6 Homemade Wood Lathe Plans and Designs
Many of you have considered building or making your own homemade wood lathe. Here are six designs to get you started making your own lathe.
Why build your own lathe?
- Money saving
If your a little bit handy and spend a little time planning you could save hundreds if not thousands of dollars by building your own lathe.
- A Manufactured option does not exist
If you need a very large bowl lathe or a really long bed lath, buying a wood lathe may not be an option.
- It’s just plain cool
Lets face it building your own woodworking machines is just plain cool!
Photo: Taunton Press
“When George Archer decided to upgrade his Shopsmith lathe to something that could handle larger projects, he didn’t browse the tool catalogs. Instead, he built his own.
“It does great,” said Archer, a retired engineer from Savannah, Georgia, who cobbled together a heavy-duty bowl turning lathe from $100 of purchased and found parts. “So far, so good.”
What inspired Archer to build his own lathe rather than buying a commercial one? “Probably the $2,000 difference in cost,” he said. Another likely contributor is his engineering prowess. The hobby woodworker spent many years engineering parts for air-conditioning systems.”
Via: Matt Burger, Fine Woodworking Homemade Lathe on a Budget.
Photo: George Farrel
“The woodturning lathe described here and pictured above is the 4th homemade lathe that I will have built. The frame should be constructed of hardwood (maple is excellent but expensive). In the southeastern states of the US, southern yellow pine is an excellent substitute. Pressure treated lumber is usually southern yellow pine, but is not recommended unless it is carefully chosen to be clear and knot free, quarter-sawn and with no heartwood. The primary reason for choosing something else is that when purchased it is usually saturated with water, so if you decide to use it, it should be stored in a warm dry place long enough to dry out. It is the cheapest solution, and the drying time can be substantially reduced if you use one inch boards. Birch plywood is an expensive alternative but has the advantage of being very stable and already dry, and certainly much easier to use than solid timber of the required size with respect to the mortise and tenon joints.”
Via: George Farrell Full, article Building a “Woodturning Lathe”
Here is an interesting design that requires no welding. If you are looking to build a small wood lathe this set of plans may be just what you are looking for.
This lathe design is intended to be a large heavy duty metal lathe, larger than most would require for woodworking. The desing concept is perfect for a shop built homemade lathe and could easily be scaled down to fit your needs.
The bolt together design and use of off the shelf components make this an interesting design for a heavy duty shop built wood lath.
Designed By: Open Source Ecology
Open Source Ecology has a development Wiki describing the lathe in more detail.
“Making a lathe is fun! Designing one yourself and using free or cheap materials is even better.
This instructable shows how I did it. I got ideas from lots of places on the internet (including other instructables – do a search for ‘lathe’) and formulated my design as I collected materials.
This lathe is made almost exclusively from stuff other people threw away or didn’t have use for anymore, and a big part of the challenge is creatively using these readily available materials. You will probably want to vary your own design from mine, as you will inevitably find you can get your hands on different bits. Don’t worry though I will try my best to offer techniques and advice (including where the best places are to get stuff), anyway it is much more exciting when you have a hand in the design process. I would love to hear what you guys use to make your designs.”
Via: Open Source Ecology
Here is a great midi size shop built lathe that is really worth a close look for design ideas for your homemade lathe.
The Twisted Knot Woodshop has built a beautiful behemoth of a wood lathe that you have to check out.
Photo: The Twisted Knot Woodshop
This is a heavy duty 14″ swing shop built wood lathe. It is almost a work of art as well as a well built machine.
Tell us about your home made or shop built wood lathe. Pen lathes, spindle lathes, bowl lathes are all pretty basic woodworking tools. With a little planning and ingenuity you should be able to make your own lathe to suite your needs.Making your own wood lathe, we all would like to hear about your design ideas or see what you built.
Tags: Home Built tools, Tools, Wood Lathes
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