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Wooden ways align with steel ways.
When I turn hollow vessels, I have to remove my lathe’s tailstock to install a support for the hollowing tool. When I’m done hollowing, I have to re-mount the tailstock to finish the turning. It’s a pain—literally. My tailstock is quite heavy; removing it is hard on my back, and getting it re-aligned on the ways is worse yet.
To solve the problem, I made a “parking spot” for the tailstock and bolted it to the end of my lathe. This addition is just for storage—it’s not a bed extender. It’s aligned with the lathe’s ways, so I can slide the tailstock into the parking spot instead of lifting it.
I made most of the parking spot from dimensional lumber and common hardware, and used hard maple for the ways. –Lloyd Ackerman
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
