How to make an old lathe with your own hands

This ancestor of modern lathes is called alternative — from the Latin word «alternare» — «alternate». Even today it is quite suitable for simple turning works.

Vintage lathe

A wooden round block is clamped between two stops. One of them is mobile.

An elastic wooden or metal arc, resembling a bow, is strengthened over the machine. A rope is tied to the bowstring, which is wrapped twice around the block, goes down and is attached to the pedal. When you press the pedal, the rope is stretched and turns the part around the axis — this is the working stroke, you can cut. Releasing the pedal returns the rope, and with it the part to its original position — this is idling.

The cutter is held in the hand, placed on a stand.

The machine bed consists of three main parts: front and tailstock and base. They are cut from a 40 mm board.

Construction of an antique lathe

Movable and fixed stops are made of M16 bolts and are fixed in racks at the same height.

Sharpen the bolts on the cone with a file. Drill a hole in the front rack, insert the bolt and secure it with a lock nut.

Make a hexagonal recess in the tailstock with a chisel. Insert the nut into it. To prevent the nut from falling out of the socket, screw the metal plate on the front side with screws. Now the stop can be screwed in and out, changing the distance between the centers. Having clamped the block in the centers, secure the bolt with a self-locking nut. If you don't have one, take an ordinary nut and apply notches on its end with a file or a hacksaw.

The tailstock can move along the upper bar of the base. Holes are drilled in the bar. To move the headstock, it is necessary to unscrew the fastening bolt from the hole, rearrange it into a new socket and fix it.

The base is glued together from two bars. An elongated hole for the rope is drilled and cut out in it.

Any table can serve as a bed.

All materials of the section «Ideas for the master»

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