I need to turn a piece of wood thats 4m (12') long by 50cm (20") wide (diameter). Would a piece of wood this size be suitable for turning on a lathe, if I was to make one especially for this purpose?
The item I'll be turning will be a (model) submarine hull.
I'd suggest that you tell us a bit more about what exactly you're doing. Is there a particular reason the sub can't be built up in sections? Will the hull be hollowed out? Will it be painted? What's the intended purpose?
wow......Is it going into water or just a show item? For a show item I think I'd make an interior frame and skin it with veneer. Or if you can find a 24" lathe (check woodturning forums for somebody with a big One Way), turn it in sections and connect the sections..
Even if previously hollowed out, you'd need a monster lathe to turn it. I recall that FWW once had an article on a poor man's router lathe, basically a plywood box into the ends of which the workpiece was mounted, as if between centers. A router with a dish cutting bit rode the length of the box's sides. The workpiece was turned with a crank mounted on one end. Tapers would be cut by raising or lowering the mounting at one end.
I'm sure this would be slow with much wear and tear on the router. But without specialized super heavy duty lathe equipment I don't know how else you'd do this safely in the average generalist's woodshop.
Then again, since you're building a "boat", consider the classic boatbuilder's techniques of "tortured plywood" or "cove and bead" plank on frame construction. You might then be able to carry, row or float your sub to wherever you want to display it.
The last part makes no sense. All wood is useful. It is the tool that needs to be useful for the job, and I'm betting you cant afford that size of a lathe. I saw one once in an Otis Elevator production plant. Perhaps you can tell us how you are going to make a [safe] lathe that size to support that weight of wood, and have it cheap enough for a single job. I have an idea for the last part as I type.
Also since when are submarine hulls round? I'm not sure of the exact profile, but it tapers a bit towards the top I thought.
Since the 50s. USS Albacore. They may have the top flattened, but surely it's easier to turn it round and then flatten the top if that's what's called for.
A lathe turns things between two points. You can take the ubiquitous old Delta 12" shop lathe, use the outboard thread and faceplate, mount the tailstock on a table screwed to the floor the appropriate distance away, and countershaft the beast to desired speed. As long as you have the two points fixed in line, you're good.
A long 2x6 "tool rest" and hand planes on the columns I worked with, though router jigs and such would also work. Keep the heel of the plane on the rest, skew and go.
I suspect that the pressure hull is of a circular cross-section and the flat deck is built on top not unlike a deck one might build off of the side of a house.
Thanks for all the replies. The submaine will be used as a plug from which I'll pull a fibreglass hull. Obviously becuase of this the wood doesn't have to be very hard wearing and will only be used for a short time. I thinking about glueing multiple strips (2" x 1" etc) together then turning that. The hull will have to be a solid.
The submarine will be a R/c Akula class if anyone is interested. The main shape of the hull is a teardrop shape, althought it does have a slightly flat deck.
I thought about making it in multiple sections, but wondered how easy it would be to get the all the same size.
With it being a oneoff, I don't really want to spend lots of money making it. If I was to make my own, what sort of motor am I looking at needing, and at what rpm will it have to turn?
Carve it from blue or pink foam, fiberglass it, and use solvent to melt out the foam. This is also the way many flying model jets are built.
FWIW, I live 40 minutes from Electric Boat, fly my little airplane over it, in and out of Groton airport, and subs don't look round. I've seen a bunch of them in sections and in drydock, and they all look oval shaped to me.
I suspect that a second hull is built on the outside of the pressure hull. The outer hull would be shaped for purposes of minimizing drag and maximizing roll stability.
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