Buying lathe parts seperately

[tmac1956]

Jan:

I bought a lathe motor from those guys and its great. It took about two weeks to get it and the shipping initially seemed a bit pricey – but considering from whence it came and its weight, it’s probably wasn’t really that high. Anyway, I was happy.

Thanks!
Tom

[arutha]

I have bought a few items from China, never a problem but it does sometimes take a while to get here.
Paul

[randy]

Well….I did it.
I bought a very tight Wolf-Jahn 6mm D- bed lathe. Picture attached. I’ve had it a little more than a month, have purchased some additional collets, safety runner, etc.
I also bought a hand wheel for it.
I’ve made a replacement dust cap for one of the oil holes, and another runner that will accommodate smaller pivots.
Learning the craft of graver sharpening along with it,..and I’m really enjoying the whole experience.

I can’t thank everyone enough for the insight.

Best,

Randy

[Bob Tascione]

Now that’s beautiful!!!
Thanks for posting it Randy!

Bob

[david pierce]

Randy,
That is a nice looking setup. Wolf Jahn lathes are beautiful well made machines. If you put a dead center into the headstock and lock the spindle. the lathe can also double as a set of turns.
david

[randy]

Thanks Bob and David, it is in very nice shape, and came with wax and step collets, all in it’s original box.

David,

That is one of the things I like about this style of lathe ( the turns option )
Sadly, I’m missing the locking pin, but I am still searching.
I may elect to make one,..it doesn’t look to be that hard.

Take care !
R

[david pierce]

Randy,
Keep checking with Ebay. The Lorch locking pin looks similar to the Wolf Jahn but the diameter of the pivoting pin is larger on the Lorch and will not fit the Wolf Jahn. If a Wolf Jahn locking pin comes up for sale buy it immediately. The wax chucks will allow you to center your work dead on. They take longer to secure your work but they can provide more concentricity than a split collet. There is a Steffan Pahlow video on Youtube where he centers a part in a wax chuck. They can also grab a taper accurately such as the tapered side of a staff. There are headstock accessories such as 3 jaw chucks and bezel chucks but these items can push the lathe beyond its size. It was specifically designed to make small things and larger lathes will do a better job and can take more abuse than a 6mm pivot lathe. I had to put a one horsepower motor on my Unimat before I could take a reasonable cut without stalling the motor out. A professional bicycle racer can only produce about 1/3 of a horsepower in his prime.
david

[david pierce]

Randy,
Another option to transform the lathe into a set of turns is to purchase another tail stock.
david

[randy]

Thanks David,
I do scour Ebay..even the UK and Deutchland site.
I’ve run across a couple of Lorch pins, and upon asking, found the same as you described….too large.
Also on the hunt for another tailstock.
I’ve played with the wax-chucks a bit, but only for familiarity.
I have a number of good books on the lathes and technique, including Perkins.
I love Stephan’s videos…it’s what turned me on to the idea of a hand driven lathe ~!

Best,

Randy

[arutha]

Your Wolf Jahn has a much nicer finish, mine is almost completely worn off. They are a great lathe, I had a Lorch before and to be honest I couldn’t see any difference in quality. I like the 6mm lathes, especially for cutting balance staffs as there isn’t quite so much lathe getting in the way but i do have an 8mm WW type for other work.
Very nice set-up you have and I have seen the tailstocks come up on e-bay, the Lorch will got straight on that bed.

[randy]

Thanks Paul.
I’m really enjoying it.

You know what the musicians say:
You can’t play the lacquer !!!””..it’s not about how good it looks, more about how well it works !

Good to know that the Lorch will fit up easily.

Take care

Randy

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