Comment by bradly
3 days ago
My dream is a spring pole lathe!, but it seems most people make there own, and my skills/confidence are not quite there to tackle that project.
3 days ago
My dream is a spring pole lathe!, but it seems most people make there own, and my skills/confidence are not quite there to tackle that project.
I built one out of home center 4x4 posts with hand planes, chisels, and a mallet. I did mortise and tenon joinery on mine, but honestly, construction screws and plywood gussets would probably get you there too. Go for it; you can probably do it!
Learning how to turn on one is a bit of a trick. A lot of good turning technique is body motion rather than arm motion. Standing on one foot while you treadle makes it harder to do the body motion well.
As an alternative, the folks at Tools for Working Wood have been developing a foot-powered lathe w/ a flywheel:
https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-LATHE.XX/Intro...
which kind of makes me want to repurpose my wife's (unused) stationary bicycle...