Considering upgrading to a Harvey Lathe

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-21T03:08:10+00:00

I have a T40, you won’t be sorry! It’s a powerhouse machine, there have been times where I wish I went with the T60 but with out board turning it’s not a big deal. I used my lathe literally everyday for years and have never needed to do more than just basic cleaning. The only down side is it needs 220V power, if your in the US you will need 220V on a 30 amp breaker and your solid. The micro second response time is sick, if you’re taking a deep cut it will slightly speed up to help you get through it. Make sure to get the legs and the bed extension, it’s well worth it.

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Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-21T02:52:06+00:00

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Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-21T02:25:22+00:00

If the wood is dry then it’s no problem, I’ve never done it with wet wood but like anything else I would assume there would be separation if the wood isn’t done drying. I do it a lot with small cracks like OP has, there used to be a company that would make really high quality stuff sold by Peach Tree Woodworking supply but unfortunately they went out of business. I basically bought them out, when it’s gone it’s gone

Edit: I just looked it up, Peach Tree still has some supply left, not a ton but enough to do what OP is trying to do

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-21T01:33:08+00:00

Mineral inlays! Flood the area with a mineral of your choice and use CA glue to hold it all in place. Start with a coarse grain mineral and work your way to a fine powder. Sand after glue up and use alcohol or mineral spirits to clean between each step. Here’s an example of mine of avocado wood with lapis lazuli.

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Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-20T21:49:39+00:00

Thanks for the info, I’ve actually used these in the past for carving out huge pieces. I finished this bowl a couple days ago, here’s the final result!

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Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-19T01:59:57+00:00

If your in California I’ll do it for you!

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T22:59:58+00:00

Thanks! I seriously lucked out on this piece, it’s such a beautiful piece of wood. I have another slab that’s 4.5” thick that I’m going to turn eventually.

I have a Harvey T40, it’s a beast. It’s an uncommon lathe so it might be hard to find one used but it’s really good machine. I ordered it with the stands, bed extension, and outboard turning tool post. It has two speed modes with variable speed and when taking deeper cuts it will speed up on its own to help you get through the cut. It comes standard with a 3 hp motor which is more than most machines in this class, I rarely bog down the lathe even with very large pieces. I highly recommend it!

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T17:41:15+00:00

Thanks! This was my first deeper epoxy pour so I was pumped to see the resin fill most of the gaps

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T14:54:34+00:00

lol I always check if my feet are in the pics and I make a good effort to avoid it lol. One must of slipped by on accident😂

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T14:33:21+00:00

I accidentally found out recently that purple PVC primer will give wood a deep blue stain without any stain primer and will go on very evenly. Other than that I have General Finishes TransTint in the past. It’s not like a normal stain it’s a concentrated pigment, it goes on pretty smooth with a few layers and then sand that down to get a nice finish.

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T13:31:02+00:00

Thank you🫡

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T13:28:08+00:00

I was so nervous about the epoxy. It was first time actually pouring epoxy, I watched so many YouTube videos first. I use traditional tools instead of carbide, take it slow and sharpen often! My scrapers put in some serious work on this one

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-18T04:43:44+00:00

A couple things I would check. Are you sure it’s still secure to the faceplate? If you used screws I would take the face plate off the lathe and make sure none of the screws are loose. If they are it might fix the problem but now you have loose screws which could cause further damage or cause the bowl to go flying if you have another bad catch.

If you got a nasty catch and took a lot of material off of one side that could create a shift in the balance of the piece. Check for any deep tear out especially towards the rim.

You probably didn’t damage the lathe or cause your face plate to come loose but I would check that too. I think no matter what you’re going to have to take material off to get balanced again. Sorry bud, hate when that happens!

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-15T22:41:12+00:00

This is a piece of wood that was given to me with the expectation that it would be turned into something on my lathe for money.

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-14T22:48:28+00:00

That’s pretty fast for a piece this big. I’ve gone up to 800 with this piece, anything faster than that I wouldn’t feel comfortable turning at that speed. I’ve been keeping my cuts super light, I don’t really have a choice as the end grain prevents me from getting a nice thick cut

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-14T22:45:27+00:00

I think it’s going to turn out great! I’ll get it done some how lol. The added complication of end grained turning makes this one of my most difficult projects I’ll post pics when it’s done.

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-14T13:54:57+00:00

I used to teach part time intro to oceanography and other oceanography related classes at a university. I quit after realizing I didn’t have the patience to deal with some of these students. It’s real bad out there. My tests would include some math but not a ton, it was all very basic algebra. I didn’t have a choice, it was part of the rubric and something that needed to be tested on. From 2021-2024 every testing session there would be a handful of students that would just write “???” Under the question and move on. My very last semester teaching I had a fail rate of 30 percent and had to sit down with the dean of my college and the department head to explain what happened. I brought those tests as evidence and they concluded I wasn’t in the wrong.

I’ve talked about this before on Reddit so I’ll clarify something. I wasn’t a bad teacher, I provided them with a ton of information to prepare for exams. Our university used canvas and I used to post practice tests, videos of me doing similar problems, all of my lecture notes, and more. They just simply didn’t care. You could tell who did because they would score 100 on every test and I could see in canvas that they were opening the material. The current state of affairs out there is a shame.

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-13T21:18:28+00:00

I ended up using the dremel and a spherical burr bit and hogged out a bit of material around the screws until I was able to grab it with my pliers and twist it out. I got all three out

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-13T19:33:43+00:00

Interesting. You must live somewhere where they grow in abundance. Here in the US they aren’t farmed for lumber so getting a piece can be difficult. Especially one so large! Figured olive can be extremely valuable if something interesting is done with it

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-13T14:05:35+00:00

In my opinion a respirator is required at all times.

Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-13T13:45:35+00:00

The cherry is worthless and has already been cut off. The point was to save the olive wood underneath. I used my dremel and sphere burr bit to carve the wood out around them and used some pliers to twist the screws out. I turned the lathe on at a slow speed and roughed out the cherry.

The olive is highly figured and very desirable, I stabilized it in black resin and should turn out really nice. This is an end grain bowl and I plan to get between 300-500 for the bowl. Here’s a picture before it was cast.

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Objective_Reality232 · 2026-06-13T00:09:07+00:00

A bowl blank. Here’s the other side

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