The aim of this instructable is to make a wood lathe from recycled and scrap materials and use it to make some lovely things.
Why a lathe? You can use it to make beautiful birthday and Christmas pressies for family and friends and to craft all manner of things to help in other projects. To make yourself a load of wooden kitchen bowls, plates, utensils, etc. To make arrows, door and draw knobs, staffs, axles, beautiful ornaments, flower pots, light shades... The list is endless.
Making a lathe is fun! Designing one yourself and using free or cheap materials is even better.
This instructable shows how I did it. I got ideas from lots of places on the internet (including other instructables - do a search for 'lathe') and formulated my design as I collected materials.
This lathe is made almost exclusively from stuff other people threw away or didn't have use for anymore, and a big part of the challenge is creatively using these readily available materials. You will probably want to vary your own design from mine, as you will inevitably find you can get your hands on different bits. Don't worry though I will try my best to offer techniques and advice (including where the best places are to get stuff), anyway it is much more exciting when you have a hand in the design process. I would love to hear what you guys use to make your designs.
A more complete and up to date set of instructions for this project and videos of the lathe, and other bits and bobs can be found on our blog at: http://www.floweringelbow.co.uk
I use some basic power tools in making this, and I meddled (carefully!) with mains voltage, so the usual safety precautions must apply. Always wear eye and ear protection when using power tools and lung protection when making dust. Be very careful and get qualified help (if you need it) with main voltage etc.
The lathe itself can be very dangerous, following good practice, and designing in safety, is the best method of staying out of harms way. I will hopefully cover some of these points, but ultimately you're doing this at your own risk, so please take care!
Why a lathe? You can use it to make beautiful birthday and Christmas pressies for family and friends and to craft all manner of things to help in other projects. To make yourself a load of wooden kitchen bowls, plates, utensils, etc. To make arrows, door and draw knobs, staffs, axles, beautiful ornaments, flower pots, light shades... The list is endless.
Making a lathe is fun! Designing one yourself and using free or cheap materials is even better.
This instructable shows how I did it. I got ideas from lots of places on the internet (including other instructables - do a search for 'lathe') and formulated my design as I collected materials.
This lathe is made almost exclusively from stuff other people threw away or didn't have use for anymore, and a big part of the challenge is creatively using these readily available materials. You will probably want to vary your own design from mine, as you will inevitably find you can get your hands on different bits. Don't worry though I will try my best to offer techniques and advice (including where the best places are to get stuff), anyway it is much more exciting when you have a hand in the design process. I would love to hear what you guys use to make your designs.
A more complete and up to date set of instructions for this project and videos of the lathe, and other bits and bobs can be found on our blog at: http://www.floweringelbow.co.uk
I use some basic power tools in making this, and I meddled (carefully!) with mains voltage, so the usual safety precautions must apply. Always wear eye and ear protection when using power tools and lung protection when making dust. Be very careful and get qualified help (if you need it) with main voltage etc.
The lathe itself can be very dangerous, following good practice, and designing in safety, is the best method of staying out of harms way. I will hopefully cover some of these points, but ultimately you're doing this at your own risk, so please take care!
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Signing UpStep 1: Acquiring the motor
For this you are either going to buy a motor, or scavenge and reuse one. Favouring the latter and more environmentally-friendly option, this instructable assumes you will scavenge one. The picture shows an old washing machine motor salvaged from a machine my parents were throwing out. These tend to be a good and surprisingly plentiful (keep your eyes out) source of one horsepower series wound commutator motors. It should provide plenty enough power to drive a small wood lathe like the one I am planning.
If you do get a washing machine motor try and grab the whole machine - then in the comfort of your own home you can take your time to work out how the wiring went. If like me you were on a time budget to get it away from your parents sub-Arctic outside shed just cut it out and get as much of the electronics as possible.
To extract the motor, turn the machine upside-down and you should be able to see the motor. It is now simply a case of unbolting it from its mountings.
These motors can be run off both DC and AC making them quite versatile little beasties.
In the picture I am testing the motor with a DC bench supply, made from an old computer PSU (power supply unit - check out Sitnalta's instructable). DO NOT CONNECT THE MOTOR TO MAINS VOLTAGE without any load attached. Series wound motors have no theoretical limit to their speed and the centrifugal forces can fling the motor armature apart! Even with a modest load a direct connection to 240V mains is a bad idea, as the speeds are likely to strain the bearings, brushes and frame - all of which are not designed for unlimited power without a hefty mechanical load.
Another way to test a motor of this sort without a bench-top supply is to attach a 1000W electric heater wire between the brushes. The current passing through the resistance wire should be enough to limit the speed of the motor.
