How to Build a Wood Turning Lathe
A wood turning lathe rotates a piece of wood mounted between two fixed points. The wood is shaped by tools held against the rotating wood and finished with sand paper. While commercial wood turning lathes are available, a homemade version can be constructed by do-it-yourselfers with some advanced skills.
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Things You'll Need
- Drill
- Metal cutting saw
- 1/4 horsepower electric motor
- 2 iron channels
- Shafts and pulleys
- Chuck or face plate
- Spur
- Bolts
Instructions
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1
Build a base for the turning lathe from two pieces of iron channels. Channels, basically U-shaped pieces of iron, are bolted together with the open tops of the channels facing each other. Spacers on the bolts hold the two channels apart to form an opening along the top of the base.
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2
Mount the head of the turning lathe at the left end of the metal base. Mount three or four pulleys on the shaft of the head unit of the lathe. Mounted to the spindle of the shaft of the head unit is the chuck or face plate. The center of the shaft of the head unit should be 6 inches above the base.
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3
Assemble the tail unit of the lathe. This unit sits on the other end of the base and is adjusted along the slot in the base to accommodate the size of the project. The spur or live center of the tail unit, the piece that holds the wood project must be at exactly the same height as the center of the chuck or face plate on the head of the lathe.
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4
Fasten the tail unit to the base by a bolt run through the unit and the slot in the top of the base. Tighten the tail unit to a nut and plate within the base. Loosen the bolt to move the tail unit along the base to accommodate projects of various sizes.
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5
Mount an electric motor at the head unit of the lathe. The motor, usually a quarter horsepower operating at 1,700 rpm, drives the lathe by a belt. Moving the belt from pulley to pulley on the head assembly adjusts the speed of the lathe.
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Tips & Warnings
Attach a tool rest to the base unit by bolts. The tool rest provides a place for the chisels to rest against as the project is worked. The top of the tool rest should be at the same level as the line between the center of the chuck or face plate of the head unit and the spur or live center of the tail unit.
The materials and effort required for this project would provide little or no saving compared to purchasing a lower end commercially available turning lathe.
