Heres my first Lathe

Wayne Bower

Member
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854
Location
Des Moines, IA
Here is a photo of the lathe that I built from a ShopNotes plan (ShopNotes Vol13, Issue 73) that my son Jeff got for me. I made several faceplates, a doughnut chuck, and a curved tool rest to use making bowls. I did change some things as the belt drive cover as I did not have any plexiglass to make the cover as shown in the plan. The headstock is just a 5/8" bolt set in bearings that I got at Ace Hardware. Getting everything centered so the tail and head stock lined up was a challange. Here are a couple of bowls that I turned on the lathe.
 

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Very cool. Wayne. Like Marty said, it obviously works just great.

Stu apparently has some competition for the shop-made tools award this year. :p
 
You mean you don't have to take out a second mortgage to turn?

Very well done! Nice bowls too!

I kind of had my heart set on some new mustard next month.....I hope my wife doesn't see this thread!

Very well done!
 
Here is a photo of the lathe that I built from a ShopNotes plan (ShopNotes Vol13, Issue 73) that my son Jeff got for me. I made several faceplates, a doughnut chuck, and a curved tool rest to use making bowls. I did change some things as the belt drive cover as I did not have any plexiglass to make the cover as shown in the plan. The headstock is just a 5/8" bolt set in bearings that I got at Ace Hardware. Getting everything centered so the tail and head stock lined up was a challange. Here are a couple of bowls that I turned on the lathe.

Wayne,
great job. I have that issue, but I don't know that I could tackle that particular build. It is good to see that someone did build it though. Out of curiosity, what did you use for a motor?
 
That's a neat setup you have there! And judging by the bowls you have made, it works quite well! Cool lathe and beautiful bowls! Thanks for showing it.
 
Looks great dad! Glad you could get the pics uploaded. Those bowls look great too!

I just realized if you look close, you can see the price of the replacement motor in the pic. The first one didnn't last to long. If I remember correctly, he spent more than he thought he would, but as he says "I have braggin rights" because he made it himself.
 
Me too, I want to chime in on how great it is to make your own tools. I was reading on another forum where a fellow fat mouths a lathe because you can't do decent turning unless you have the "Quality" equipment and those "special" tools (all of which cost mucho monies) I say "Poo" for I have seen the works from a fellow who made his lathe from plywood and the project as well as the product was great.

I have always advocated that a man's work is a product of his talents not the price of his tools.

So glad to see your post. Keep up the work and keep us abreast of your progress.

:thumb:
 
Thanks for the great praise. The lathe has a few drawbacks for bowl turning. The slowest speed was around 750 rpm. I finially had to bolt it to the workbench to cut down on vibrations. All in all the project was a learning experience. The project would have only run about $100.00 if the 1/4 hp motor that I found on an old fan had not given up. Had to buy a new motor for about $95. The bowls that I turned on this lathe were done with a inexpensive set of chisels purchased at Woodsmith Store in Des Moines. I have attached a few more of the bowls that I did on this lathe. I have upgraded to a Grizzly lathe and that is what I am turning on now. I will post some photos of some of my bowls later.
 

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That's amazing Wayne. And coincidentally, a couple years ago I stopped by a house where a guy was cutting down a big sycamore. I asked if he would let me have a piece or two and he wondered what I was going to do with it. When I told him I was a woodturner he led me out back to his shop and showed me that very same type lathe that he had built from the shopnotes plans. He has since joined our turning club and has moved up to a 1642 jet. But I think he still uses his shop built lathe occaisionally.
 
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