New pulley for home made wood lathe

[Dennis Ford]

The original pulley for my lathe was poor quality (I made it) but has been working OK for about four years. I finally got around to making a better one (aluminum). I used an old metal lathe and a small horizontal mill that I have. I am not a real machinist but have learned to do some things.

[Bruce Boone]

Good job. I did the same for a small lathe I have that had a very wimpy undersized belt that broke early on. It wasn't a standard size, so I decided to make one for a standard V belt. Having cool tools makes all the difference!

[Bruce Page]

That's impressive. Well done!

[Stephen Pereira]

Very nice job. Is that an spindle indexing device?

[Dan Hintz]

Is that an spindle indexing device?

You've seen foot brakes on bandsaws? Well this is a finger brake on the lathe

[Jay Maiers]

Nice!
Could you share a few photos of the entire lathe? I'm been thinking about a small DIY lathe for turning knobs and bottle stoppers.

[Dennis Ford]

"Could you share a few photos of the entire lathe? I'm been thinking about a small DIY lathe for turning knobs and bottle stoppers."

This is not a small lathe! You could certainly scale down the parts though. A small DIY lathe may not make economic sense, small wood turning lathes are not expensive - it might cost just as much to build your own. That would depend on what parts you have available and how well you design around what you have to work with.

This is an older picture. The lathe's capacity is 22" swing x 28" long.

[Jay Maiers]

This is an older picture. The lathe's capacity is 22" swing x 28" long.

Did you pull that motor out of your car???
That's pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm thinking about something a little smaller.
While owning a small lathe is an objective, it's not the only objective. I like making mechanical stuff. I'll probably get as much entertainment out of the construction as I will the final project.

[Stephen Pereira]

You've seen foot brakes on bandsaws? Well this is a finger brake on the lathe

Finger brake..never would have guess that. What did you use to machine the grooves?

[Dan Hintz]

Finger brake..never would have guess that. What did you use to machine the grooves?

Just so there's no confusion, Stephen... I was joking. Pushing that thing down with your finger at speed could lead to a loss of said digit.

[Mike Null]

All jokes aside--it is a very clever indexing device.

[Dennis Ford]

Just so there's no confusion, Stephen... I was joking. Pushing that thing down with your finger at speed could lead to a loss of said digit.

It is balanced so that it won't fall down but I will likely add some type of spring loaded safety so that it takes a concious effort to engage the index / spindle lock.

[Chris Fournier]

This is the kind of machining that makes my socks go up and down - in house machinery modification and upgrading! Very inspiring.

[Anthony Diodati]

Did you make the Lathe Too?
Thanks,
Tony