New lathe thread scioned from the old

Bill Lantry

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Forgive me, folks, but I didn't want to hijack Jay's thread. On page three, Bart said this:


"I know a professional turner who's lathe is a chunk of concrete oh about 1000 lbs or more with pillow blocks fastened to the top & I think a 2 HP motor turning I think a 1 1/4" shaft. He turns stuff one wouldn't dare put on a light duty lathe.
He probably has $200 or a little more in it."


Hmmmm...

As you may remember, I had a project to slow down my big lathe, which I had to abandon when I couldn't find a motor with a 4 1/4" 5/8" spindle. But...

I did do a fair amount of research on VFDs and 3 phase motors. Now, say I left the big lathe as is, and looked at the problem in a wholly different way. Say I wasn't worried about a tailstock? What's actually in a lathe? A motor, two pulleys, a threaded spindle with a bearing, and a face plate. And a way to keep an adjustable toolrest rock steady... Am I missing something? ;)

Do you see where I'm going here? It's a little crazy, but it's not the craziest idea I've ever had... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
What's actually in a lathe? A motor, two pulleys, a threaded spindle with a bearing, and a face plate. And a way to keep an adjustable toolrest rock steady... Am I missing something? ;)

Do you see where I'm going here? It's a little crazy, but it's not the craziest idea I've ever had... ;)

I do see where your going.....and I want to see more!:thumb:

:lurk:
 
Forgive me, folks, but I didn't want to hijack Jay's thread. On page three, Bart said this:

I did do a fair amount of research on VFDs and 3 phase motors. Now, say I left the big lathe as is, and looked at the problem in a wholly different way. Say I wasn't worried about a tailstock? What's actually in a lathe? A motor, two pulleys, a threaded spindle with a bearing, and a face plate. And a way to keep an adjustable toolrest rock steady... Am I missing something? ;)

Thanks,

Bill

Isn't that what a Stubby is? ;)
 
bill, i have a friend who built a lathe for turning outdoors...doing stumps:eek:
he used 2" shaft set in pillow blocks driven by a 125cc dirt bike....the gearing was easy for him to figgure out, just change sprockets....i think he spent around 150 bucks getting the shaft machined?......wrecked dirt bikes usually still run and folks like to get rid of `em for pennies on the dollar after they crash.
yup it`s doable!
 
well, we learn something new every day. For example, today I learned what pillow blocks are. I had no idea... I thought they were some kind of concrete block! ;)

For those of you who have never seen them, try this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/QTY-4-NEW-1-inc...ryZ11769QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

3f_1.JPG


But what to attach them to? It would have to be cast iron, I'd bet...

Thanks,

Bill
 
Bill my lathe is homemade, by my grandpa, and it has 2 pillow blocks that are attached to a weld up of angle iron. Works well. I've seen others that used inline blocks attached to hardwood. I will take some close up pics today and post them.
 
This is very cool, but I don't have a welder:

GalleryPopup.aspx


It's a nice idea to find a pre-existing headstock, and build around that, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a mounted pillow block solution. That would mean I'd need to find a 1" shaft, long enough to put a pulley on, some "stays" (don't know what to call them) to keep it from sliding out as it turned, Two pulleys (which should have multiple settings, since I'm told VFDs lose hp at low speeds). Is it too much to ask that the shaft be 8 tpi? ;)

The more I think about it, the more I think I need a welder... but they get a little pricey... :(

Thanks,

Bill
 
Bill the spindles from "scrapped" lathes can be found on eBay as well. I do like Tod's idea of going big though....may be a problem getting accessories like chucks. Although if you have a machinist make it for you, they could make an adapter as well. Maybe contact a technical school in your area and see if they need a "school project":dunno:
 
Bill went home for lunch and snapped these quick pics of my headstock. Pretty simple design.....as many say keep it simple stupid. (not referring to anyone here, except me):rofl:
 

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This is very cool, but I don't have a welder:

GalleryPopup.aspx


It's a nice idea to find a pre-existing headstock, and build around that, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a mounted pillow block solution. That would mean I'd need to find a 1" shaft, long enough to put a pulley on, some "stays" (don't know what to call them) to keep it from sliding out as it turned, Two pulleys (which should have multiple settings, since I'm told VFDs lose hp at low speeds). Is it too much to ask that the shaft be 8 tpi? ;)

The more I think about it, the more I think I need a welder... but they get a little pricey... :(

Thanks,

Bill

Bill find a good used one. I know a stick welder isn't the most desirable compared to a wire feed but they still do work. I got a nice variable amp Solar welder for $75 it has been real handy.
 
I just took this picture of my Delta lathe head stock.

I am really looking forward to getting the new base cabinet built with ballast in the bottom & wheels because then I can move the lathe out & have full access to turn outboard. Plus I get the challenge of building the new tool base.
 

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Gentlemen,

Thanks for the photos, they're very helpful. Jeff, thanks to you especially for clicking them on your lunch break. It's looking more and more like step one is going to be a welder. I remember reading a Bill Grumbine post somewhere that read 'Wood is cheap, wood is fast... wood won't cut it for this application.' That's not a direct quote, but it was something like that... I think he was building a lathe stand.

The problem? I know nothing about welders. Stick vs. wire, tige vs. whatever else... I have no idea. I did do some welding as a teenager, and actually worked in a foundry for a little while, so I'm not a complete idiot on this, but it's was other people's equipment, and it's been a long time. Anyone have any idea where I can go to get basic information and read up on this stuff? It would all be light duty stuff... I imagine the biggest application I'd ever want to do would be welding the kind of material Stu used for his lathe stand and his bandsaw. Usually, all I really want to do is weld some pieces of angle iron...

Thanks,

Bill
 
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