Every lathe we sell comes with levelling capabilities. We realise that not all shop floors are perfectly flat and smooth, so this is a necessary procedure for most installations.

Note: Getting even pressure on all the feet is the biggest trick to getting the machine to run as well as it can. Please keep in mind that at high speeds small pieces have a lot more energy that needs to be absorbed that big pieces running slowly. This is opposite to what most people expect.

The following procedure is specific to the 2436 (and our other large lathes), but the principles are the same when levelling the lathe you have:

1. First you have to use the levelling pads. If you just put the levelling screws into the concrete they will just drill themselves in and only work for a few minutes.

2. After you get the levelling pads under the feet, screw down three of the screws until they are definitely down hard. This leaves one screw not touching. We usually use the front tailstock screw as the one that is set not touching just because it is easiest to get the wrench on.

3. Now the the lathe will be sitting on three points and will be quite unstable.

4. Start turning on the machine and you will find that it vibrates without much load.

5. Now crank down the last screw (the one that's still up). As you lower it the screw will make contact with the levelling pad and the lathe will start to smooth out. Keep tightening down - noting that as you go, it will get smoother and then get worse again (when you go too far).

6. Play with it bit to find the smoothest point.

7. If at some point in the future you find that the lathe has started to run poorly again (they can get vibrated across the floor and find an unlevel section to settle onto), simply perform this process again.

In an endeavour to make your life easier, we have compiled a list of things you should consider when configuring your workshop to accommodate a wood lathe. We hope you find it useful.

LOCATION

Ensure you have 360 degrees clearance around the lathe to allow plenty of room for outboard turning, rigs, and jigs. Also consider allowing room for any future attachments (both inboard and outboard).

POWER CONCERNS

Install a dedicated electrical circuit according to the following: 25 Amp breaker with 15 Amp wall outlet ( 2436, 2416, 2036, 2016, & 1640 lathes )

VENTILLATION AND DUST COLLECTION

sufficient ventillation and/or dust collection or respiratory system for ease of breathing and general health - some woods are toxic.

LIGHTING

Adequate lighting is extremely important to ensure you do not strain your eyes. Florescent lighting is good for general lighting of you workshop. However, consider obtaining some specialized spot lighting which can be easily moved to an appropriate position when working on the inside of bowls or hollow forms. There are lighting attachments available to connect onto our larger lathes for spot lighting purposes. LED head lamps are another option to consider. These are cheap, efficient, and can be purchased at your local hardware store.

WOOD STORAGE

You will want some place to store your wood. You will want to keep the wood storage fairly close to the lathe so you don't have to carry those heavy bowl blanks too far. If you storage area cannot be located by the lathe, at least make sure it is easily accessable. Some form or cart of trolley could be handy getting the wood to the lathe.

TOOL PLACEMENT & STORAGE

Having your tools handy while you turn is a must. A tool cabinet somewhere near the lathe or a moveable tool caddy will make life a lot easier as your tools are always within easy reach.

SHARPENING STATION

Having a dedicated sharpening station close to the lathe will encourage you to sharpen more frequently. Using sharp tools will create a better finish on your turnings and make your time at the lathe more enjoyable. ONEWAY has a simple four step program to make your grinder work more efficeintly and your tools look and behave the way they should. Click here to find out more.

WORK BENCH & FINISHING AREA

An area dedicated to performing tasks off the lathe.

At Oneway, we strive to make our products both practical and functional, while keeping in mind they must be a pleasure to use, and if possible, be cost competitive.

Using this philosophy we design and manufacture a premium quality Live Center that is specifically aimed at the woodturning fraternity.

The design requirements are as follows:

- It must be reasonable cost.
- It must not rust when left in a damp environment.
- It must be slim to allow the toolrest to clear when turning small parts.
- It must be capable of running at high speed.
- It must be versatile enough to perform most needed functions.
- It must be rigid enough to perform the job it is supposed to do.

We must have customer satisfaction. We have adequately achieved all of the above design parameters except, we do occasionally get complaints about some 'play' or 'slop' in the bearings we use. The questions we then have to ask are:

1. How much 'play' do we have?
2. Does it affect performance?
3. Is 'play' preventable?
4. Why does the competition not have 'play'?

