Any input or comments please post early
before I get my teeth into this. Regards barry


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