Building a treadle lathe

[Raymond Sprouse]

Well, I have been wanting to build a treadle lathe for a long time now. I finalized my plans and started work. I will be posting more information and pictures on this forum and on my site HERE (http://rizaydog.webs.com/) as I go along. Any thoughts and comments are welcome.

Let me start by saying that my design is based on Roy Underhill's design. However, I have made some alterations to his design to suit my wants and needs. I will point out my modifications as I go along.

Here is a picture of Roy's lathe:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa115/rizaydog/Roy2.png

[Jim Underwood]

This is also an interest of mine. I've made the flywheel, and glued up some stock for the head and tail, but that's as far as I got.

Will be following along! Thanks for posting.

[russell lusthaus]

Hi Ray

As coincidence has it, this past weekend I finished the treadle lathe I have been building. Currently going thru its initial sea trials. Took me about 5 months, but I work slowly, and much of the time was spent figuring things out, like bearings and the axle. If memory serves, Underhills lathe does not need an axle, right?

I took the kids to Colonial Williamsburg this past Feb - saw one in the joiners shop, and become hooked. I read Underhills article, found a few other plans on the web ala Adams and Schmeck, but most importantly for me was a bunch of pics I found from a few Renaissance Fairs. I built mainly from these pics. I found Underhills lathe much too "unattractive", too "crude" for my tastes. For me, the building of the lathe was as much a part of the enjoyment as having a lathe will be. So, I wanted mine to not only be functional, but it had to look good too (read here - fine furniture).

It is my intention, this weekend, to get some pics taken of my lathe for posting.

I am not a turner - as the last time I did any was in High School shop class. That said, I can report that it works better than I expected. I initially had some issues with the belt slipping out of the groove on the flywheel and pulley, but that was resolved with a new design (2.0) idler pulley. In addition, originally, it was very loud - but that was also corrected as well with the addition of different bearings in the idler pulley. I also snapped my first axle, but I think that was due to the metal in the pins being harder than the metal axle. A new axle with a filed down (softer) 3inch nails as pins works great.

I would be happy to answer any questions, exchange ideas, etc. I get the feeling that I will be tinkering for some time.

I am already contemplating adding Underhills scroll saw table. I am also thinking about adding a duplicating attachment of some kind so I can turn chess pieces. All a work in progress.

For the time being, just getting used to turning.

BTW - turning and pumping the treadle is something that one needs to get used to. It is a good workout, at the very minimum. So far I have been turning off the heat in the shop when I am going to turn a stick down to round and dont get a chill at all (even when it is 10 deg outside). Probably why you never see an overweight treadle turner. LOL.

Russell

[Jim Underwood]

Russell,

Heck yeah! Let's see some pix!

[Cecil Walborn]

Hello there you all. I have a thread lathe that I build and set it up at the local farmers market and it has gotten a lot of attention. It can be seen in operation on You Tube at CAW0924. I looked a lot on the web about thread lathes. I saw one on a web sight like the one in made so I made it similar. I had trouble with the wooden head stock to much friction and did not work like I wanted. So in the corner of my shop was this older AMT lathe. I thought this might just fit so i tried it and it worked. So I have been turning on it a lot. It is so much fun turning the old slow way. You learn how important sharp tools are. I am not done with the lathe i need to work on it more to get it to run as I want it to run.

Hope it all goes well for you and have fun with it.

[David DeCristoforo]

Ah... another glutton for punishment is revealed! That looks a lot like a medieval torture device!

[Ralph Lindberg]

I'll have to see if I can dig up a photo or two of the one I have... They are fun

Russell, it is a nice workout, isn't it? I took mine to a club demo and it was fun to see the turners not able to keep the lathe moving and cut. It really does take a little practice.

Although I still do most of my serious work on the power lathes

[russell lusthaus]

174517174514174516174511

I hope this works, as I have never attached photos before.

[russell lusthaus]

174523174522174521174520

OK, not quite what I had hoped for, but some pics came thru, although blury.

