Rockler Lathe Duplicator

[rolly1]

Has anyone tried the Rockler Lathe duplicator? According to the web site it is suppose to fit a 12" to 20" swing Lathes. The manual they have posted says it is for a 14" swing Lathe. I am assuming it has to be modified to fit the other lathe sizes. I submitted an email to there technical help group but they were not very helpful.

 

[cskipper]

I don't have any experience with it but would appreciate if you'd keep us updated with what you find out.

 

[rolly1]

I turn a lot of peppermills and getting a perfectly matching set by hand is nearly impossible. The duplicator would greatly simplify this process. The rockler lathe duplicator will cut to a depth of 2 3/8" and duplicate work up to 39 inches in length. So you could duplicate anything from a bottle stopper to a baseball bat. The price is right too just over $200.00.

 

[cskipper]

That's good info. I haven't tried peppermills or anything to duplkicate yet. I just did a quick internet search and the price does seem about right. Let us know how well it works it you get one.

 

[NCPete]

Allen,
I have spoken with Rockler's tech support (real, live native English) and been impressed with the level of support available.



Edit: (native English should probably read native Americanish) apologies to our British friends.

 

[Ozzie-x]

Yes, keep us posted on this. I've looked at different duplicators and the good ones are too pricey for me to justify. A matching set of of peppermill & salt would be bad enough but try making 12 matching chisel handles-:eusa_doh:

 

[rolly1]

I was able to modify the Rockler lathe duplicator to fit my jet mini lathe with bed extension. I ground the welds on the base of the post on the support stand so that I could remove the post. I then shortened the post by 1" and turned a shoulder 3/4" in diameter and 1/8" long on the base of the post. this effectively shortened the post by 1-1/8". The shoulder was placed into the hole for the post in the support stand and welded back into place. When the duplicator was put back on the support stand the cutter lined up with the center of the turning diameter.

 

[Joe Scharle]

I have the Shopsmith lathe duplicator and it's easy to use. Made a bunch of stair spindles years ago. Just took a look on eBay, SS and some others are listed here.
Joe

 

[hpetty]

Haven't tried the Rockler duplicator, but years ago I had one from Crapsman (yeah, I know but it was almost 20 years ago). Here is their current version:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00924951000&subcat=Lathes

I also can't speak for their model either. But I can speak for the use of a duplicator. They are GREAT! I made a fair amount of money doing chair spindle repairs for a refinisher. I could turn out an exact duplicate of most chairs spindles in a manner of minutes using my lathe and the duplicator attachment. A lot of times they were made from scrap so what I charged him was almost total profit. Once you get the hang of using one, it really makes the often tedious work of duplicating spindles pretty simple.

I'll be following this thread to see if you get a hit from someone that has actually used the Rockler model.

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

I would be curious to know about either of the duplicators. If either of them would work well with my Delta midi lathe I would give it a shot.

 

[rolly1]

I do not think it will work on the delta midi lathe. How long is the bed? What type of work do you want to duplicate?

 

[JohnsonMBrandon]

Looks like the best deal for a midi lathe is the vega. they have a few different models to choose from though based on what you are trying to make.