Dean Smith and Grace Lathes For Sale

[RadDavis]

So, I was reading the classifieds the other morning, and there's an ad for 2 Dean Smith and Grace lathes. One is 21 x 144, and the other is 15 x 36.

I thought, "I don't need a twelve foot lathe, but the 3 foot one might be cool, especially with a 15 inch swing.". Having never heard of Dean Smith and Grace, I Googled them, and found that they are the "Rolls Royce" of lathes. Very cool!

Upon further investigation, I discovered that a 15 x 36 Dean Smith and Grace lathe probably weighs well over 5,000 pounds.

No Dean Smith and Grace lathe for me.

Here's a link to a pic of a 13 x 40 in a lathe forum: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/ge ... rs-164418/

If anyone is interested, I can give you the phone number of the guy that has them for sale in the Mobile area. I have no idea how one would move something like that.

Rad

[caskwith]

If I had the room I would totally have a lathe of that size!

[Growley]

I have no idea how one would move something like that.

Rad

No problem. That's one of those, "buy a six pack of beer for some good friends with a truck, and move it on a weekend" type of thing.... Ha, just kidding of course. I'm guessing you'd have to have a fork lift and a flat bed or something like that.

So, here's my question. If you're someone like Rad and you already make great pipes on a little 9x20, will a lathe that size really give you any great advantage? Will it make you a better pipe maker, or is it a bragging rights type of thing?

To me it seems crazy to have a lathe that size and only use about 10" of it. ...but then again, the only thing I'm really sure I know about my lathe is how to turn it on.

[Cory]

So, here's my question. If you're someone like Rad and you already make great pipes on a little 9x20, will a lathe that size really give you any great advantage? Will it make you a better pipe maker, or is it a bragging rights type of thing?

It won't make you a better pipe maker, but it will make you a better man.

[RadDavis]

I have no idea how one would move something like that.

Rad

No problem. That's one of those, "buy a six pack of beer for some good friends with a truck, and move it on a weekend" type of thing.... Ha, just kidding of course. I'm guessing you'd have to have a fork lift and a flat bed or something like that.

So, here's my question. If you're someone like Rad and you already make great pipes on a little 9x20, will a lathe that size really give you any great advantage? Will it make you a better pipe maker, or is it a bragging rights type of thing?

To me it seems crazy to have a lathe that size and only use about 10" of it. ...but then again, the only thing I'm really sure I know about my lathe is how to turn it on.

It's the swing that I was interested in getting. With a 15 inch swing, you can turn some really long shank pipes (Canadians). When someone wants an extra long shank now, I can drill the smoke hole and mortise on my lathe, but the bowl must be drilled on the drill press, because the shank will hit the lathe bed if you try it on the lathe.

Rad

[RadDavis]

And yes, it would make me at least as good as Bo Nordh, and maybe even Todd Johansson.

Rad

[caskwith]

I have no idea how one would move something like that.

Rad

No problem. That's one of those, "buy a six pack of beer for some good friends with a truck, and move it on a weekend" type of thing.... Ha, just kidding of course. I'm guessing you'd have to have a fork lift and a flat bed or something like that.

So, here's my question. If you're someone like Rad and you already make great pipes on a little 9x20, will a lathe that size really give you any great advantage? Will it make you a better pipe maker, or is it a bragging rights type of thing?

To me it seems crazy to have a lathe that size and only use about 10" of it. ...but then again, the only thing I'm really sure I know about my lathe is how to turn it on.

It's the swing that I was interested in getting. With a 15 inch swing, you can turn some really long shank pipes (Canadians). When someone wants an extra long shank now, I can drill the smoke hole and mortise on my lathe, but the bowl must be drilled on the drill press, because the shank will hit the lathe bed if you try it on the lathe.

Rad

Have you considered modifying the lathe? I did a bit of work on my lathe so that even though it is still essentially a 7" lathe, i can turn just over 10" in the critical area now, which allows me to drill most of the longer shanks I want to. If even this is not enough then I drill the shank on the metal lathe and have an adaptor for my chuck that lets me fit it on my 14" woodlathe (usually used as a buffer) and I can then drill and do a bit of turning there.

[ToddJohnson]

I have no idea how one would move something like that.

Rad

No problem. That's one of those, "buy a six pack of beer for some good friends with a truck, and move it on a weekend" type of thing.... Ha, just kidding of course. I'm guessing you'd have to have a fork lift and a flat bed or something like that.

So, here's my question. If you're someone like Rad and you already make great pipes on a little 9x20, will a lathe that size really give you any great advantage? Will it make you a better pipe maker, or is it a bragging rights type of thing?

To me it seems crazy to have a lathe that size and only use about 10" of it. ...but then again, the only thing I'm really sure I know about my lathe is how to turn it on.

Yes, if you know how to use it, it will make you a better pipe maker. I've been on this shtik for years, but no one believes me until they come and visit my shop and use my 12 x 36.

This probably will not help,

TJ