Author Topic: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners  (Read 1338 times)

Offline Duncan A

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Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« on: November 19, 2020, 11:04:48 PM »
I've just received a Oneway banjo for use on my Jet 3520B lathe. It is far nicer to use than the Jet banjo - easy to lock down to the bed and to lock the toolpost, lighter for moving around.
However, it was not cheap, and I was surprised to see a really rough toolpost bore, with some tearout in the bore and with a distinctly oval shape. The diameter is about 1mm greater in the clamping direction than in the sideways direction.
As said above, it does work well, but I'd be grateful to know if other owners have found the same poor internal finish and ovality.
I haven't been successful at getting an internal picture yet but the attached pic with a Oneway tool rest shows the ovality fairly clearly.
Both the toolpost and the bore are sized for Oneway's standard nominal 1" diameter.
Thanks in advance
Duncan

Offline Bill21

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2020, 04:26:55 PM »
I’ve heard a couple of negative comments about OneWay lathe components recently. I would have thought it’s a lot easier to bore a round hole than an oval one?

Offline Twisted Trees

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2020, 06:26:16 PM »
I suspect it is deliberately oval to allow space for the locking mechanism while making best contact with the toolpost
TT, AKA Pete, but that name is taken :-)

Offline Duncan A

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2020, 07:56:25 PM »
Thanks guys.
As stated, the locking mechanism (a follower that bears on the tool post) does work well. I don't really see why it needs extra space as long as it can come out of the recess and clamp the toolpost, but it may be something to do with that as it almost looks as if the hole was bored twice, once to produce a 1" bore, and a second time to ovalise it. Machining swarf is still present in the bore. Not a problem, but certainly not evidence of attention to detail.
Distinctly odd for a premium product which has an excellent design and claims to come from a company that is "into its third decade of state-of-the-art engineering and manufacturing of woodturning lathes and related equipment".

I'll wait to see if there are any more comments before deciding whether to ask Oneway to comment.

Duncan

Offline Bill21

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2020, 12:03:26 PM »
I’ve used several lathes and as far as I remember they all had round holes, at least there weren't any large gaps between the tool post and banjo hole. I’ve done an image search and found these of OneWay banjo’s with tool posts fitted.



Offline Bill21

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2020, 12:05:32 PM »
The images I posted above all seem to show fairly round holes although the bottom two are perhaps a little over size.

Edit: I found this video and it explains why the hole isn’t round. I’m guessing the top image I posted above shows a banjo before they changed the design?

https://youtu.be/xI2uwTZXeRk
« Last Edit: November 21, 2020, 12:16:53 PM by Bill21 »

Offline Duncan A

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2020, 02:01:53 PM »
Thanks Bill, that's brilliant - I can rest assured that I don't have a Friday afternoon job. As you say, it does look as if they've modified it from earlier models.
I did look on the Oneway website, but missed the video which, incidentally, seems to give all their trade secrets away!
In case anyone else is thinking of making a similar change to their lathe, it really is much nicer to use than the Jet original, but is taller, and the original Jet toolrests sit well above centre. Not a problem for me as I already have other toolrests but it's something to check if going down that route.
The only other possible issue I can think of is that, if using the bed extension on it's lower mounting points to turn larger diameters, the Oneway banjo is about 16" long, sized to suit a 20" lathe swing whereas the Jet is quite a bit longer - almost as if it was designed for their bigger 24" lathe and the height cut down to suit the 3520. A 12" toolrest (6" either side of centre) would barely cover the diameter (38"?) possible when using the bed extension on it's lower mountings but a 14" or asymmetric toolrest would be fine for 38" diameter.
The much improved clamping means that longer toolrests are far less likely to turn in the banjo when being used close to their ends.
Now I'm going out to the workshop to use it!
Duncan


Offline Bill21

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2020, 02:25:47 PM »
Glad you’re sorted Duncan. It must be a relief to know everything’s normal.  ;)

Offline Woodcrafts

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #8 on: November 21, 2020, 04:39:51 PM »
I suspect it is deliberately oval to allow space for the locking mechanism while making best contact with the toolpost
I very much doubt it would be drilled intentionally oval or you would have the same problem I encountered on a student's Chinese copy of the Union Graduate. The hole in that banjo was fractionally oval. This wasn't a problem when spindle turning as the toolrest was tight in that direction but when you put the rest across the front of a bowl, the slight gap allowed the toolrest to vibrate horrendously. It didn't matter how tight you did up the locking lever, the pressure exerted by a tool at the end of the rest was enough to move it. If it was my banjo, I would be asking for a replacement, or take it to a good engineering (Britisgh) and get it drilled out to the next 'standard' size up.
Regards,
Paul Bellamy - Woodcrafts

Offline Paul Hannaby

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2020, 05:18:53 PM »
Here are photos of the two banjos on my Oneway - a 2001 model. Both show the hole is slightly oval at the top. I measured both to be 0.5mm out of round but have never had a problem with either gripping the toolpost securely.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2020, 05:21:43 PM by Paul Hannaby »

Offline Duncan A

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Re: Calling Oneway Banjo Owners
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2020, 07:27:11 PM »
Paul B,
The Oneway video which Bill linked to explains that the hole is deliberately oval as suggested by TT Pete - essentially to allow for toolpost manufacturing tolerances between different manufacturers. It also explains explains that the hole is drilled twice to achieve this, which agrees with my own observations, so I'm perfectly happy with both the reasoning and the outcome.
I suspect the ovality you refer to on the "Union Graduate" was actually the wrong size or in the wrong plane with respect to the clamping force - hence the vibration.

Paul H,
Thanks for the pics - they look pretty much the same as mine and if they're good enough for you, they're certainly good enough for me.
Enjoyed your demo the other night by the way, some handy little tips in there.

Duncan