Here are some more - hopefully

174519

Again - sorry for my ridiculous showing - but, I did get them posted - so, I call it a good first attempt.

Some description - a shot of the front in the first post, as well as the bent in the axle and the linkage to the treadle arm, as well as too many shots of the treadle arm itself - not sure if you can see it, but there is a piece of leather nailed over a small hole in the treadle arm - the hole is used to oil the axle and the leather hopefully will keep it clean of chips.

In this post, you can see the idler pully, tail stock, and tool rest. The blue masking tape under the idler pully is just holding a piece of scrap to the side of the ways protecting it from the the rubbing spring used to tension the idler pulley. This is temp - I need to attach the spring to the idler pulley frame in a more permanent fashion.

Any tips on how to attach pics better or easier would be appreciated.

Now that I can see the posting (after editing) I will take some better pics for posting - any requests?

[David E Keller]

Pretty cool looking setup... I got a little winded just looking at the photos, so I don't think I'd last too long actually turning on that beast.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks for all the interest. And thanks for sharing your experience and photos. I am still working on this beast. I did make a lot of headway. I have updated my site to include some more photos with detentions. Have a look HERE (http://rizaydog.webs.com/) to see my progress. Sorry to make you click, but it is much easier for me to only have to post pic and text once. I'll let you know when I have added more.

[russell lusthaus]

Hi Raymond

I looked at your site and pics. Looks great. Very nice site as well. My lathe breaks down for transport as well - although by a different mechanism than you have chosen. I am a little nervous about its stability with only hinges holding the bottom of the posts. It may tend to rock when you pump the treadle- as there are some goodly amounts of forces being applied.

Mine breaks down by removing the bolts holding the ways to the uprights and removing the bolts which hold the uprights to the floor cross pieces. Ending up with the ways (separate pieces), three upright assemblies, and the floor cross pieces - and of course the tail stock, shaft, pulleys, etc.

Russell

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks for your response and concerns Russell. However, it is very stable even when treadling. Maybe you didn't see in my pics the long tenons that are at the bottom of the vertical members. This is where my stability comes from. You are right. If it where just the hinges, there would be a lot of movement in the lathe.

[Raymond Sprouse]

I made a lot of progress on this project over the holidays. I have added some information about my build on my website HERE (http://rizaydog.webs.com/) but most of my time recently was spent in the shop, not on the computer. However, I plan to add more soon.

[Reed Gray]

I have a buddy who made one, and he used a car brake drum for the main fly wheel. Fairly heavy and already spin balanced.

robo hippy

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks for the info Reed. I suppose anything round would work.

I added some more info and pics to my site. I plan to get this instructional done soon. It takes too long to make all the pictures and leaves me less time to turn. err.....

[Bill Rhodus]

I am also building a treadle lathe. I originally built my lathe to use a 3 ph motor and VSD but decided to retrofit a treadle and flywheel to see how I liked it; if I don't like it or I deem it to be too slow I will reinstall the electric drive. My lathe will swing 13 inches and is a little over seven feet between centers to enable me to make full length bed posts. I machined a steel hub and fabricated a 36" flywheel from materials I had lying around the shop. I will take some photos of the treadle, crank, flywheel components and upload them tomorrow. The attached photo is the flywheel before I machined the outer diameter.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks for your sharing. That sounds like a good sized lathe. Are you planning on doing a lot of turning on this monster?

[Bill Rhodus]

My plans are to dedicate this machine to longer turnings if I leave the treadle on it; if I reinstall the motor/vsd I will likely use it for all of my turnings. If I could steal an older quality machine that would be worth restoring (benchtop, cast iron) for 36" and less lengths, it would make the decision to leave this one as a treadle easier.

