# homemade tailstock



## MarkHix (Nov 26, 2007)

I have a neighbor who needs new rungs for his chairs because of a new puppy.  My lathe is a Jet mini and I can only go up to about 14" on spindles.  I figured I could make my own tailstock that gave me the extra length.  I wanted to see if anyone else had tried it first and could give me some tips.  

Thanks in advance.


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## R2 (Nov 26, 2007)

Mark, it would be easier anb better in terms of accuracy to buy the add on bed extension for your Jet Mini.


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## Firefyter-emt (Nov 26, 2007)

Build a steady rest and you can almost do away with the tailstock if you are holding the spindle in a lathe chuck..  Bill Gumbine has a story where he turned a boat mast with two lathes if I remember corectly.

I would go with the extension bed if you can buy one that will suit the length you need.

Read this....  http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/blkswan6.html


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## Randy_ (Nov 26, 2007)

Turning spindles isn't rocket science.  You don't need the same kind of set-up accuracy that you would for turning pens.  I would think you could cobble up a temp. tailstock out of some scrap wood to hold a live center or a dead centerwithout much difficulty.

The problem I see is having a design that will allow the use of a tool rest along the entire length of whatever kind of extension you build.

If you want to build your own, I would do an Internet search. Seems like I have seen some articles describing simple home-built lathes.  This might you pointed in the right direction:  http://www.mimf.com/articles/lathe/index.htm  

That being said, the lathe extensions for the JET mini are not very expensive and you might even find one on sale around Christmas at a local Rockler or Woodcraft store if you have one near you.  Ultimately, you might have more time tied up in the design and construction of a home-built rig than what an extension would cost you.


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## Firefyter-emt (Nov 27, 2007)

Do you have a vice on your bench?? It worked for me!  []


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## skiprat (Nov 27, 2007)

OK Lee, I'll bite, what on earth is that?  Looks like you are polishing up a prop shaft or something.[8D]


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## Randy_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I'll bet that is a drill press column that is getting a little rust removal and polishing.


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## skiprat (Nov 27, 2007)

Yep, I reckon you are probably right, Randy. C'mon Lee, put us out of our misery.[}]


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## LEAP (Nov 27, 2007)

Skip look in the back right of the photo there is the base for his drill press. You have to give Lee credit for being resourcefull.


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## MarkHix (Nov 27, 2007)

Thanks for the tips.  I don't want to dip into the Christmas money for the extension.  I looked at some stuff on the net and came up w/ my own idea.  If it works, I will post a picture.  It was alot easier than I thought it would be after I saw some of them.  I don't know why I didn't think of using the vise on my bench.  I had to use it to saw the wood. LOL.  

Thanks again.


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## Firefyter-emt (Nov 28, 2007)

LOL... Yea guys that was done in the days before I had a chuck for my wood lathe and my metal lathe has a 1/2"-20 thread so I can't swap them over.  If I were to do this again I would of made a holder from rollerblade wheels. Two on the bottom and one on the top to hold it in place, The top one can be tightened to the lower board to take up the gap and then adjust the height on the vice.  I should mention that I did use a level on the lathe bed and on the tube to make it as straight as I could.  I was using the metal lathe to spin the shaft to de-rust and polish it up in the restroation of my Walker Turner press.

Before:





After: (I think it was worth the $40 I paid for it.  []


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## Randy_ (Dec 11, 2007)

Mark:  How did your project turn out?


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