HOW MUCH 'PLAY' DO OUR LIVE CENTERS HAVE?

We have measured the radial and end 'play' of over 100 Live Centers including ones returned due to 'excess play'. When measured with .0001 indicators, they never exceeded .0005 radial play and end play never exceeded .004. These are acceptable limits for C3 clearance bearings when properly mounted (and yes, this clearance, especially end play can be felt with sensitive fingers).

DOES IT AFFECT PERFORMANCE?

The clearance does not affect performance for two reasons: We mount two (2) bearings in tandem to prevent cantilevering and to increase load capacity. One bearing will carry 100% of the end thrust load and 50% of the radial load. The other bearing will carry the 50% balance of the radial load. The moment tailstock pressure is applied, the inner bearing race is displaced by the amount of end play (approx .004) and the radial play disappears at the same time. This occurs through ball displacement inside the track in which they run. To understand why this is, you must know that the ball radius is smaller than the race radius, thus assuring point contact which through end pressure eliminates play. Point contact assures that ball bearings are possible. Full contact ball to radius would cause rapid overheating and bearing failure.

IS 'PLAY' PREVENTABLE?

'Play' is preventable by putting in more expensive precision bearings (i.e. bearings with no detectable end or radial play). These bearings would cost from 5 to 10 times more than a standard C3. They would require oil lubrication and would in service perform no better than low cost but good quality bearings. A different set of bearings such as tapered roller bearings could be used. However, to prevent play they would need to be finely adjusted, need regular lubrication, be larger in diameter, and tend to run hot at high speeds. For these reasons they would be expensive and unsuitable. Bearings can be measured for end play and then shimmed with different sized spacers to eliminate play. However the incurred labour cost does not improve the performance sufficiently to justify the expense.

WHY DOES THE COMPETITION NOT HAVE 'PLAY'?

The simple answer to this question is found in the way Oneway makes their Live Centers. Oneway Live Centers are made from premium steel. They are first turned, drilled and then heat treated. The body and tang are then precision ground between centers. They are then nickel plated, after which the bearing bore is precision ground with zero pressure on the body which assures perfect roundness. Perfect roundness allows the bearings to retain their perfect roundness when installed. Thus the .0005 play remains allowing long life and true running with tailstock pressure. The competition typically turns the tang and body (skipping the grinding step) and is not heat treated. This makes the out of roundness typically range from .0005 to .0015, with press fits in the .001 to .002 area. When the bearings are pressed into this housing, the bearing is forced out of round and 'presto' there is no discernable play. This can lead to overheating, and ultimately a short life.

WHY DO SOME ONEWAY LIVE CENTERS HAVE MORE 'PLAY' THAN OTHERS?

This is caused by bearing manufacturer tolerances, and their track placement in the races. Typically a track on the size of bearing that we use can be .003 off center. So if two equal spacers are installed, end play can be as little as 0 or as much as .004 (total play) in one bearing. We hope this removes any concerns you may have about the 'play' in our Live Centers, and reassures you that our Live Centers are of an excellent quality.

I see there is a bit of confusion on how the lathe arrives and how it's packaged.

PACKAGING

Originally we used to crate our lathes with the headstock, tailstock and banjo removed off the bed. We did this to save room and for more stability. However, around the middle of 2003 we started shipping the lathes fully assembled using a re-enforced cardboard cover for protection. This is what we use currently. It does not matter who you purchased the lathe from, the packaging is the same.

DELIVERY

There are two options for deliveries:

1. Terminal

The first option is to pick the lathe up from a terminal. This is usually a cheaper option, but means you have to collect the lathe and then get it into your shop.

2. Home

Home delivery is the second option. This is usually more expensive. What this means is the driver will drop the lathe at the end of your driveway. Sometimes the driver will back up to your house, but this is not guaranteed. It has been reported that a driver actually assisted in getting a lathe into a workshop, but this is very rare and probably required some form of enticement. ;-)

I hope this clears up any delivery issues or confusion there may have been.

