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The Smallest Workshop in the World

Step 14Bench Lathe Idea (later addition)

Bench Lathe Idea (later addition)
Mr. rickharris got me thinking the other day when he asked me “Where will you put the lathe? :-)”
That made me feel that the bench was kind of incomplete so it was back to the drawing board.
Wanted to come up with a lathe system that is made of wood and inexpensive materials that anyone can build.
 
Don’t know if I will build this but at least the possibility is there. So this is what I came up with.

On popular demand I revised my first idea for using a a hand drill as a motor and now there's a bench grinder to that place.
 
The Lathe I design is 39" or 1 meter long and can take up to 2 feet or 60 cm stock. Will be stored under the bench and you can clamp it on top either with clamps or bolts in threaded inserts.
Is made out of a plywood base, two 2X2 pieces of pine with t-tracks will be used as the body. 
A bench Grinder with a pulley is mounted on the base and will act as the motor (thinking of doing the same electrical modifications I did with the drill sander for speed control), a double ended mandrel with bearings and a drill press chuck, and a reverse t-shape hardwood with a threaded rod pointed at one end, some t-nuts and a wooden handle will act as a vise tail to hold firmly the stock and it will run on the two t-tracks of the body.  For tool-rest a piece of T-shape iron rod in a piece of wood with a groove and some wing nuts that wil hold it on the t-tracks could do the job.
 
Maybe another drill chuck in the tail end is also possible as well as a few standard lathe accessories to hold the stock into the drill can work even better.
 
Basically that’s about it, I think it could work.
I am sure there will be better ways to build it, but unless I get down to do a biger research and learn more about lathes I won't know.


BENCH GRINDER
Also now by using the bench grinder as a motor for the lathe I still have the other grinding wheel to use, so the bench now has a Bench Grinder also on it.


Now the bench has everything or is there anything else :-)

Stelios L.A. Stavrinides
Nicosia - Cyprus

Finally I did get to design a Bench Lathe 3 in 1 and you can find it in my instructable here: 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bench-Lathe-3-in-1-Lathe-Sander-GrinderSharp/

Also to complete the set-up I needed a dust collection system and I choose to build a mini cyclone bucket dust collector which you can see here.
 
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21 comments
Nov 12, 2011. 7:17 PMshagmaster473 says:
Had a thought on the lathe. You could use the motor out of a tread mill. You can control the speed which I think would work great for a lathe.
Nov 13, 2011. 2:21 AMdiykiwibloke says:
My total and unreserved compliments and appreciation for the way you thought out this marvellous workstation AND for a superb and beautifully detailed instructible. Well done steliart
Jul 25, 2010. 11:20 PMthegreat58 says:
I've been working with wood my whole life, and have every tool known to man. I've been thinking of down sizing and this is an absolutey brilliant solution.
Sep 1, 2010. 10:00 PM2 stroke says:
can you tell em how to make a bech grinder would it be saf t o install a an angle grinder on the side of my bench and i was thinking of making a stand for a angle grinder to cut metal and a cart for my welder i really like you jigsaw idea since i am not good at woodwork and sawdust gives me serious allergies i build every thing out of metal
Sep 2, 2010. 11:39 AM2 stroke says:
thanks am going to build that out of s quare tubing or i am going to by a chop saw or angle grinder stand
May 7, 2010. 2:55 PMCeltic Davey says:
Great ideas I'm very impressed the power tool bench could work very well in the back of a van, roll out work shop! slightly smaller with larger extensions and  every thing quickly removable to leave more work space for each machine as its being used??? thats me busy for the next few days thanks for taking the time to post your ideas.
May 3, 2010. 9:45 AMharvey639 says:
 thanks for your help!!!
could you email me the pics and list of components 

speh5561@gordonstoun.org.uk
May 1, 2010. 11:05 AMdumi_bogdan says:
Dear friend,
I enjoyed very much your plan and I DO have to tell you that this is a great plan. I love every part of it from top to bottom. I to have considered myself making a workbench that would be compact, hold all the necessary tools and still give you the space you need to work around it while doing your woodworking.
I do have only one question which is kinda stupid dough and not related... I saw the plan for the lathe... what program did you used for that drawing?
Nothing but the best

