Allan makes up part of our Technical Customer Service Team here at Carbatec and also sends time as a Retail Assistance in the Wakerley store. Allan has been with us for 2 years and spends a lot of his spare time making wooden models of classic cars and recently won an award for his segmented woodturning.
A progress shot of Alan's segmented bowl.
We asked Allan what his favourite tools in his workshop are and these were his top picks:
I needed a new lathe and this was ideal since it fitted on the same spot as the old lathe on my existing bench. The electronic variable speed coupled with the 2HP motor makes for a very smooth and powerful machine. I have the 5 speed setting programmed for 150, 500, 1000, 1600 & 2500 rpm. The tapered shape of the headstock gives plenty of room when coming into the work from the left and the swivel head with the large size of the tool rest makes for easy tuning of large pieces or just moving the line of the work so my bowl gouge isn’t impeded by the lathe bed. This is all helped by the very sturdy bed.
Though I have completed a sharpening course, my attempts at sharpening my turning tools still resulted in multiple facets on the bevel. From the first time I used the Tormek system I had a single facet that was easy to reproduce. The main feature that swayed me to purchase the Tormek over other systems was the honing wheels on the side and the constant slow speed torque system. The labels for the tool ferrules aids in reproducing the same edge every time.
This is a greatest collection of live centre pieces you could possible need for the tailstock of your lathe. Includes various shaped tips plus inside or outside cones. Only available in 2MT. Different pieces can be fitted together to create different holding techniques.
Tailstock Chuck Adaptor
As a segmented turning I will work from both the bottom and top of pieces such as vases at the same time. These then need to be aligned for joining the two pieced together. The Tailstock Chuck Adaptor is a simple little device that screws into the 1 by 8 TPI Nova chuck with a 2MT on the other side for mounting in the lathe tailstock. I used this tool to align chuck or faceplate mounted work fitted in the tailstock with chuck or faceplate mounted work in the headstock. However, it can't be used with the lathe spinning but fit it into the cone drive of the Tailstock Chuck Adaptor and you have a chuck mounted live centre in the tailstock.
Sanding marks or the downfall of any turned item. This is the simplest of the rotating sanding sets that spins as the lathe is operating to prevent those sanding marks. Fitted with a Velcro head in either 50 or 75mm you can use any grit size to achieve a smooth finish.
