The Workshop
Handmade Lathe
Mk1
First ever lathe made from a second hand motor, scrap pillar drill and odd bits of metal.
Mk2
On to a completely new design. I added a new bed from a scrap bandsaw, elevated the motor to gain space for a stepped pully to make it variable speed, and upgraded the tailstock.
Mk2
In progress
Mk3
There was not enough speed control with one pully so I upgraded the pullies to ones I salvaged from the old pillar drill. I also upgraded the bearings, and a new professionally machined chuck flange was added.
Mk4
Upgraded tailstock, made from a small pillar drill. Also new addition of a Nova chuck.
Mk4
A new paint job and a new stand made from 40mm box section
Mk5
After we moved house I wanted to make the lathe fully variable speed. I moved the motor so the centre of gravity would be lower making it more stable.
Mk5
I then had to get a new 3 phase motor that could be controlled by an inverter.
Mk5
The motor was mounted under the bed on a swinging arm for easy belt adjustment and tensioning.
Mk5
I programmed the inverter to work from a remote switch adding on/off switch, potentiometer and forward/reverse function. This all fitted into a dust proof cabinet fitted with a cooling fan and a pre filter pad.
Mk5
I built a cover for the headstock, added a speed display and a belt guard. Once I completed the improvements it was time to test, the lathe worked really well and is super powerful but the tool rest and tailstock needed upgrading.
Mk5
The bed groove which the tailstock runs up and down on was machined to ensure it runs true to the headstock.
A brand new tailstock made especially for me by Andy and Dave was added, and then to finish off a lick of paint to match the bed.
Mk5
Finally a new and improved tool rest has been added.
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Hope you have found this interesting or maybe even inspirational. ​​​to be continued........