[Raymond Sprouse]

More updates have been added today.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Well, I got a lot acomplished over the weekend. My treadle lathe is basicaly done. A few more tweaks to go. I got some more of the plans done on my site as well. Almost done with that too... Come have a look and let me know what you think.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Ok guys. I finally got the entire plan on my SITE (http://rizaydog.webs.com/). Please take a look and let me know what you think. I still don’t have any actual photos but that will be added soon.
177999

[Raymond Sprouse]

Ok guys. I finally got the entire plan on my SITE (http://rizaydog.webs.com/). Please take a look and let me know what you think. I still don’t have any actual photos but that will be added soon.
178000

[Raymond Sprouse]

Any thoughts on the finished plans??

[Jim Underwood]

I tried to take a look at your site, but it's not loading tonight... "Cannot Find Server" message comes up...

[russell lusthaus]

I would suggest adding into the design some type of adjustable idler pulley so that you can increase or decrease the tension of the belt without having to snip it and adjust accordingly.

I would also think about removing the cross piece over the pulley uprights. Not sure about this though. Definitely needed for the stability they provide, but I fear it may get in the way of belt adjustments and threading the belt around the pulleys.

Lastly, you wont know till almost complete, but you may want a diagonal brace on the far end of the lathe as well - for stability and to prevent the lathe ways from twisting due to uneven floors.

Russ

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks for your Feedback Russ. Just to let you know, the lathe has been done for a while now. Stability is not a problem yet. Belt tension is still good and the cross member on the headstock works good. I left it screw together only so I can remove the spindle to add the cotton belt. Not too difficult. An idler pulley is a good idea. I thought about it but I haven't needed it yet, so I haven't added it. However, the belt will stretch someday, and I will be adding it. I have some other alteration to make too, just waiting for time to do it.

Thanks again

[russell lusthaus]

If it does not effect the "process to install or remove the drive belt" than I would think you want to keep the cross member over the head stock. Stability is stability - and if you have it, great. I have found with mine that too much tension is almost as bad as too little. With too little - the belt slips - with too much, I get tired very fast pumping the treadle. I use my idler pulley to adjust the tension when I change speeds so that I have just enough tension so the belt does not slip when roughing out.

I would love to see some pics of your actual beast. How do you think she handles?

I am looking to cobble together a duplicator for mine (chess pieces is my goal) - have you thought about one? If yes, I would be interested in your thoughts.

Russ

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks for the input Russ. The cross member does add a lot of stability to the headstock. This doesn't interfere with the belt unless you need to replace it. Then you have to remove the cross member. But that is only 4 screws so it's easy.

My thought was to add an idler pulley sometime when I get more time. I want to build a larger diameter wheel first that has more weight near the rim. Then I am going to need a new belt anyway.

I haven't thought about any duplicator for it. Sorry. I don't plan on turning much on this lathe. Just a novelty really. I give it some thought and let you know what I come up with.

[russell lusthaus]

You could keep your wheel, and still add the weight you are looking for. Some just nail sheeting lead to the rim - but that would be unsightly. I would opt to drill holes around the rim and stuff the holes with steel rod to add weight. If the holes are spaced properly, it could also be looked upon as a design element.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thats an idea I had too. I thought about drilling holes and pooring molten lead into them... We'll see

[russell lusthaus]

I have never poured molten lead as you propose, but suspect that it would be quite difficult to keep the wheel from charring if you try to pour lead into holes spaced around the rim. In addition, if your holes are thru holes, backing those holes so the lead does not run out the far side must also be considered.

I think stuffing the holes with steel rod, or lead shot, with epoxy, would be easier and safer.

If you do opt for the lead pour, please make sure you give a write up of the process. i have considered doing something similar in the past to a rudder (to weight it to keep in down), but it never happened, and I have always thought about what might have have been.

[Raymond Sprouse]

Thanks Russell. The thought did cross my mind but it was more/less a joke. It would be too risky to pour the lead. I am sure it could be done if you soak the holes first.

[Raymond Sprouse]

I finally got a few pictures of this beast. sorry it took so long and the quality isn't great.
179669179670179671