looking for a lathe

I was thinking about building one in the meantime, it would be pretty crude, just using a sawhorse bolted down as the base, a 1 speed motor, maybe running through a bike's chain gear system for speed adjustments:) and no sliding toolrest, just an |-| shaped piece of wood for a rest., and each bowl would be bolted on, but it would be interesting. we have a few decent motors around, 1/2horse old electric(lots of push, less speed) another 1/2 horse running the grinding wheels(very small wheels, the motor is almost dead) and then a quite large motor in an industrial fan thing sitting in the basement. I think ive made most of the mistakes im going to, and my teacher explained why a lot of them happened.(ill just do them over and over now)

Go for it Reyd, Convert that sawhorse,you won't regret it.

I do hate to be the COC to point out your worst mistake so far;......thinking that you have made all of them. :) Arch

Fortiter,

You can locate a group near you where you can attend meetings and pickup a LOT of tips and tricks and quite possibly an old lathe that someone wants to sell because they are upgrading.

I dunno, I seem to be making the same ones over and over now instead of finding new ones to make:P so far the list includes

-rember to lower the speed for bigger things

-dont start it when the locking pin is on

-make sure the tool rest is far enough back no matter what the teacher says, goglles suc

-dont let little pests near the starting buttons when your hands are near the pulleys

-skew chisels will damage things if you poke them into it while its spinning

-make sure the glue is dry so that bits of your bowl stay together

-gouges hurt when you slip over to the other side on the inside of a bowl

-when the sandpaper starts smoking, that should mean stop, it will be burning your hand soon

-check to make sure that the gouge is actually attached to the handle(so it doesnt go flying around)

-watch the sides of your bowl, when it starts to make loud noises, that means your coming through the side soon :P those are the ones i remeber most so far.

Reyd,

IF you're adventurous and have an electric motor (1/4 hp 1750 rpm would be plenty) I'll send you this old one for the cost of shipping from Saskatoon:

The tool rest is broken, and the set screw for the tail stock is buggered, but if you or a buddy are taking shop at school you could fix it up easily.

Happy to help a fellow Zelazny fan.

;-)

about how heavy is it?, is it belt drive, or do i attach to motor directly?(I'd love to have it, it looks like my favorite type of machine(in need of a little love:P) your the first person to get my name, I was starting to wonder if anyone else had read roadmarks.

Oh no, we all got it, we just didn't comment. Much like Mekon. Dave in Fairfax

I'll haul it onto a scale later, I'm just taking a break from the kitchen... I do the holiday cooking in this house.

I'm guessing under 30 pounds, but I'll have to dig it out from under the bench to confirm.

It's belt drive, and yeah it needs a little love, but it's got some history (Grandpa to Dad to me). I'd like to have it used rather than boat anchored, so I'll find out what shipping would be and let you know. Is a valid email address? If not, send me a private note (sans socks).

As for Roadmarks... I've read everything I can find of Zelazny's, starting about 25 years ago. I was disappointed with his attempt to extend the Amber series, but more disappointed that we'll have no new work from the man.

Merry Christmas!

djb

Where do you live?

B.C. Canada