There are various and many reasons for this to happen. Here are a few reasons why this may be happening.

POOR TURNING PRACTICE CAUSING VIBRATION WHEN SCRAPING, OR CATCHES WHEN THE TOOL IS NOT PRESENTED TO THE WOOD WITH THE BEVEL RUBBING OR CUTTING AGAINST THE GRAIN.

Remedy: Improve your turning technique.

THE WOOD BEING ON THE CHUCK SO LONG (OVERNIGHT FOR INSTANCE) THAT SHRINKAGE OCCURS CAUSING THE CHUCK TO LOOSE ITS GRIP.

Remedy: Occasionally check for tightness and re-tighten.

DULL TOOLS USED WITH EXCESSIVE PRESSURE MAY CAUSE LOOSENING.

Remedy: Sharpen your tools more often. Do you know that a turning tool in some woods can loose its edge in just minutes?

CHUCK JAWS DO NOT HOLD THE WOOD PROPERLY BECAUSE OF IMPROPER DESIGN FOR THE TYPE OF TURNING BEING PERFORMED.

Remedy: For light finishing cuts on small bowls, smooth jaws may work. For heavy cuts on large bowls, serrated jaws of adequate size are a must.

I HAVE NONE OF THE ABOVE PROBLEMS, YET MY CHUCK KEEPS LOOSENING OFF. I EVEN INSERT MY TAIL STOCK FOR EXTRA SUPPORT. WOULD A CHUCK WITH ACTION ADJUSTMENT OR A SET SCREW ON THE SCROLL HELP ME?

Cause: The standard scroll chuck design has been used in machine shops for over a 100 years, it will not loosen under normal use.

Your problem is most likely misalignment between your head stock and tail stock spindle. Any misalignment beyond the elasticity in your wood will guarantee that your project part comes loose from your chuck.

Remedy: If you must use your tail stock because of weight or safety concern, then correction of alignment is the only solution.

MY SERRATED AND EVEN MY SMOOTH JAWS ARE LEAVING MARKS ON MY FINISHED WORK. HOW CAN I AVOID THIS DAMAGE?

You can't. Let's be realistic; holding wood in a chuck, no matter how careful you are, will cause damage.

Remedy: Find a way to finish the foot of your bowls, by holding with a system that causes no damage.

SOME SUGGESTIONS

a) For lowest cost, make a jam chuck from scrap wood.
b) Use wooden jaws mounted on your scroll chuck and turned to exact size.
c) Flat jaws with rubber mounting buttons will work on many projects.
d) A vacuum chuck could solve your problems.
e) If you insist on using the jaws of your chuck as they are, then you must turn your object chucking area to exact profile shape and design dia., and if you do, then most often you will sacrifice proper object to foot relation. Your object foot may be too short, too tall, too small or too large to look just right.

Here are three simple tests to run on candidate lathes before choosing which one to buy:

1. Turn the lathe on, run it at various speeds, and note the amount of vibration coming off the headstock...less is better, both in terms of quality of the machine's design and the quality of product that it will produce.

2. Install a pointed live center on the tailstock and another point on the headstock, then run the two together and see if the points meet...meeting point to point is good. Then, turn the lathe on, and at low speed, note any wobble while viewing the headstock's spur point...wobble is bad. While you're at it, move the tail stock up and down the length of the lathe several times, locking it in place at the point to point head/tailstock position each time...do the points meet every time; or in other words, does the tailstock have left to right slop? If so (a cheap lathe characteristic), you're going to have problems if you switch your piece from a spindle hold to a chuck hold. I've noted more than a 1/16" left/right slop in the tailstock on many lathes.

3. Put a piece of wood between the head and tailstock points, lock the tailstock in place, then try giving the tailstock hand-wheel a few turns and note if the tailstock moves. Also, lock the tool rest in place and give it a good shove/pull…did it move? Cheaply designed lathes are notorious for having a weak tailstock and tool rest locking design. When you are turning a hard wood into the grain, you'll be very happy to have a quality lathe where all the lathe's pieces stay where you put them, while under hard vibration.

