So I really wanted a lathe so I can turn legs and other things for some projects I have on my (long) list of things I (eventually) want to build. Since I have all but abandoned my power tools, and I didn’t want to pony up the few grand it would cost for a power lathe with a large capacity anyway, I decided to build a pole lathe for about $100 in materials. The max capacity is 40 inches just to future-proof myself. The long length means that if I turn something small I have to anchor down one end of the tools rest. Right now I’m just using an F clamp for that, but I will come up with some other elegant solution in the future. The design actually disassembles easily into the bed section, two separate leg sections, and the treadle so that I can stash it flat up against the wall as I have limited space. This is actually technically a bungee lathe because I don’t have the space for a pole in my basement. Due to the low ceiling height and the fact that I’m unusually tall (making the lathe tall), in order to get enough travel I’m running it through a small pulley that hangs from one of several nails in a soffit that houses some AC ductwork. The other end is connected to a bungee that spans the length of a significantly heavy bench/counter. I was nervous this wouldn’t work well, but it works insanely well. The treadle has a swinging arm which allows me to easily reposition the cord around the piece I’m turning.
I’m honestly very surprised how well these things work. It is DIFFICULT though. It’s not so much the rhythm of pedaling and plunging the chisels – I work in music so I have plenty of rhythm. It’s more the slow speed necessitating that you are incredibly accurate with your chisel placement to take a fine shaving rather than scraping (which doesn’t really work) or getting caught and running a nifty spiral across a nice bead you just made. I’ve only had a few hours of practice with it over the last week and it’s a load of fun, and very quiet. The worst part of it was my wife rolling her eyes at me for building the stupid thing – and then when she saw it in action she did a 180 and exclaimed “so you can make a banister for the stairwell now!” Ugh. No. That requires a slew of skills I do not currently possess.
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