Mini lathe: mega cheap

[Jason Rodgers]

Gah! What are you guys doing to me?! I can't, simply cannot, get another tool that will pull me any further away from the mounting stack (they're literally in stacks) of incomplete instruments in my shop.

You've all given me much to ponder and more to research. Thank you!

[Chuck Tweedy]

The trick, my friend, is not not start new projects until the current project is complete.
You should see my back yard!

[David Bingham]

I've used the Taig and it's a fine machine for small precision parts. The cranks are tiny and even with the riser block you don't have a lot of swing over the bed. For what you are doing that's probably not an issue but the standard bed might not be long enough. The 7 x 12 is more versitile and you can cut threads on it but there tends to be a little more play to things so it takes a some care to make really accurate cuts. A drill press will do in a pinch but the bearings are not designed for side loading and if you use it very much it will start to wobble. Also, the chuck on a lot of drill presses are held in by friction via a simple morse taper. If the chuck comes loose while you're turning with it you can get what I like to call a "surprise".

[David King]

What's it going to take to finish up those instruments then? I think we all have stacks of unfinished projects waiting for a compelling reason to get back to work on them. Should we all dress up in scary costumes of luthiers past and come knocking?

[Jason Rodgers]

The trick, my friend, is not not start new projects until the current project is complete.
You should see my back yard!

Yeahbut, it's so FUN to start new projects!

A drill press will do in a pinch but the bearings are not designed for side loading and if you use it very much it will start to wobble. Also, the chuck on a lot of drill presses are held in by friction via a simple morse taper. If the chuck comes loose while you're turning with it you can get what I like to call a "surprise".

Yes, with all the thicknessing I do with a Wagner and sanding discs on the drill press, I worry that this task is going to over-task a tool that is central to many processes in my shop. And yes, I've gotten a few "surprises" myself when the chuck drops. Scares the bajeezus right out of you, and usually wrecks whatever you're working on. Fortunately, it just goes "thunk-rattle-rattle" and doesn't get airborn.

What's it going to take to finish up those instruments then? I think we all have stacks of unfinished projects waiting for a compelling reason to get back to work on them. Should we all dress up in scary costumes of luthiers past and come knocking?

Actually, this past summer was supposed to be the summer of catching up. Even with the two new mandos, I was going to close the box on my daughter's guitar and glue up a laminated neck for the electric. But at the start of August, the humidity jumped up to 60%-65% and wouldn't calm down. Then school started and I missed my window.

[Chuck Tweedy]

Back from trick-or-treating are we?

[David King]

I wouldn't be too worried about drill press bearings. They are cheap and relatively easy to replace if the need arrises. Using the table as a tailstock will eliminate the possibility of the chuck dropping during lathe work.
I bought a new 70 pint dehumidifier this spring and it has allowed me to work all summer. I should have done it years ago. It literally hasn't stopped running since I plugged it in (and my electricity bill has doubled) but for the first time ever my shop has maintained a consistent 50% RH. I'd like to get that down to 45% but I'll need to rejigger the basement and plastic-wrap the whole place to accomplish that.

[Clay Schaeffer]

" my electricity bill has doubled) but for the first time ever my shop has maintained a consistent 50% RH. I'd like to get that down to 45% but I'll need to rejigger the basement and plastic-wrap the whole place to accomplish that."


Why not plastic wrap a section of it big enough for a work bench and what you are working on? Balancing the "production costs" against the small "returns" is something I try to do ( just not too successfully).

Hi Jason,
I bought a couple of those safety planer devices at a yard sale but didn't have much luck with them. What is the best way to set them up?

[Craig Bumgarner]

This thread prompts me to ask who might be able to make small parts with a lathe on a production basis. So as to not hi-jack the thread, I opened a new one here:

http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2628

[Jason Rodgers]

Well, I got all jazzed up on these little lathes, but as I keep reading, I realize I don't know what I don't know about lathes and the various accessories. Before diving in and making a purchase I will study up on them a bit.

For what I need, I'm also considering building something: there is a lot on the interwebs about building historical treadle lathes, not to mention DIY versions of modern tools. I've seen some headstock/tailstock assemblies on ebay that could be loaded into a simple body. When using spindle adaptors, even rod material could be used for spindles. But as I say, more research is needed. And of course, I'll post it here!

[Clay Schaeffer]

Wood turning lathes are one of the simplest machines to cobble together. All that is needed are two centers and a method to spin the work between them. No great precision is needed aligning the centers as turning the wood will find the line between them. Pole lathes like the wood bodgers used are even simpler than treadle lathes. Two nails for centers and a piece of string wrapped around the work piece to spin it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfRRrJMdWKI

[Jason Rodgers]

"Bodgers"? Don't know if I want to meet those guys in a dark alley!