There are several additional things to consider, beyond these quality-of-design-and-manufacture issues:

1. Which speed control process to buy...manual belt adjustment, leaver pull, or electronic? No mater what anyone tells you, manually adjusting the belt each time you want to make a speed change is one big pain in the backside. While making a typical box, I might change speeds 20-30 times.

2. Size of work you want to produce...everyone says they only plan to turn spindles, pens and other small things when they are starting out...so, a small lathe is what you need, right? Well, if you can afford more, buy more. Otherwise, if you stick with the hobby, you almost certainly will be buying a second lathe (bigger/better) as your skills improve.

3. Low speed considerations...if you can envision the possibility of wanting to learn how to chase threads, be sure to buy a lathe that has the ability to run between 100 and 250 RPM. It is extremely difficult to turn threads in wood when the lathe is running faster than this.

Here's a reasonable game-plan for someone just starting out…buy a mini/midi like the Jet, Delta or Mercury ($280-350), with the idea of using this lathe to train on. If after a year you're still turning and enjoying the hobby, upgrade to a One-Way, Vicmarc, or some other quality machine.

There are numerous reasons why you should seriously consider purchasing a Oneway, Talon, or Stronghold chuck rather than purchase a cheaper (or not so cheap) competitor chuck including:

CARBON STEEL BODY WITH NICKEL PLATING WHICH:

- resists rust
- is wear resistant
- prevents galling (metal on metal resitance)
- body is manufactured in one continuous operation (turning, drilling, and milling) for 100% accuracy

JAW SLIDES ARE:

- constructed from a chrome nickel steel
- precision machined
- hardened
- heat treated and ground from solid using precision CNC grinder

SCROLL IS MACHINED AND:

- constructed from high strength alloy steel
- utulizes precision milled teeth
- heat treated
- has a special heat applied surface coating for easy sliding and high wear resistance

TOP JAWS ARE CONSTRUCTED FROM CARBON STEEL AND:

- have a precision milled 'power-curve' profile (patented)
- guaranteed to hold better with less pressure than any competitive shape

Greater capacity range compared to similar sized chucks meaning less jaw sets required.

Safety Pin mechanism to prevent accidental ejection of the jaws (patented). Two slots are available - short slot to prevent extension of the jaws outside the body diameter (extremely safe, great for teaching students), or a longer slot to prevent the jaws from being over-extended and possibly flying off the chuck.

THE TAPERLOCK ADAPTOR IS:

- precision machined with a minimum of 3/8 wide mounting face and an accurate diameter register
- self-centering
- cheap to replace if another lathe is purchased with a different spindle thread - no need to buy a complete new chuck
- available for over one hundred different spindle sizes

Key (Talon & Stronghold Chucks) are constructed from chrome nickel and are precision milled and heat treated.

Open back design for easy cleaning and dust ejection. Simply blow it out with compressed air or dunk it in an mineral based cleaner like Varsol or Mineral Spirits.

Operating Levers (Oneway Chuck) are made from high strength steel to prevent bending.

CHUCK KEYS (STRONGHOLD & TALON) ARE:

- made from chrome nickel steel
- precision machined
- heat treated for increased strength
- coated to minimise friction

WHAT DOES IT DO?

The braking resistor does not slow down the lathe any faster. What it will do is allow large pieces to be stopped in the same time as smaller pieces.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

When you hit the stop button the drive takes energy from the piece and turns it into electricity and then into heat. If a piece has too much energy then the drive cannot convert it into heat fast enough - so it shuts down to protect itself. No damage to the lathe occurs, the piece will just freewheel to a stop and the drive will have to be reset. At this point you have two options to prevent it from tripping out again. First is to make sure that you are in the correct belt speed. Most problems with the lathe tripping out can be solved by putting the lathe into low gear. This puts the leverage back on the drive side so to speak and stops the problem. If you are already in low gear and the drive is tripping out you can put the brake time switch into the long position which changes decel from 4 seconds to 12 seconds. This will stop 99.9 percent of all pieces turned on a 2436 with the 44 inch outboard.