If you do get a washing machine motor try and grab the whole machine - then in the comfort of your own home you can take your time to work out how the wiring went. If like me you were on a time budget to get it away from your parents sub-Arctic outside shed just cut it out and get as much of the electronics as possible.
To extract the motor, turn the machine upside-down and you should be able to see the motor. It is now simply a case of unbolting it from its mountings.
These motors can be run off both DC and AC making them quite versatile little beasties.
In the picture I am testing the motor with a DC bench supply, made from an old computer PSU (power supply unit - check out Sitnalta's instructable). DO NOT CONNECT THE MOTOR TO MAINS VOLTAGE without any load attached. Series wound motors have no theoretical limit to their speed and the centrifugal forces can fling the motor armature apart! Even with a modest load a direct connection to 240V mains is a bad idea, as the speeds are likely to strain the bearings, brushes and frame - all of which are not designed for unlimited power without a hefty mechanical load.
Another way to test a motor of this sort without a bench-top supply is to attach a 1000W electric heater wire between the brushes. The current passing through the resistance wire should be enough to limit the speed of the motor.
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Cool, post a pic and let us know how it turns out...
Not sure on the pvc front - if it is conduit, you may find it difficult to chuck up and turn without it flexing about a lot. A length of wood turned to size and pushed inside the pipe might help you...
It might take some experimentation. If you are going to try with hand tools (in the same way you would turn wood), I am not sure how easily it would be to take fine cuts on PVC without the tool 'digging in'. A fixed cutting tool and holder would probably be much better. Saying that I would probably give it a go - just make sure the cutting tool is sharp and you are using good technique (it makes a big difference as to whether you will 'dig in' and ruin the work piece or not) so practice on scraps first. Read/watch plenty of turning tutorials before you start making shavings.
Good luck.
I was lucky in that I found the faceplate with the old motor I used for the spindle shaft... It fit perfectly...
Good luck with you lathe - would love to see an instructable or slideshow of your work :)
Cheers,
B.
Thanks for the comment - good luck!
I actually lent the lathe to a friend about a year ago now. I have been thinking about making a new one, for turning absolutely massive stuff - one day...
There are mods I would do to this one, if I was building it over again. Like I would build in some kind of 'feedback' into the motor speed regulation - so that I could get better speed control under variable loads - It is quite annoying the way it slows down when you are roughing out a blank with some 'vigour'. And I did always intend to make a digital display of the spindle rpm, using the motor's built in tachometer...
Anyway, your post has reminded me that at some point I should get the lathe back from my friend - It has been away so long, it is now quite difficult to find a space for it in the workshop now ;-)
Are you planning to use scrap for you lathe? If you want any feedback on your metal lathe designs, I would be happy to take a look.
Thanks again, B.
Cheers, B.
Great instructable, too :)
It's great, although I'd also advice people inspired to be cautious, 1hp or 240AC can do a lot of irreversible damage.
Already made some bongos with it ?
No, no bongos yet ;)
Looked like a good instructable. Loving the solid state speed control. My lathe has a belt but the two pulley don't match so I'm constantly having to adjust the motor mount to get an appropriate tension when changing speed. Tedious.
I guess now you need a nice tailstock to turn between centres and you'll be totally versatile :)
Why don,t you read the instructable before shouting your mouth off.
Also cheap tools anneal easily when you sharpen them on the grinder, causing you to constantly have to resharpen the tools.
Making your own lathe is fun and can save you a few hundred dollars but don't screw around with cheap gouges.
Lathes are easily balanced and are often called upon to turn unbalanced jobs. It is called using balancing weights. Beyond that all lathes can be potentially extremely dangerous, it is just physics. So I'm not too sure what your point is with your comment. Personal vendetta against HF maybe?
I agree with Shantinath and Kearney's comments on this, but I would like to know in what way you thought it particularly dangerous? I could think of a million ways it is dangerous, but it is all about assessing the risks and making a considered judgement right? I have lots to learn, so it maybe you have spotted something I missed or didn't think carefully enough about?
thanks for the comments..
I don't often comment, and I suspect (without going back to look at them) that most of my comments have been critical. But I do mean critical in the full sense. I will always attempt to explain why I am writing what I have done. Primarily in an effort to allow an instructable to be improved.
You would notice that I have no Instructables - primarily because I have never had time to properly document any projects at the time. However, as for exposing myself to public scrutiny - that I have done on many occasions in other ways, so I do understand exactly how it feels to have someone comment on your work/concepts/ideas.
It would seem unfair to stop people commenting without having written Instructables as you are potentially ruling out the time earned knowledge and wisdom of people who may want to help, but do not have the time or perhaps the inclination to write their own Instructables.
