Need advice on a lathe faceplate?

[justallan1]

 

  

 
I bought this old brake drum lathe off craigslist better than 10 years ago and figure to turn it into a wood lathe. I geared it down a bit and cut off the center shaft and outside clamp and am planning on attaching a face plate for turning bowls to the remaining half of the clamp that you can see here. I have a piece of aluminum plate that I'll mill round that is 3/8" thick, my question is do you think 3/8" aluminum plate 10" diameter would have any flex to it, say when you anchor a 10"-14" chunk of wood to it and go to turning it?
I'll probably remove the existing tool holder and workings, unless someone has a great idea for them.
And any other advice sure is appreciated also. Thanks.

Allan

[Ljohnsaw]

Yes, I think the aluminum will flex.  I would go with something twice that thickness in aluminum.  Though, I tend to overbuild a bit...  What about using an old brake rotor (disk brake) as you face plate?  That's assuming you can deal with the gap in the middle (really big bowls?).  I've seen where the tool rest is a separate stand all together on big wood lathes, so taking this tool off will not matter.

I would wonder about the bearings on this lathe - where they meant for this type of load (rather large side forces before you are balanced/trued up)?

[justallan1]

Thanks John. I had looked at a couple brake rotors, but the hole in the middle would limit me quite a bit, so I was wanting something solid.
I have a solid steel table to mount it on and was thinking of making the bed with some 4"x1/4" angle leaving a gap for the live center to ride.
We'll see what I can come up with.

Allan

[Lud]

I turn a lot and make a lot of my own lathe tools.  My lathe has a 1" and an 1/8" thread.

The way I attach a turning blanks is to drill a hole and tap it with a 1" and an 1/8" tap I got from Woodcraft for about $29.  I proceed to turn the outside of the bowl and create a dovetail for either an inner or outer attachment to a chuck.

My SuperNova  2 chuck then mounts to the lathe's 1" and an 1/8" thread and the bowl's interior can be turned out from a quickly attached, safely secured blank.

You need to consider the toolrest (I've made several , suggest 1" solid stock or heavier) and if you intend to have a tailstock of some type.

Good Luck!  Never met a woman who doesn't like wooden bowls!

[justallan1]

Good Luck!  Never met a woman who doesn't like wooden bowls!
[/quote]
This will go up on the priority list in that case. :D
Thanks for the advice.

Allan

[Den-Den]

I don't believe that you need a 10" dia faceplate for that machine.  My home-made lathe weighs about 1000 lb and I sometimes turn some fairly large stuff.  My biggest faceplate is 6" dia. 1/2" thick steel, it is strong enough to make the lathe jump up and down if I spin a large piece too fast.  Most of the time I use 3 - 4 inch faceplates on blanks up to 25 - 30 lbs.

www.denniswoodart.com

[justallan1]

Thanks Dennis. I went and bought a small lathe, so this project got put on the back burner until winter, but it will get set up to run what the little one can't.

Allan