Dumi
May 1, 2010. 9:08 AMkleinjahr says:
Nice build. Some good ideas there.I hadn't thought of using a scissor jack for a router lift. Though it does look like you've blocked the motor air  vents for the router, could get expensive if you have. I really like the guard you've made for the sabre/jig saw, very well done. I did something similar, benchtop sabre saw sanding station( an old PM design), some years back., didn't have theguard. The problem with the sabre saw was vibration and the saw kept sliding out of the holding clips when feeding in the work. The latter was a simple and obvious fix, but never did solve the vibration problem .
 That is a nice lathe set up you've designed, but might  I suggest mounting the motor on a hinged plate? This will make it easier to change speeds and also provide tension for your belt.
 Your assembly table idea has been around for sometime, how did you secure it to the sawhorses?  If it is just sitting on top of them, not to secure. I noticed you have a workmate type folding clamp bench in the background. If you have two,then a couple of  appropriately spaced cleats on your table top will clamp in nice and tight.
All in all, a very nice build.
Apr 30, 2010. 1:34 PMcorter0id says:
Realmente sos un genio. Te felicito!!!
Apr 29, 2010. 8:34 PMwbchaney says:
Awesome project and awesome instructable, steliart!  It looks like you've been writing for one of my favorite magazines, which is online at www.thefamilyhandyman.com

Keep up the great work!
Apr 29, 2010. 5:24 PMkrakllc says:
Very cool project. One thing to consider for your lathe is that the drill is not meant to have much lateral force applied it. So you may want to consider a sturdy bearing setup with a through rod. You could than connect the drill to the through rod. Or use belts and pulleys to transfer the power. However a drill’s motor will blog down under loads as well. So you might be back to using the benchtop grinder for a power source.
Apr 29, 2010. 11:54 AMwirzcat says:
You could mount the bench grinder on the workbench and use it to power the lathe.  The motor on it is better for that purpose, as the drill motor is not designed for constant high speed use.  Remove the wheel + housing from one side of the grinder, mount a pulley, and add a belt to the lathe. 
Apr 29, 2010. 1:28 PMwirzcat says:
It might be worth getting one good motor and mount it under the table on an adjustable mount.  Adding a spring to keep constant tension helps; many car engines have these tension units.
Pulley drive was very common in 1940-1970 as most devices were not direct drive as a modern bench grinder.
You can make a grinder with an mandrel like this:
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?c=&p=32960&cat=1,43072,45939
You can power the lathe with it also by removing the grinder belt and putting on the lathe belt. 
Sanding discs, sanding drums, buffer pads, wire wheels and other items can be mounted on those mandrels.  Very useful method.

Apr 29, 2010. 1:01 PMoptimusprimesqrt6 says:
Very well made and planned......my hat off to you sir......

OPsqrt6
Apr 29, 2010. 11:47 AMtacuato says:
Looks really cool, congratulations. Obi Wan Kenobi
Apr 27, 2010. 5:13 AMharvey639 says:
 i totally agree it is really good!!!!! :)
can you send me the wiring diagram for the drill sander control box?
Apr 29, 2010. 9:00 AMkillersquirel11 says:
What it looks like he did was connect the fast/slow switch on the box to the fast/slow switch on the sander, the rotary knob to the trigger inputs, the on/off could either be controlling via the drill or in the box, and the CW/CCW switch is once again connecting to a switch in the drill.  (Unless I am mistaken, they had to dismantle the drill and do some soldering)
Apr 27, 2010. 1:51 PMdigimancer says:
 You have got to build this lathe... I just wonder how on earth you would keep it from ripping itself apart...
Apr 26, 2010. 6:26 PMlaurentio86 says:
You have all my respect
Your workshop it's awesome

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Author:steliart(Stelios L.A. Stavrinides)
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