Diy lathe instructions?

[stuckinthemud]

Anyone able to recommend a video or even post a "how to make" a lathe? This would be for small and medium woodworking.

 

[Orraloon]

The net is awash with home made lathes. Some better than others but there should be something there for ideas at least. If you are making one for the pleasure of making things then jump right in and have fun with it. If it's thinking that it will save money that may not be the final outcome. Have a look at second hand and new lathes first to get an idea of what is a sensible budget before starting.
Regards
John

 

[Jacob]

You find them in older books such as Percy Blandford's "Woodturning"
If you think how primitive but functional a pole lathe is, it shouldn't be difficult to improve on that.

 

[Stigmorgan]

Just search youtube, must be hundreds of diy lathes on there, failing that there's Instructables.

 

[Orraloon]

This shows a few options.
Pole lathe.
Using a Pole Lathe - How to get Best Results, Chisels to Use etc. - YouTube
Easy build but a bit harder to use.
Drill power.
Homemade Woodworking Lathe || Make A Drill Powered Wooden Lathe - YouTube
Still an easy build but lathe will be a bit limited.
Getting serious.
The Real Lathe Project (Pt1: Bed and Headstock) - YouTube
Thats the first part so I suggest watching the rest of the series. More complex build but getting towards a functional lathe. Likely be some costs involved.
Regards
John

 

[Fergie 307]

I would have to agree with Oraloon, if it's just for fun then fill your boots. If you are looking to do this to get a functional lathe and save money then it's very probably a waste of time, you will probably find it cheaper, and certainly easier, to just buy a second hand one.

 

[Peri]

This one is brilliant - but I'd still buy one

 

[Fergie 307]

I have watched this. Admittedly some of the ideas he used are ingenious, but if you know what goes into the making of a quality machine shop lathe, then the idea that you can replicate it using an angle grinder and wooden sled guides is frankly ridiculous. What he doesn't discuss is accuracy. The bed and associated parts on a proper machine are machined to an accuracy of a few microns, simply not achievable by the methods he uses. If you look at the section where he fits the saddle to the bed you can see there is, in engineering terms, a yawning gap between the two. This sort of approach might give you a perfectly usable wood lathe, where the tolerances are not so important, but not a metal working machine where you are typically looking for a working tolerance of sub 0.01mm or a few ten thousandths of an inch.

 

[Peri]

Yeah, I know - (I have 12 manual lathes - Colchesters and Harrisons at work, plus 11 bridgeports, a horizontal miller and a couple of CNC's) - but it's still an interesting watch

 

[Ttrees]

If making a pole lathe, then this one looks good to me,
although I've never used one.
Don Weber on the highland woodworker youtube channel.
It will cut to the lathe when you click the

 

[Fergie 307]

Yeah, I know - (I have 12 manual lathes - Colchesters and Harrisons at work, plus 11 bridgeports, a horizontal miller and a couple of CNC's) - but it's still an interesting watch

Oh I entirely agree, very ingenious and entertaining. Would be interesting to know how accurate it actually is. Probably be perfectly useable for woodworking.

 

[Terrytpot]

Obviously Mathias has one although doesn’t strike me as being as well designed as other machines he’s made.
https://www.woodgears.ca/lathe/index.html

 

[Wildman]

I have to admire his inventiveness, not a clock in sight, ha ha some really brilliant ideas. though I am sure he could have bought an old lathe for the cost of materials and electricity, but then he had fun building it who can take that away. What could he achieve with decent machine tools. I hope it is accurate enough for his needs and he is pleased with it, if not then maybe the funds from you tube could buy a decent one for him and this be used as a wood turning lathe.