The Most Useful Addition to My Lathe
(a morse extension)
Being a professional woodturner, time is money. I want to be able to make aggressive cuts and I don't want to lose a piece off the faceplate or chuck. This morse tailstock extension is an indispensable part of my lathe.
In order to make fast, aggressive cuts, I always turn between centres... even when working on the inside of the rim (physics makes this a very stressful time for the tenon).
Between centres, it is virtually impossible to break the tenon and lose a bowl off the scroll chuck or faceplate... no matter how aggressive a cut.
As seen in the photos below, the extension moves the tailstock away from the work and gives the banjo lots of maneuvering room on the lathe bed.
This is a 4 inch morse extension.
It has a #3 taper to #3 taper to fit my lathe and live centre.
Other combinations are available.
my live centre is inserted into the extension
on the tailstock
I purchased this for my tailstock
at my local metal working shop.
2- used when coring to prevent breaking out of the scroll chuck...
lots of 'bed' room for the coring base
1- used in conjunction with a faceplate. This 23 inch ambrosia blank was safely started at 450 rpm... worry free
4- used when measuring the bowl's base thickness
3- used when working on the inside of the rim (physics makes this a very stressful time for the tenon) If worried about marking the bottom of the bowl... use a wood block as shown)