Thread: Home made precision wood lathe.

Looking good so far.
!/3rd hp will do but is at the lower end.
I'd fabricate the whole lot.
But you could make timber patterns and get it cast from iron or aluminimum at a foundry

If kids (sorry Jeremy) are doing this at school it seems the future is in good hands.

I built most of it at a very good friends engineering workshop. I've done welding courses and just started a machining one at TAFE in my own time.

As for school producing good quality stuff - not my school, which is sad, but the quality of stuff is just really poor. Tolerances of 1mm etc on machined parts... It's nothing like the real world, which annoys me.

But I'm not a cranky old man yet, so I should stop talking like one!

Morris. I hope that I am seeing the pictures wrong.

You don't seem to have left a gap at the web and the bed flange to allow the locking plates for the banjo or tailstock.

Tailstocks are a bugger to make and even one off a cheap lathe is better than most fabricated ones, although I have done it. Cheaper to buy one.

The head stock is easier unless you want to put a morse taper in it.

With the exception of my 3000 all my lathes have been built by me except the big one. I designed it and had it built because I didn't have the time.

OOPs! Had a better look. You have.

Very nice job so far Morris. Do you have the machinery to fabricate the spindles?
I built my own lathe , out of wood. I had to buy the headstock spindle and the tailstock spindle. I bought replacement parts from a manufacturer. If you have a metal lathe at hand, and the knowledge to turn threads, you can make your own spindles.
Most lathes I've seen use 1x8 threads. The tubing is 1" in diameter and 8 threads per inch. A morse taper is very useful, # 2 is most common.
The tailstock spindle is easiest to make. I would use tubing with a #2 morse taper. Thread the outside of the spindle the same as the headstock spindle. Tap a plate for 1x8 that fixes onto the tailstock you devise.A crank can be placed on the end.When you turn the crank clockwise the morse taper advances thru the tapped plate. Two plates , one on each end of the tailstock would be best.Buy a live center for the morse taper.
The headstock spindle should have a smooth surface for the 3 or 4 step pulley. If you are able, mill a key way for the pulley. You ought to have the pulley on hand first.I had trouble finding a pulley with the correct bore for my lathe. The bore was 25 mm I believe. A machine shop wanted $40.00 to bore an undersized pulley that cost $35.00 if I had bought it. I made the pulley out of maple, bored a 15/16" diameter hole and mounted it with a setscrew. This worked out well, I use the lathe hundreds of hours each year.
As far as the motor is concerned, 1/3 hp will be fine for small spindle turning, too small for bowls though. If you have a 1/3 hp motor , use it. You can always swap out a larger motor later on.
You have done an excellent job so far, I hope I helped a bit.

mike