Looking for advice. i have a grizzly wood working lathe. that i have not used in forever. since i am going to get the revolution 4th axis I am not sure I will ever need it again. any thoughts?
For me these are to very different tools, I have both and would not get rid of the lathe, I use the lathe to sand/polish chess pieces when done in the Rotary along with many other things not practical in the Rotary.
Pat
In addition, I imagine that the lathe can produce larger projects than the rotary. The rotary cannot make a bowl or vase.
I wouldn’t get rid of it, turn what you can turn and mill what you can mill.
they are different IMO. kinda depends on what you want out of it honestly.
If you need the room or the money then sell it. Personally those are the only two reasons to get rid of a tool IMO. I also have a rotary coming. My plan is to make a rocking chair so I can make the curved top rail. I’ve been practicing on how to make a monogram letter on the top rail. After making a sample (I made it with a tighter curve) I realized that it would sit on a shelf on it’s own and looked kind of nice.
Anyway, to get back to my wood late, I wanted to flatten the bottom while sanding it to a nice finish at the same time. I made a disc sanding attachment for my lathe and used the cast iron table from a broken Craftsman table saw basically turning my lathe into a 20" variable speed disc sander. If you would like I can take a picture. It only took a few seconds with 180 grit to finish the top and bottom. I wouldn’t sell my lathe.
Also, you can use the lather to make square stock round before putting it in the rotary. Saves a step.
For me that adds a step but I have the Rapidchange ATC, what a game changer it is, wonderful addition, I use the rounding tool path in Vectric initially to make it round.
Pat