Wow, maybe I'm making too big a deal of this. The kid has some long ballet rehearsals this weekend: perhaps I'll go shopping.

[Jason Rodgers]

Headed over to the neighborhood Ace yesterday while the kid was dancing and picked up pert near all of the necessary hardware for less than $20. When I got home, I went on amazon and purchased the pulleys for about $15 plus shipping. Picked up a small motor at an estate sale last summer that will work well. Now, I'm doing a bit of layout on some cherry that I have. Perhaps some pictures by the end of the day.

The last burst of inspiration came from this page on woodgears of a reader-submitted lathe. http://woodgears.ca/reader/richard/lathe.html

[David King]

Getting a straight piece of shafting for the spindle is always a challenge. I take it you made out OK? Precision ground shafting is pretty reasonable but if it's hardened it is well neigh impossible to machine.
My first working lathe was a home-made, wood frame miniature about 4" long with clearance of about 3/4". I powered it with a model boat motor and 4 AA cells. My spindle was a length of coat hanger, pulleys came off a plastic model car's engine. It fit in a shoe box that I could hide under my bed and pull out after dark. Some kids read in bed with a flashlight. I turned out model car, plane and boat parts. To each his own I guess. Getting a Unimat shortly after that was like being dropped into a candy coated space station.

[Jason Rodgers]

And you still keep all the tools under your bed... well, in the basement!

But no, I'm going "mega cheap," as several DIY examples on the web have demonstrated, and am using 1/2"-13 threaded rod. I know, I know, it seems a little crazy, but I'm not turning parts for Boeing. If it is too wobbly, I'll figure out something else. I think it'll work for my purposes, though.

Here's what I did today...

A bit of layout.

Hogged out some material with forstners.

Cut away waste.

Drilled out the "headstock." This seems huge, but I got some 1-3/8" diameter flanged ball bearings that will fit these holes.

And cleaned up the curves on the OSS.

I'm off tomorrow, so I'll get some more time in the shop. Until the pulleys come, though, it'll just be more shaping and finishing of the body and maybe a knob for the tailstock. I'm waiting to drill out the bore for the tailstock until I get the headstock assembled and can extend the line of the shaft to locate the appropriate point. More to come!

[Chuck Tweedy]

This is good!
What you are building is going to be better than that thing built on an aluminum extrusion.
Just make sure its not too light and resonant. In other words, the opposite or a musical instrument. Real lathes have cast-iron beds for a reason.

[David King]

It's going to be a work of art! If ever you retire it from lathe work it'll make a great pickup winder

[Jason Rodgers]

Glad you like it, David. And here I though you were going to scold me for using the threaded rod. I will, however, allow you to reserve an "I told you so" for later.

Yes, Chuck, I think this will be sturdy enough for its intended puprpose. That gullet in the headstock gets down to 1/2" of the base to make room for the 3-1/2" pulley, so I will laminate another piece of cherry or maple or oak to the bottom. Then, the whole thing will be bolted to a base plate along with the motor that can be clamped to the bench in use. When it comes to the size of material that I'll be turning, it will be the equivalent of one joint of a pen. I even use a CA finish like the pen turners do.

[Jason Rodgers]

Got into the shop for a few hours this morning.

A little time on the Dremel with a cutoff wheel and some filing on a coupler nut and, voila, a spur chuck. A sharpened piece of threaded rod or bolt will provide the center point.

I've been spending a lot of time on woodgears and I got the idea to make my own knobs. It was very quick and simple. First, I drew a 2" diameter circle with a compass on some 4/4 maple. Then I marked out the 90 and 45 deg angles all around. A 1/2" bit makes the scallops and a 3/4" forstner (chiseled out) center hole for the nuts. Then, I sliced the maple chunk for the thickness of the knobs to get two matched knobs. Finally, I cut around the perimeter, bisecting all the 1/2" holes, which frees the two pieces from the slab. The knob on the left is thicker and will be fixed to the threaded rod of the tailstock to advance and retreat; the knob on the right is thinner and locks the shaft once the dead center is engaged in the work. The nuts will eventually be epoxied in place.

I also did some sanding on the lathe body. Before assembling everything, I'll give it all a splash of shellac. The pulleys should be here sometime this week.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Looking good Jason!
But you may want to rethink the spur chuck design. Most spur chucks have 4 spurs located 0,90,180,270 degrees. This allows a person to cut an "X" in the end of a turning square and place it in the spur chuck and lightly seat it with a mallet. On a small lathe, without a removable tailstock the mallet becomes more problematic, so cutting an "X" becomes a little more critical. Pushing the wood onto the spur chuck with the tailstock or cutting three slots may be doable, but if it was me (and it's not ) I would remake it.
The knobs look cool!