Talk me off of the edge…. How green is the grass really?

[Bandit]

I think the size of the lathe part I would worry about for sticks would be centre to centre length. Even with a chuck on, a lot of sticks will go into the opening of the chuck and not into the spindle. Quite a number of sticks have some taper and would not be held by the chuck jaws anyway. A lot of the "old time lathes" did not have large spindle bores unless they were"larger". And a lot of fire stick tubes were done up.
If the lathe you have has a steady rest, you are already on your way measurement wise to make a follower rest.
Taper attachment, very nice to have, how many sticks are you going to taper?,, for now just set the tail stock over.
As "140mower"says if your not taking it off the plate and you got in your pocket, weelll. I always seemed to have a washer, stove, or bigge car repair come out of nowhere rite after doing those things.
For 10 g's you could buy a follower rest, a few fire sticks, and and and.

 

[Jswain]

I too get stuck in the - if I only had this tool, then I could do this easier...

Slippery slope because it never ends

 

[Bandit]

Yes, I wish for more tools to do things easier too. Sometimes I am reminded of the "poor mans milling machine", a hack saw and a file, some times a chisel and a file. This just needs time added.
I also think of the saying " the lathe can make itself and a lot of other tools", a Taig making a 40 ft. bed 40 inch swing lathe? How do you make a "BIIGG" machine with out other big machines?

 

[Marknb]

I think I’ll offer a different perspective.

I think you need to decide what’s important to you, do you enjoy making old tools work and making the things you need for them, or would you rather work on your project’s?

With a young family my shop time is limited, and I’ve discovered old iron is not for me. I don’t get any joy out of rehabbing old machinery, instead I get annoyed at the fact I can’t work on the projects that I’d rather be doing.

If you decide to go the Modern Tool route, make sure you fully discuss shipping with them unless you’re close to one of their stores. I attempted to buy one of their lathes, but unfortunately it was damaged in shipping and it turned into a bit of a headache. Modern accommodates hobbyists, but I’ve learned they aren’t setup to deal with us in other provinces.

Good luck either way.

 

[BaitMaster]

I think I’ll offer a different perspective.

I think you need to decide what’s important to you, do you enjoy making old tools work and making the things you need for them, or would you rather work on your project’s?

With a young family my shop time is limited, and I’ve discovered old iron is not for me. I don’t get any joy out of rehabbing old machinery, instead I get annoyed at the fact I can’t work on the projects that I’d rather be doing.

If you decide to go the Modern Tool route, make sure you fully discuss shipping with them unless you’re close to one of their stores. I attempted to buy one of their lathes, but unfortunately it was damaged in shipping and it turned into a bit of a headache. Modern accommodates hobbyists, but I’ve learned they aren’t setup to deal with us in other provinces.

Good luck either way.

I also have a young family.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the canadiana and vintage factor of my current lathe. But I feel your sentiment. I’m warring with myself over the same thought process.

Do I want to keep improving this machine?

Or do I just want to do the projects I would do if I had a machine with the projects I need to do to my lathe already done…..

I feel it.