Old Tail stock?

I learned to turn on a little, homemade lathe that my Grandfather built. The bed was just two pieced of angle iron and the tail stock was two pieces of oak laminated together. They captured a nut inside and the 'dead' center was a long, large screw that looked as if it might have come from inside a piano. Worked as good as any other part of the lathe.

But, just to guide a drill bit, do you really need a full-blown tail stock? Why not make a wooden jig that bolts to the ways of your lathe and has a hole through it that lines up with the drive center? I would make it out of a hard wood but other than that it sounds quite simple.

Hi Richard, Two dodges have worked for me.

1. Hold the long bit thru the headstock in a hollow chuck (scroll type with a hardwood split collet or a Jacobs headstock chuck. Feed the workpiece in increments from the tailstock.

1. Cut a piece of CRS that fits your banjo and drill a hole that fits the bit at center height as a greased bearing for it. Drive the piece from the headstock and feed the fixed bit or hold the work in the fixed headstock and feed the bit rotated with a hand held drill. A long bit may require additional support over the ways.

I suggest that you start out true with a center bit, D-bit or Forstman type. BTW, cheap Harbor Freight long twist drill bits work for me in softer woods. Good luck.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter