Sneak Peak: The real lathe project

Friends: 

I've been putting out a lot more content since I went full time, but I could do more to tell you about future projects . 

I've been thinking a lot about lathes recently. The longer I use one, the more I find it an essential tool. This sounds a little weird, right? Woodworkers use lathes for chair spindles and decorative bowls.

That's true, but they can do so much more. 

Lathes allow you to make precise cylinders, drill holes in the exact center of things and even turn spheres. I've used my cheap Harbor Freight lathe to work with acrylic plastic, corian, and even copper tube. I also use it for dull-but-essential things like making spacers or simple bushings. The lathe was at the heart of the entire Industrial Revolution and home crafts-people could be using them for so much more. 

But they cost a lot. My "cheap" lathe goes for over $300 and that doesn't include tools or a grinder. Home-game woodworkers need something more affordable. 

I guess we'll just have to build it. 

I'm not the first to have this idea. Matthias Wandell has built a brilliant little lathe that even uses wooden bearings and can be made in an afternoon. 

And Izzy Swan will teach you how to make a lathe out of an old drill in about 30 minutes.

Both of these lathes are magnificent in their low cost and ease of construction, but they aren't as capable as we might like. They're both light-duty, small-capacity devices that can only do small work. They're exactly what their makers intended, but even my Harbor Freight lathe blows them away in size, power, and rigidity. 

We need at least this kind of power and performance, but at en even lower price. 

And if someone needs a cheap tool, I think I'm the man for the job. 

So, starting in October, I'll be releasing a series of videos where I build a REAL lathe from scratch using cheap and easy-to-find materials. This machine will have rigid construction, good power, large capacity and the ability to use common accessories like centers and face-plates. (I'm not sure about chucks yet. I'm working on it.)

The goal is to make something as good as my Harbor Freight lathe, but keep the cost at around $100, and even less if you're a good scavenger. 

In a lot of ways, this is the most ambitious thing I've attempted, but I think it's worth the trouble. 

Oh, and fun. It will be a lot of fun. 

Thanks to my Patrons for making these bigger dreams possible. 

Happy Monday; stay safe!

--Rex