SO WHY DO WE RECOMMEND IT?

Well it tends to make the lathe stopping more or less bullet proof, it will stop any piece in any gear in 4 seconds. Hobby wood turners do not want irritation from their hobby machines and having a lathe trip out can be a real annoyance for some people. A lot of people buy options on the lathe just because they want the best. The people who most need the braking resistor are professional woodturners for whom time is money. An extra 8 seconds spent braking larger pieces is 8 seconds of money they will never get back. There is also the benefit of taking heat away from the drive. The drive will last longer with the braking resistor installed. I cannot say how much longer as drive failures are few and far between (estimated 20 year lifespan) so this might not be a worthwhile consideration.

DOES IT NEED TO BE FACTORY INSTALLED?

The braking resistor should be factory installed because it needs a different drive. To use a braking resistor the drive needs a brake chopper circuit to be built in. This adds considerable cost to the drive, the braking resistor itself is cheap and easy to put in.

This being said, you can add it later but this requires replacing the drive - which can be very difficult for some people and is more costly as you will now have to purchase a second drive, and perhaps hire an electician to perform the wiring.

Putting a 2436 lathe into the basement is fairly straight forward with the right preparation etc. I have done it with only one other person than myself but that was on an easy set of stairs, three is a better number.

REQUIREMENTS:

Two Buddies
Fridge Dolly
Straps
Set of METRIC Allen Wrenches
Set of METRIC open-ended wrenches (or an adjustable wrench)
30" - 36" piece of 2 x 4
#2 Phillips Screwdriver
Pizza & Beer (optional)

STEPS REQUIRED TO PREPARE THE LATHE FOR MOVING:

1. Remove extra weight

Remove the Tailstock, toolrest base (Banjo), and the end cover plate on the tailstock end and anything that may be in the tube.

2. Remove the Headstock

It is held in place with 6 bolts and is keyed so that it can be removed and put back on. Make sure that you take the belt off the motor. While you are in the motor area you might as well disconnect the door switch wires. The wires are held together with connectors that have little orange levers. Pull hard on the lever, it will pop out 90 degrees and you can remove the wires. Take note of where the wires came from so that you can put them back.

3. Remove the Pendant Arm

At the back of the machine the pendant is held in place with a collar and two set screws, remove the setscrews and drop the pendant onto the floor. The wire runs through a piece of pipe that is bolted to the machine. Remove the two bolts that hold the pipe in place and put it on the floor.

4. Disconnect the Motor

Now comes the tricky part. Open up the electrical box and remove the front cover from the drive. The drive is the biggest thing in the box. Follow the motor wire in from the motor mount area and you will see that the black cable will have the casing removed when it is near the drive exposing the 3 motor wires and the ground wire. The 3 motor wires are white, red and black and are attached to terminals T1, T2 and T3 in that order. If you have a digital camera take a picture. Remove the wire from the drive and the ground wire from the backer board. Loosen the strain relief and pull the motor wire from the box.

5. Remove the first leg (tailstock end)

Take out the bolts that hold the tailstock leg in place and drop the tailstock end on the ground.

6. Remove the second leg (headstock end)

Loosen the bolts that hold the headstock leg in place and remove 4 of them. At this point you should have two people lift the lathe so that it is standing on the tailstock end.

Next, have the same two people hold the leg while the third person removes the last two bolts. Set the leg on the floor.

The body of the lathe should now be all by itself. Put it on the fridge dolley and seure it so it will not shift during transportation - and away you go.

Note: Be aware that with the motor end up it will be a little top heavy. Two guys on the handles and one person to help bump the lathe down the stairs. The guy on the bottom should be a fast runner so that he can get out of the way if the two guys up on top decide to let go.

7. Once the lathe is in place

After you get the lathe in place basically reverse the above procedure. I would put in all the headstock leg bolts finger tight before I set the headstock end down.

8. When you are finished

Once it is reassembled, eat the pizza, drink the beer etc.

TIP: About the only tip I can give you is that for lifting the lathe up on end, stick a 2 x 4 under the bed bars and lift.