Drill powered lathe

[charlieart66]

basiaccly i have this small lathe in my shed that was orignally powered by elastic of all things. this lathe was made and brought for me by my granparents for about £70 , so it has sentimental value. the only problem is that i cannot turn fat enough, or turn the wood completely around i.e. half of the wood is uncarved. so i brought a small piece of metal to hold the wood ( looks like a router piece) which can go into a drill. the only question is what type of drill i need, ie what power also has anybody got a drill powered lathe?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

G'day mate, can I ask what type of work you're planning on turning? An elastic driven lathe? :oo: Well, well, live'n'learn... any chance of some pix to appease my curiosity?

A mini-lathe, specifically for items on the scale of pens and lace bobbins is normally in the region of 1/3-1/2HP (around 250-400W output), which is in the range of most good-quality hand-held electric drills... higher ratings are better, of course. (Chanting: "more grunt! more grunt!" :wink:)

But be aware that drill motors aren't normally designed for continuous use, nor to take lateral loads. Overheating and premature bearing wear are two things you'll have to take into consideration.

Personally, I'd be more inclined to look at making a belt'n'pulley system so I could hang the drill (I'd prefer an industrial sewing machine motor) off the back and be able to change it out with a minimum of fuss should the need arise.

[Frank&Earnest]

My first lathe, bought in 1976-77, was an accessory for the Black&Decker 420W (a bit more than 1/2 HP) 2 speed drill. I used it rarely for small things (I still have some 550 long spindles and 160 wide bowls made with soft wood) and discarded it sometime in the 90's when my father bought the el cheapo lathe that now you can buy for 75 bucks (it was about $300 then). I still have the parting tool, skew and gouge that came with it. Small but OK. The drill is still working... but they were more solid than the current ones built with planned obsolescence criteria, I think.

[tashammer]

Way, way back, during the time of burning out a B & D drill a week, beyond the days of Holgun and into the British breed, before B & D Croydon was even built there was...ACCESSORIES including a little "lathe" for the gullible that was turquoise in colour and possessing a headstock that could be removed and used as several other tools?

He rushed out and bought a little Marples turning tool set.

Set up. switched on, dug in (on pine).

Looked at my first bit of cocky-chewed wood (still pine - from a VW crate).

Tried to feel proud, but didn't make it.

Felt proud of thinking it was cocky-chewed rather than rat-gnawed (the rats teeth marks are finer).

[rodent]

charlie we realy need some photos

[charlieart66]

excuse the absence and the poor images
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