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Newsletters>
Update on Prototype 3
October 8, 2007
Hi all,
It's been a while since I added anything to the website or
mailed out any news. Here is a brief update and an
announcement that my personal banjo is for sale on ebay.
Item number: 110178012122.
PROTYTOPE 3 RIM LATHE
Prototypes 1 and 2 are gone... sold to other makers.
Prototype 3 is well on its way to completion. I have been
without a lathe for about a month. The banjo sale is to
make up for my lack of banjo income through the ususal
means.
SUCCESSES AND FAILURES
I had some pretty agressive goals for prototype 3
including:
1. Enough rigidity to cut bronze
2. CNC control
3. Larger swing
4. Variable speed control in a useful range
Item 1 -- failure. My base is not robust enough to support
metal cutting. I did not engineer the bearings properly to
support an 8" 35lb chuck. NEXT TIME FOR SURE!
Item 2 -- Got a great controller, but I will put the
implementation off. I've lost too much time already.
Item 3 -- Yes. I now have an 16" swing. Made the lathe head
myself.
Item 4 -- Yes. 0 RPM to 1100 RPM and reversable.
For now I'm going back to the One Way chuck I used in
Prototype 2.
UPDATED DVD
I shot more footage to document the expanding jaw chuck,
false jaws and brief intro to block rims. Those of you who
bought the DVD can have the second disk for $10. When I
begin offering the DVD for sale (soon) it will be a
two-volume set.
RIM TESTER
I can't wait to document this. It's a gizmo that allows you
to audition a rim without attaching a neck. It's like a
neck attached to a base that sits under the rim and you can
actually hear the rim and test out different neck angles
etc.
Love to hear from you,
- Mark
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