For an example of the comments I have in mind, see my Instructable on making a new cord for a laptop power supply. People who have submitted no Instructables told me all sorts of reasons why such a project was likely to cause electrical shock or a house fire and should not even be allowed on Instructables. They were shooting from the hip. I finally got one of them to cease when I challenged him to place a glue stick on the hottest power supply he could find and see if it melted after a couple of hours. Meanwhile, I have had that cord plugged into my power supply continuously for almost six months and it works as well and as safely as the original I lost.
It reminds me of a story my mother told. She was a registered nurse. Another nurse who had never married and never given birth to a child thought the women in the maternity ward were just a bunch of whiners who needed to toughen up and quit complaining about pain.
Personally I consider carefully if something is generic enough to be of widespread use or not. I do lots of stuff, but most of it is unique to my situation and would be of no use at all to anyone else just how I did it.
Oh, and I was pfred1 but if you lose your password on this site and have a new email address I do not think it is possible to recover your old account. So even I have more than one Instructible, just not credit for them any longer. Ain't the Internet great?
Anyhow that is my perspective on the matter.
I'm unique, just like everyone else!
Maybe I should start a more straightforward website with the domain Brag.net? Because that is what a lot of posts here look like to me.
Then I could branch out with the name dontdoitthisway.com. I'm sure that could be a smashing success too!
Possibly I'm just overstatingtheobvious.org?
In any event I am not so quick to pass judgment on people who are not so prolific here for lack of those other sites to post to. They simply may possess better editorial skills than average.
I always prefer to recycle, When I build projects, And it's wonderful to see other people doing the same.
Great job.
RYE
or
http://www.floweringelbow.co.uk/2009/make-your-own-lathe-form-scrap/breakfast-bowl/
Oh and in Step 22, I thought you were going to eat clumps of sawdust, but then I read the caption.
I have a recent blog post on this. Check it out at www.floweringelbow.co.uk/blog/2009/10/20/oversize-turning/.
Not meant as an instructable - but may give a good idea of what is involved.
Look forward to more from you in the future.
I will have to look up these 'sunbeam mixmasters' - I am not familiar with them yet. Cheers.
Thanks for taking the time to learn all this, and to write such a great instructable (which I know is a big job in itself).
Steve
Still, great job and great recycling.
Jongscx, all the steel in this came from things other people were throwing away. Some of this involved a good bit of luck. I found that when I got right into the project things in the least likely places just seemed to pop up. So yeah, pretty much the only thing I did spend money on was some of the electronic components and they were very cheep really.
I've been keeping a scape motor taken from a broken garage opener. I knew I could use it somewhere. Now I know where it to go! Thanks a looooooooooooooot!
Congratulations on this build and thanks so much for sharing it with us. I'm quite gobsmacked by your imagination and building skills. I want to build my own but every time I go to do laundry it will be sitting there staring at me-- unfinished. ;o(
Someone is going to ask so it might as well be me. Do you have any thoughts on how you could get a Morse Taper into the head and tail stocks? I wouldn't even know where to start.
Anyway, thanks again for sharing your skills.
DD
Great job!
And the best part is, you can either pick a stronger engine and mill Aluminum, or, make wooden molds for Metal Casting, and, probably, finish the work on that Lathe!
It's great to have all the 'optional' bits too, that makes a basic lathe more attainable for some folk, while allowing others to build consider a much more sophisticated design.
All the best.
Do you think it has enough power to do small metalworking jobs? I have been looking at buying a lathe for a while but this may be better!
I think I have one, possibly two, good motors at home!
The most promising one would be a motor from an old blender. It's 1000W, 3 speed settings, and has some hefty mounting plates already on the motor! It works fine, its just that the jug broke.
Second is a small (read ~ 300-750W) motor from a milkshake maker (this it it here http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/5d/6/AAAADPPOpxwAAAAAAF1vWw.jpg). Might be a bit weak, but it goes fast. Too fast. maybe a small pulley setup (3:1 maybe?) would be the perfect combo: Power and torque.
I will keep you posted.
Da_Fudge.
On a side note, it does look like the motor in this build is a DC motor since it has brushes and most likely had some sort of speed controller but is probably integrated into the rest of the washing machine controls.
I should imagine that would work very well, though some things that come to mind:
1) I don't know much about pottery, but it might be a bit of an overkill to use a 1 horse power washing machine motor (you will have to put up with the humming noise it makes at low speeds. 2) If you did adapt this design, you might want to modify the speed controller to get better resolution at slow speed, and prohibit the higher speeds. 3) Have you seen http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-variable-speed-pottery-wheel/? They use a old drill and sewing machine foot pedal to make a pottery wheel (not a very energy efficient solution but would probably work well enough).
Let us know how it goes...
L
(Pop a "c" into step "Aquiring")