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Tool Wip: Lathe


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not a bad idea, i have a metal lathe so thats not nessisary for me, but a good idea. i would like a drill press though. aslong as you start with a similarly sized bit of wood you should be able to get some good knobs. if your really lazy you could probably stick some sandpaper to something, mount the wood in the drill somehow and then move the drill against the sandpaper to get the desired effect. dont know if it would work with other tools though.

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i was at a wood show in jan. in toronto and they were selling a kit to turn your drill into a lathe;

i too have a lathe and would never consider it, but heh; it was an old lady selling them, and she was givin her on this thing, it didnt seem as stupid as i first thought; i think it was about 50$ and came with a starter set of chisels

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I built the holder for the drill using what was a signpost for a garage sale sign, a piece of scrapwood and a piece of bent metal nailed to the scrapwood and screwed on the other side so the drill was tightly in position.

Does anyone have any ideas of what I should use for the other end of the lathe???????? I only plan to be turning knobs and maybe a fancy pen or two.

Edited by PunkRockerLuke
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You could also avoid the "sideload" issue by putting in some sort of chuck "extension" and putting a couple of bearings securely mounted to the stand in front of the drill. This way the bearings would take the side load, not the drill motor.

another thing to consider, is a drill isnt meant to take the sideloads from the chisels, so make sure you can afford another drill, but if you have a spare...

you are only making knobs so taking your time to do things a bit more slowly isnt a big problem

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Not that a drill for a lathe is much of a good idea but i think you guys are over thinking this. there isnt really any side load from a tool on the lathe, because the tool slices wood off in a circlar pattern as the piece is rotating. This is no different than the cutting edge of a drill bit or a spade bit. If there is a side load you are pressing way too hard.

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Not that a drill for a lathe is much of a good idea but i think you guys are over thinking this. there isnt really any side load from a tool on the lathe, because the tool slices wood off in a circlar pattern as the piece is rotating. This is no different than the cutting edge of a drill bit or a spade bit. If there is a side load you are pressing way too hard.

that is wrong, you are pushing from the side, without evening it out on the other side with an equal force. a drill has equal forces on all sides that even it out, making it just a resistance to turning, as opposed to a sideload. when there is just a single point touching it pushes it to the side.

sorry to be so blunt but i didnt want people misunderstanding the situation and assuming that there is no difference to normal drill use.

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Not that a drill for a lathe is much of a good idea but i think you guys are over thinking this. there isnt really any side load from a tool on the lathe, because the tool slices wood off in a circlar pattern as the piece is rotating. This is no different than the cutting edge of a drill bit or a spade bit. If there is a side load you are pressing way too hard.

that is wrong, you are pushing from the side, without evening it out on the other side with an equal force. a drill has equal forces on all sides that even it out, making it just a resistance to turning, as opposed to a sideload. when there is just a single point touching it pushes it to the side.

sorry to be so blunt but i didnt want people misunderstanding the situation and assuming that there is no difference to normal drill use.

Ill grant you that.... but it is not a lot. its not going to break a drill..... if I can turn a 1/4" round piece of steel thats about 8 - 10 inches long without a steady rest and only be out a couple thou. Thean I think I can turn a piece of wood without breaking a drill......that being said I really dont care to argue the point anymore. a drill as a lathe is a dumb idea anyway.

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