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- What's New: home page and list of updates to this site.
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Vim Scripts
- TagHighlight: highlighting of typedefs, #defines, enumerated names etc in Vim.
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- Bandit Colour Scheme: a colour scheme for Vim.

Metalwork
- Introduction: an introduction to the metalworking pages on my website.
- My Workshop: some information about my metalworking workshop.
- Mini-Lathe: improvements and tooling for my mini-lathe.
- SX3 Milling Machine: improvements and tooling for my milling machine.
- Harrison M250: improvements and tooling for my Harrison M250.
- Grinder: improvements and tooling for my bench grinder.
- Bandsaw: improvements and tooling for my bandsaw.
- Welding: projects related to welding.
- Miscellaneous: metalworking-related stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.
- Metalwork Calculators: a selection of on-line calculators related to metalworking.
- Metalwork Data: some useful data for metalworking projects.

Woodwork
- Introduction: an introduction to the woodworking pages on my website.
- My Workshop: some information about my woodworking workshop.
- Hand Tools: hand tools and accessories that I've made.
- Power Tools & Accessories: power tool accessories that I've made.
- Benches: benches that I've made.
- Furniture: furniture that I've made.
- Boxes: boxes that I've made.
- Outdoor Projects: outdoor projects I've done.
- Other Projects: woodwork projects that don't fit into the other categories.
- Woodwork Calculators: a selection of on-line calculators related to woodwork.

3D Printing

Software
- ARPCalc: a powerful reverse polish calculator.
- Digraph: a simple tool to make symbol entry easier when typing.

Useful Tools and Notes
- Google Maps to GPX: a tool to create route plans for your GPS with Google Maps.
- GEMF Format: a format for efficiently storing map tiles for use off-line on smart phones with FAT32 or similar file systems.
- Ebay Seller Blacklist: a browser plug-in to allow you to blacklist bad ebay sellers.

Wood Lathe Build Process

Page 23 of 39

4/3/2024

I didn't have much free time this evening (and most of what I did have was spent clearing up aluminium swarf), but I did manage to rummage out my old speed gauge and used it (along with the centre pip in an MT2 drill chuck arbor) to find out what the spindle speed was with the variable speed drive set to 50 Hz:

Looks like 1500 rpm to me. I also decided to live dangerously and wind the drive frequency up to 120 Hz. Nothing sounded odd (which was nice!) and the speed read-out shows 3450 rpm:

That's not far off linear given the resolution of the gauge. I'm sure it'll slow down a bit when under load (i.e. doing some actual turning) and I'm sure the slip will be greater at the higher frequency, but it does suggest that it might be usable over a decent speed range.

The drive has a nice feature where you can programme in the RPM you get at 50 Hz and then set the display up to show how fast the lathe is running at any frequency. I doubt it's doing anything very intelligent to account for loading, but it might still be a handy guide when I'm aiming for an approximate speed.

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