3. Simple homemade lathes

When I first started woodturning, my first machine only cost me ten shillings. It was made entirely from parts found in the local scrap-iron yard. Quite a lot of time went into the making up of the various parts which were mounted on a wooden bed but the reward was well worth waiting for. At last I had something with which I could satisfactorily turn pieces of wood into something useful and saleable, and after three or four years, I had saved enough money to buy an up-to-date combination lathe, that is a machine tool with a lathe as its basic form, but with various attachments which could be added for circular sawing, planing, sanding, etc. Now I was really set up in business.

I mention all this because if there is an urge to take up woodturning, or for that matter any other craft, do not wait until you have the money to buy what you think you require. Make it yourself and get started. It's far more interesting and you will soon have more knowledge of what your ultimate requirements in tools and machinery are to be. There are so many lathes on the market now of different shapes and sizes, that the amateur finds it all the more difficult to choose his tool, unless he has learned something about his new-found hobby.

The lathe I am about to describe is quite simple and cheap to make and will give any man or boy plenty of scope to learn his trade and gain confidence in the handling of tools. If you can pick up a secondhand lathe cheaply, of course, this is a very good idea in the apprentice stage, but, I repeat, don't let the financial side stop you learning a trade, craft or hobby.

For the bed of the lathe, we shall require two pieces 4 ft. long of Oregon pine, 2 in. × 6 in., planed on all four sides and mounted on edge 2 in. apart, either supported on trestle legs or mounted on a short stand in a workbench, giving a clearance of three or four inches between the underside of the bench top and the bed (see Fig. 4A).

Figure 4. (A) Headstock and bed. (B) Tailstock. (C) Tool rest.

The headstock should consist of a block of wood 2 in. thick, 10 in. long and 3 in. wide. This is placed in the space between the bed on the left-hand side and bolted and screwed through so that 4 in. protrude above the bed of the lathe. For the main shaft, all that is needed is the front hub assembly of a bicycle which is clamped down on top of the piece of wood forming the headstock. You may find it easier to assemble, if a shallow V-groove is cut along the top edge of this piece of wood and parallel with it. This will prevent any sideways movement of the bearing assembly. The front of the hub, which would normally anchor the spokes, will prevent end play. I prefer to use a bicycle hub for two reasons. In the first place, it has a shaft running in ball bearings which are adjustable, and secondly, the shaft has a thread on it which is the same as that found on three-jaw chucks fitted to some hand drills - all very convenient. Having clamped the hub assembly firmly down, a pulley can be fitted to the left-hand extension of the shaft and a three-jaw chuck on the right-hand shaft extension. Various manufacturers of electric drills, will supply driving centres and faceplates which can be held in the chuck, or again, it is a fairly easy matter to make simple driving centres from filed-down bolts, if you want to cut the cost to a minimum.

Your lathe is now taking shape and has a swing or dis­tance from centres to bed of about 41/2 in., so now we must make a tailstock.

For this we need another piece of wood, 2 in. thick and 6 in. square, with a step cut in it as shown in the drawing (see Fig. 4B). Two inches from one end, screw and glue two 6 in. pieces of 1 in. square wood to each side to form guides for the tailstock to slide on. This piece of wood will now be able to slip in between the lathe bed with 4 in. above the bed and 2 in. within the bed. Now cut out a small step 3 in. long by 2 in. deep, drill a 3/8 in. hole through the block of wood to allow a long bolt to be passed through to underneath the bed. Place on the end of the bolt a large stout washer or round piece of wood about 3 in. in diameter and replace the nut. You now have a tailstock which can be moved along the bed and can be securely clamped in any position.

All that remains is to fix a dead centre to the tailstock at the same height as the centre of the headstock. For a centre, we can either buy one or make one out of a suitable bolt which can be screwed into a slightly undersized hole drilled into the tailstock.

The tool rest is a real simple affair, but will do for our purpose. All that is wanted is a piece of wood 8 in. long, 3 in. wide and 1 in. thick, with a slot cut through it for 6 in. of its length. This can best be done with a fretsaw. This slot should be about J in. wide. At the end of this piece of wood and farthest from the slot, screw and glue, at right angles, a piece of 1 in. thick wood, 6 in. long and 3 in. high, shaped as shown in figure 4C. Place the finished tool rest on the bed and pass a long 3/8 in. bolt through the gap between the bed and fix to it a large washer and nut. The tool rest is now adjustable in two directions.

You may think this is rather crude but it will be quite strong and durable and will take quite a lot of knocking about. Agreed, there are a lot of refinements we could build into it, but I am sure that by the time you have tried your skill at woodturning, it won't be long before you start to look through various magazines and price lists, but this will help you to find your feet with regard to woodturning and your money will not have been wasted.

I have come across quite a number of people who have the idea that if they go into a shop and spend $150 to $300 on a machine tool it will automatically make them into craftsmen. In lots of cases they have not the slightest idea of the trade they are plunging into and are consequently very disappointed with the tools they have bought.

However, don't let me prevent you buying a lathe at this stage if you want to. There are many to choose from, all very good and with a wide range of sizes and prices.

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