THE BARE-BONES, MAKE-DO WOOD LATHE
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LEFT TO RIGHT Spindles?such as this table leg?up to 30 inches long can be turned down accurately . . . . By installing a faceplate and moving the tool rest, you can make bowls, too . . . . It may not be high-tech, but it's perfectly functional.
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This built for-a-tight-budget project works a lot
better than it looks!
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For most of us, establishing an effective home workshop is
a matter of patiently purchasing equipment over a long
period of time. True, new hand tools can ordinarily be
acquired quickly, but larger, table-mounted machines are
enough of an investment to send the amateur craftsperson
off to garage sales in desperate quest of a secondhand
bargain.
Consider the wood lathe: The basic models cost more than
$300, and even a used piece of equipment commands nearly
that price . . . yet the tool is so versatile that it's
usually one of the first to find a place in the serious
wood shop. Fortunately, a garden-variety
lathe—without a lot of fancy features—is such a
perfect example of straightforward design that an amateur
toolsmith ought to be able to assemble a bargain-basement
duplicate all on his or her own. To prove just this point,
MOTHER'S researchers Dennis Burkholder and Robyn Bryan
tackled the task and came up with the bare-bones,
low-budget wood lathe you see here.
WOOD YOU HAVE GUESSED?
At first glance, the fellows' rustic interpretation of the
familiar machine tool appears to be little more than a toy.
But a few of our staffers with some woodworking experience
to their credit have put the lathe through a number of
trials, and the consensus is that the timber-framed
woodturner is fully capable of handling most of the basic
shaping and finishing jobs encountered by the casual
crafter . . . at least until he or she can afford a more
conventional machine.
As you can see from the photos, our budget lathe's bed is
just a length of pressure-treated 4 X 4 supported by two
short 3/4·'plywood legs (we recommend treated lumber
for the 4 X 4, because it's generally heavier and truer
than its unprocessed counterpart). The headstock consists
of a bearing mandrel mounted on a 4 X 4 spacer, and the
tailstock is similarly arranged . . . except that its
center is fastened to a threaded-rod ram equipped with a
handwheel. The headstock spindle is driven, through a
V-belt, by a two-speed washing machine motor . . . and the
tool rest is an adjustable framework of slotted steel angle
clamped to the bed.
Just to see how much the lathe's component parts would come
to if every-thing-excluding the motor, which was a used
one-were bought right off the hardware store's shelves, we
itemized its every piece and came up with a grand total of
$57.16. However, since Dennis and Robyn actually assembled
the tool largely from odds and ends around the shop (a feat
that probably wouldn't be all that difficult to duplicate
in your own workspace), the entire lathe lightened our till
by only $35 or so. Of course, the motor drive—if
purchased new—would run at least $50. But it's easy
to salvage a working unit from a retired clothes washer
instead (ours cost a mere $10).
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