Wood turning

[Art Ransom]

I asked for this forum because I haven;t found anyone running a CNC wood lathe. I do custom and architectural turning and have been using a Legasy Ornimental Mill for the last 3 years and it doesen't have the capisity I need, I started researching buildind a larger machine and that progressed into the 4 axis machine I am now building. I will be able to turn up to 24" by 10'. Presently I have X, Y and Z running and discovered I need to rebuild the gantry because of flex. I have the parts for the A axis and should get started on it this week. Getting the machine up and running is critical and I have basicly shut the shop till it is finished. I am running Mach 3 and have the ability to bring the machine up as a mill or lathe. 4 months ago I couldn't spell CNC so ANY suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

[Reef Guy]

This is a very interesting subject Art. I have the to VSR Jet lathe and have toyed with the idea of working it to CNC at a later date but it's only been a thought. Unfortunately, I have nothing of value to add to your project.

[CNCadmin]

Post some pics of what you have so far.

[Art Ransom]

see my site at www.turningaround.org

[Doug Thompson]

Art,
Any progress on the lathe? The love of woodturning brought me to this site in the first place. I got sick and tired of the high price of quality tools and decided to make my own. In the future a CNC wood lathe would be a fun project.

Let us know,
Doug

[cutsall]

I work for a company that specializes in Stair installation and have been programming and operating cnc wood turning machines for around six years. The owner had the foresight to recognize that in addition to stock offferings for tract housing that the market demanded that the ability to produce custom styled turnings for the high end market would help capture that market segment as well. We currently operate an Intorex cnc, a Hapfo cnc, and a Hapfo hydromatic ( tracer lathe ). The Intorex is a Spanish product while the Hapfo is of German manufacture. They both use proprietary controls developed by or for their application. The Hapfo originally had controls with Techno-Isel designed components and was problematic and has since been retrofitted with controls by Machine-Mate and operates on standard G-Code format. The Intorex has no true cad system per se and most of the profiles are done via dxf to the control where the actual program is created. All are built with a standard engine lathe design, headstock , tailstock, crosslide on a carriage which runs on the bed ways.All have z,x and c axis operation which allows the use of router to flute, rope etc. as a secondary operation. It sounds like you are using a router with a forth axis to accomplish your objective. What is the nature of the flex you speak of from the gantry? Have you determined what it's caused from? There are so many variables involved It is difficult to even guess at a possible solution without knowing more about your current configuration. Base to height ratio, drive configuration, ways. The scale of your turning 24" by 10' is pretty large. From the research I have done there is only one commercial machine I have seen that will turn that diameter. I am currently involved in a cooperative effort to design and build a viable yet inexpensive turning center but it is still a paper project and has not yet become a real entity. I am most curious about your approach to the design and to problems you are encountering. Tell us more

[Art Ransom]

Rather than duplicate information here and my site I will just update my site and post notification here. My site is www.turningaround.org and the section on the mill is http://turningaround.org/4_axis_mill.htm. One of the goals is to provide enough information so someone can build their own machine. Eventualy I will break the section into seperate areas.

I just made addations that address your questions. I am familar with the Halpo, a great machine except for the price. As to your design efort I would be glad to help any way I can. Suspect that you have a 50K budget where mine is 5K. You can call me during my normal business hours of 0800 to 2000 CST 7 days a week at 972-227-2741.

[automizer]

Art I just came accross this post now and I have to say your design is great I have looked at the metal lathe to wood lathe conversions and I don't like it. I am a fellow wood turner and I would like to build something like you have but to go to the far other side of the scale and go small very small. your set up has inspired me we will have to see what this summer brings to my shop now.

[Normsthename]

If you already have a CNC Router built, why don't you use that to do the wood turning?
I read about this in a book, all you need is a simple motor setup fixed down to the Router Bed to spin the wood up, and then use the routers X & Z axis (or Y & Z) to 'profile' the wood under CNC control.

Andy

[automizer]

Yeah this has crossed my mind too, I am not sure what i will do maybe both? start with the add on to my CNC table then latter make the add on its own machine. My new main shop is still under construction so only time will tell what ends up happening

[Art Ransom]

If you want to simply do round spindles a variable speed motor will do a great job. If however you want to do fluting, rope twists, etc then you need to be able to control rotation positioning. This requires a 4th axis control.. Techicanly I belive this is called an indexer. This is what I have built.

[Tashammer]

Vermont American used to make a spindle router that used a router, motion along the length of the work piece was provided manually by the user turning a handle.

One could turn flutes, barleytwists, diamond patterns etc.

i wonder if the idea could be transferred to a lathe, don't see why not.