A Lathe from another Time
- Thread starter cschimmel
- Start date
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
KenV
Member
Is it for sale??
nava1uni
Member
I think that it is cool and I would love to try it out.
Rolland
Member
Me thinks Noah may have used that one. 
Our local historical village has one of these in a metal cutting format .I think someone added an electric motor for convenience 
Puts new meaning into the old adage to "put your foot down" hehe , Cheers ~ John
Puts new meaning into the old adage to "put your foot down" hehe , Cheers ~ John
Last edited:
cschimmel
Member
No its decoration.
workinforwood
Member
There's a guy in my area with a steam powered lathe. It can't turn large items but it is about 14 foot long!
bitshird
Member
Neat old lathe, I'm with Cindy, I'd like to play with it, think how cool it would be at craft shows.
SamThePenMan
Member
wow, nice! I think it'd be neat to have one of these, or maybe even make a manual powered lathe haha
glen r
Member
And variable speed too without having to change pulleys or turn knobs.
Rojo22
Local Chapter Leader
I have had the privilege to turn on a spring pole lathe that was Roy Underhill's and a converted jewlers lathe that was flywheel foot powered owned by a Florida turner named Dave Barriger. The jewlers lathe was set up to be "pedaled" by the left foot. After only 10 minutes I was beat. I can also tell you, you would know who the turner in town was, because his left leg would be twice the size of the right, and he would walk in circles....LOL....
I had just finished lunch when Roy let me turn on his spring pole lathe in front of a crowd. He is a real joker and introduced me as an "alcohol" powered lathe...since we came out of a beer and burger joint for lunch! Roy is always fun to be around, but that lathe will take a lot out of you! Including the alcohol!
I had just finished lunch when Roy let me turn on his spring pole lathe in front of a crowd. He is a real joker and introduced me as an "alcohol" powered lathe...since we came out of a beer and burger joint for lunch! Roy is always fun to be around, but that lathe will take a lot out of you! Including the alcohol!
Lenny
Member
I wish I had pictures of the lathe I first learned to turn on. It was my Grandfather's and came out of an old mill that used the old, long flat belts from a PTO. When my Dad had it, it consisted of two heavy and somewhat ornate cast iron ends/legs with pockets into which heavy timbers fit to form the bed. I guess they were about 4'x8" and of whatever length you wanted, with a space between them which held the mating timber/tailstock arangement.
My Grandfather had cut a grove in the end for a v-belt where it would have originally just been flat, and hooked up a small motor. I remember large cast wheels and wooden t-shaped pieces that would slide along the bed.
I was 10 or 12 when I first used it and at that time it was about 6 feet long. Many years later while working with my Dad doing construction/renovations, we had a customer who had two 10 foot long turned columns that were rotten and needed to be replaced. We removed the existing timber bed and replaced them with 12 footers. Glued up 2x10x12' pieces until we had 2 pieces that were 10 x 10 x 12' and mounted them on the lathe. The initial power on was quickly a power off! The motor turned WAY TOO FAST! My Dad decided to try conecting an old 1/2" drill to the shaft of the motor. It was a variable speed drill with a top speed of 300 rpm. I turned those two columns while my Dad operated the trigger on the drill. I think we split $300 for that job! While they are most likely not in very good shape now, they are still there, almost 30 years later. But, like I said, I don't have a picture!
My Grandfather had cut a grove in the end for a v-belt where it would have originally just been flat, and hooked up a small motor. I remember large cast wheels and wooden t-shaped pieces that would slide along the bed.
I was 10 or 12 when I first used it and at that time it was about 6 feet long. Many years later while working with my Dad doing construction/renovations, we had a customer who had two 10 foot long turned columns that were rotten and needed to be replaced. We removed the existing timber bed and replaced them with 12 footers. Glued up 2x10x12' pieces until we had 2 pieces that were 10 x 10 x 12' and mounted them on the lathe. The initial power on was quickly a power off! The motor turned WAY TOO FAST! My Dad decided to try conecting an old 1/2" drill to the shaft of the motor. It was a variable speed drill with a top speed of 300 rpm. I turned those two columns while my Dad operated the trigger on the drill. I think we split $300 for that job! While they are most likely not in very good shape now, they are still there, almost 30 years later. But, like I said, I don't have a picture!
Last edited:
Amish
I do not know if they are still doing it but only about 20 years ago I was in an Amish workshop where electricity was out and the owner had a number of foot powered tools, including a lathe, that he used all the time. As I recall he was building furniture.
I do not know if they are still doing it but only about 20 years ago I was in an Amish workshop where electricity was out and the owner had a number of foot powered tools, including a lathe, that he used all the time. As I recall he was building furniture.