I just received my new Renzetti Lathe and would like to add bed. I believe I’ve come up with a couple methods that may work using conveyer belt U groove letting casters. I certainly would like to hear about a proven method/

Mie

Not sure what you are asking. Didn't it come with a bed?

Mike B asks a good question.

What is your definition of a "Live bed"?

Do you want the entire Renzetti rod wrapper to be able to roll up and down your rod bench?
Do you want to have a stationary wrapper bed, but have casters on a thread carriage to be able to use the casters to ease the movement of the thread up and down the wrapper bed?

Or what?

==========================
If you want your entire wrapper bed with the wrapper on top - to move up and down the bench, you can put rollers on the bottom of the bed, as I have done for my power wrapper as shown below:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Take care

Andy Renzetti built a version that allows the user to sit in one place and the bed moves right and left while the thread carriage remains stationary. It's a bit more expensive than the regular unit, but you might inquire as to the cost for a unit like that one.

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Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Andy Renzetti built a version that allows the user
> to sit in one place and the bed moves right and
> left while the thread carriage remains stationary.
> It's a bit more expensive than the regular unit,
> but you might inquire as to the cost for a unit
> like that one.
>
> .............

Great idea. As a wrapper of mostly longer rods, 9' and longer, I would need a much larger space than the current area I use. At this time I have my Renzetti set with 2-4' beds. My previous set up had 4-4' beds but I had to move from the area I was occupying.

That's the biggest issue with it. For an 8-foot bed, you'd need 16 feet of space to accommodate movement of the bed from end to end.

...................

Mike,
For myself, the change to a power wrapper bed was an evolutionary one.
This picture taken many years ago, was the first version of a movable bed on the wrapper that I implemented to began the move away from a stationary power wrapper to a movable power wrapper:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

To implement the movement of the power wrapper, I simply used board roller stands from Home Depot that are used to support long lumber stock when cutting and milling lumber.

With the ball bearing rollers on the support stands, the power wrapper rolled easily when building rods.

At that time my rod bench was a series of 3 four foot tables with roller stands placed between each table to allow the wrapper bed to move back in forth of my work station set up in the middle of the area.

Then, after I left the lumber wrapper bed and moved to the aluminum channel, I continued to use the roller stands, before I added the skate board ball bearings to the underside of the power wrapper aluminum channel bed.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Thanks for all the replies. I have 18’ to work with so using the Renzetti aluminum platform, I’m placing in it a channel of HDPE, for the bottom to run on and the sides are also HDPE, to keep it running true with minor side movement. I tried several router cuts of different shapes from round hold the rounded bottom of the the lathe platform. It works well, but creates a little to much friction, so next attempt is a bottom of HDPE flat and a side rail (HDPE) at 90 degree’s to keep in alignment. So the channel will be open but the bottom rail. 1/2” below the bench surface. If this works like I hope I’ll post a picture to explain and a video on how it was put together.

I’m putting the Flexcoat ac/dc wrapping motor on it, which is really sweet. Quiet and nice control with the foot pedal. I don’t understand electric motors very well, but the noise from a geared motor ruins the joy. I was looking at several motors and variable speed controllers, trying to find a motor that where I can control speed at 200 rpm for finishing, is there such a motor, or is it best to use a pulley system?

Thanks for the help.

Mike

Mike,
I would like to chat.
Drop me an e-mail -
hflier@comcast.net