duplicator
 

I am considering purchasing a vega duplicator. does it have to be taken off if you are cutting a plug by hand? or is it better to make a homemade duplicator? thanks Chuck

yes but some mount it on back side upside down so that does not have to be the case. Also Charleston has a setup, do a search, to make it an easy off and on if you prefer that. paul

It actually isn't that tough to take it off anf put it back on....I can probably do it in 2 minutes or less.....Its Just 2 bolts.

I have one mounted on a Jet mini lathe. I leave the vega attachment on the Jet and just pull the dup off the mounts (two bolts) when I want to turn by hand. Once you have the vega set up, tested, and tweaked so that it is perfectly square and aligned, take two small hose clamps and put one on each of the stems of the vega where it attaches to the base. When you need to remove, you undo the two bolts, and then lift off the dup. To put the dup back, reverse the process. By leaving the mounting brackets on the lathe and having the hose clamps as stops for the dup, takes all of 20 seconds to remove or install. If that does not make sense, I can take a few photos this evening and post them for you.

Jigman

yes and no.... but (got this from pbadad)...i use round allen key adjustable collars on the 2 mounting stems (that slide in and out of mounts connected to lathe) which keeps the height set so i dont have to readjust it every time, slip it on and off, works like a charm! another option for you....sounds like jigmans set-up, here's some pix of mine

I use that same method, collars. With teh tool rest mount inbetween the mounting straps for the duplicator you're ready to turn by hand.

I. had a couple pictures but for some reason my photos will not upload to this site.

Jig Man; my collars are custom made of stainless steel. :grins:

My set up is similar to what ChefJeff posted, except I use hose clamps instead.

I would expect nothing less :grins: Mine were 50 cents for both. With the money I saved over stainless, I got beer :buds:

Jigman

beer is better than stainless. just ask VB

Ya, well mine were free so I got more beer. :buds:

There's beer?

Well, there was beer until that Charleston guy ho'd it all :smash: Remind me to introduce some termites to his walker next time I see him :tooth:

Jigman

My walker is aluminum. :wave:

oh yeah you owe me a beer

Who is you?

I bought my collars at Mc Master Carr....the picture with the collars is hard to see.. I thought I had a better picture on file... once set up it takes only seconds to remove the dupe, or set it back up..

How did you attach the aluinum angle iron to the tool rest?

Drill and tap..loc-tite the screws..

Nice work shop set up Joe.

Nice, thanks!